BajaNomad

scary trip

baja-spirit - 2-20-2008 at 01:58 PM

I thought I would share this email I just got from my folks.
They have just sold their place in Punta Chivato because of their ages,82 & 87. They left monday to go get the last of their belongs........We are here in P.C. by the grace of the good Lord. We came so close to leaving this world yesterday about 1:00 p.m. A pick-up came over a small hill and the man driving either fell asleep or looked away and he drove off the right hand side of the road and off the pavment--he over corrected and came staight at us--Dad put on the brakes and the man driving must have realized he was heading for a head-on with us and swerved and went off the road in front of us rolling several times and came to rest upside down- we drove until we could turn around and went back to help. The driver was a large mexican man about 280-300 lbs and he was just standing up and checking himself out when we got back there. We can't figure how he got out of the pick-up because the roof was almost flat against the back seat about a foot above. He said a friend was in the passenger seat and he called to him and he groaned and answered slightly. I started flagging down people driving by and they tried to turn the pick up on the wheels to no availe Lester tried to turn the vechicle up by driving our suv but the 2 wheel drive would not dig in well enough and finally some mex. boys came by in a 4-wheel drive and they were able turn it up with the help of about 6 men pushing the car over. Pedro the passenger was still strapped in so one the helpers cut his seat belt but would not move the man Lester talked to him and we knew he was still alive. So the Mex boys in the 4-wheel drive pick-up were heading north and would notify the people at Chapala and we headed south to notify at Bay of LA After we had gone about 10miles a tow truck went by. but we still stopped at the wrecking yard at the turn off to LA bay and the y said someone had stopped and told them. and about another 4 miles south a police car went by and then an ambulance went by in about another 5 miles. The pick up that rolled was a brand new toyoto Tundra without plates and I think he was from the usa.

Just another reason why we have to be so careful on the road..... just wanted to share.....

Paulina - 2-20-2008 at 02:13 PM

Very scary, and very lucky that there were no fatalities.

Thank you for sharing.

P<*)))><

whew

sylens - 2-20-2008 at 03:48 PM

so glad you lived to tell it.

thank you for sharing your frightful experience.

bajamigo - 2-20-2008 at 07:21 PM

Your parents are fine people. They could have kept going to avoid the hassle, but they got involved. At their ages, it must have been a stressful time. You have to admire them.

thebajarunner - 2-20-2008 at 09:08 PM

Last Friday we came upon a similar situation, not such a happy result.

Just above Catavina there was an upside down pickup on the West side of the highway, Federales were there, as was the hearse.

Very large guy laid out next to the pickup, and they were just shaking out the sheet to cover him up.

Interesting, it was a crew cab and the cab was amazingly intact, not at all crushed down, but the result was obviously fatal.

bajaboolie - 2-20-2008 at 09:42 PM

Ugh, this is so easy on that road. Sorry to hear about these accidents.

Lorito - 2-21-2008 at 07:58 AM

Scary. We were run off the road just north of Loreto at Christmas - car passing in the oncoming lane did not get over in time. Fortunately, there was a lovely pull-out for us and all was well.

Lorito

shari - 2-21-2008 at 08:07 AM

Good for you for helping amigos...Juan and I always have this difference of opinion about seat belts...I always wear mine on the highway and he never does...most of the survivors live because they get thrown clear and the strapped in ones aren't so lucky as they get crushed. Last week, a fisherman flipped many times on the road to san hipolito, the car was like a pancake...no way he would have survived it he'd have been belted in and he only had some light cuts and sore ribs....hmmmm

Roberto - 2-21-2008 at 08:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
Good for you for helping amigos...Juan and I always have this difference of opinion about seat belts...I always wear mine on the highway and he never does...most of the survivors live because they get thrown clear and the strapped in ones aren't so lucky as they get crushed. Last week, a fisherman flipped many times on the road to san hipolito, the car was like a pancake...no way he would have survived it he'd have been belted in and he only had some light cuts and sore ribs....hmmmm


Shari, you are right and Juan is wrong. Period. There are plenty of urban myths about being saved by being thrown clear in an accident, and even more statistics and proof that this is BS.

Here is an example:

http://uneflic.blogspot.com/2007/05/do-you-wear-seat-belt.ht...

Google "seatbelts accidents thrown clear" for more.

pascuale - 2-21-2008 at 10:56 AM

Wow! Happy your parents are ok.

baja-spirit - 2-21-2008 at 05:20 PM

Thanks everyone...I appreciate your replies and comments...
Just so happy I didn't lose my Mom and Dad..

scary

tehag - 2-21-2008 at 08:27 PM

Luck is what is demanded by Mex 1. Sure alert, sober, well rested, unhurried are all good, but luck is the biggie. When something is suddenly in your path, there is little to do but hope for a bit of luck. This pic was July of 2006. Nobody was hurt, either in the truck or in any other vehicle. Now that's some luck.

Semi1W.jpg - 49kB

El Jefe - 2-22-2008 at 11:00 AM

Thank heavens they didn't get hit head on.

As to the use of seat belts, one is a fool not to wear them. Ask any firefighter, paramedic or EMT you know and he will tell you that seat belts and air bags save lives all the time. Those of us who have been around a while can tell you of the days before air bags and when many didn't wear their belts. The carnage was MUCH worse. Today, people survive accidents that would have killed them for sure back in the day. In fact, they often walk away. And take my word for it, being thrown from the vehicle is never a good idea.

Who remembers the jingle, "Buckle up for safety, buckle up"?

dccf - 2-22-2008 at 09:56 PM

I saw a bumper sticker on a police car years ago that read, "If you think seat belts are uncomfortable, try going through a windshield."

[Edited on 2-23-2008 by dccf]

HotSchott - 2-29-2008 at 07:20 AM

Seatbelts, cigarettes & loaded guns are all modern forms of natural selection.

Sharksbaja - 2-29-2008 at 01:05 PM

Larry, what does that tell you? They crash ALL the time!
I think what they are referring are their travels down and around steep logging roads. Yep, it's a long way to the bottom with 40,000 lbs of wood behind yer head.:o
I don't think seat belt laws are applicable off public roads or hwys. They save lives here all the time. I remarked to my wife on an earlier return from Baja that some of the worst sections of road between our home in western Oregon and Mulege were the area north of Villa Jesus Maria(now repaired) and roads thru our Coast Range.
Remember, no sales tax= crappy roads.