baja-spirit
Junior Nomad
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scary trip
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.....
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
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Very scary, and very lucky that there were no fatalities.
Thank you for sharing.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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sylens
Senior Nomad
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Mood: ando bajando
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whew
so glad you lived to tell it.
thank you for sharing your frightful experience.
lili
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bajamigo
Super Nomad
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Mood: hubimos llegado
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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.
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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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.
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bajaboolie
Nomad
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Location: Aptos, CA/Mulege
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Ugh, this is so easy on that road. Sorry to hear about these accidents.
Bajaboolie
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Lorito
Newbie
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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
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shari
Select Nomad
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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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
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Roberto
Banned
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| 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.
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pascuale
Nomad
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Location: Somewhere South
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Mood: Lets fish!
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Wow! Happy your parents are ok.
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baja-spirit
Junior Nomad
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Registered: 1-11-2008
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Thanks everyone...I appreciate your replies and comments...
Just so happy I didn't lose my Mom and Dad..
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tehag
Super Nomad
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Registered: 1-8-2005
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scary
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.
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El Jefe
Super Nomad
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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"?
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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dccf
Junior Nomad
Posts: 98
Registered: 10-20-2007
Location: S. Cal
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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]
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HotSchott
Nomad
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Seatbelts, cigarettes & loaded guns are all modern forms of natural selection.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
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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.
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.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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