Looks like a horrible wreck, no question. I’m a retired paramedic as well… albeit from an injury myself. It doesn’t take much to give me a touch of ptsd from seeing so many accidents like that. Some things just never leave your memories.

The damage to that red car is astonishing. At hope at least that it was painless.

There’s a car about that mangled on a front lawn in Kent, near East Hill. The front and rear are reasonably intact, you can still see the general shape of a car there, unlike the wadded up ball of red in the OP. However, the center of it is completely obliterated. Whoever hit that car was going very fast, and smacked into it dead-center broadside. There’s a memorial set up urging people not to drink and drive, I believe. Gave me a bit of uneasy dread every time I drove past it.

quote:

Originally posted by Hamden106:
I drive I-5 100 miles to PDX a lot. Setting the cruise not over 65 is a lot more comfortable than 75. At my 65, even big rigs pass me

A couple of years back we were coming back up north on I-5 from Ashland, making around 75mph and got overtaken by THREE semis - nose-to-tail - with Nevada plates. If just ONE had to make an emergency stop, the carnage would have been huge. We hung back as they disappeared from view, knowing that there were some long downhill grades ahead...

These are not "accidents". They are crashes caused by negligence.

We had a crash on I95 in Maine last year that was had a small car crushed between 2 semi trucks.
The rear semi was distracted (phone) and ran into the front semi, going through the small car to do so.
When I passed the scene just as first responders arrived, I couldn't even tell there was a small car in there, it was the news that told me after I got home. Looked back at my dash can and could just make out a wheel under the rear Semi's bumper.

2 fatalities, no injuries to the truckers. 2 charges of involuntary manslaughter due to distracted driving to the rear driver.

I have rendered aid at a few car accidents over the years. Also in several states and countries. Several of those incidents involved very serious injuries and/or death. The one that hit me the hardest was helping get 2 young girls out of their car which had "head-on'd" a large oak tree. They had seat belts, not used. Absolutely no reason for their deaths, just plain stupidity. At least a dozen people standing around looking but doing nothing. This was long before all the new fancy phones we have today.

I saw a lot of death while in the army, but that incident with the 2 girls caused more bad dreams than helping clean up after M48 tank accidents, especially those in which the tank ran over people.

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
These are not "accidents". They are crashes caused by negligence.

Yep same for red light runners.

quote:

Originally posted by HayesGreener:
These are not "accidents". They are crashes caused by negligence.

This is exactly the problem. Just like accidental discharges, which really are negligent discharges.

A few years ago, the day after Christmas. Northbound driver was distracted, rear ended another that had their wheels cut to turn left.

Impact shoved that one into a south bound mini van that contained a family. Two teenage sisters were killed. We couldn't identify them by their photo ID cards. Their faces were destroyed.

One of a few incidents that is forever burned into my memory.

Yesterday I drove I-15 from Butte MT to Las Vegas. Speed limits are generally 80 mph. Many drive 90mph or more. Never saw a Patrolman. Things happen fast at 90 mph.