RideSand
Active member
- May 6, 2021
- 212
- 104
Buckle up, Im glad we did. Wanted to share about our weekend out at CAS....
Been wanting to take the kids to some "Manzanita style racing" that I grew up going to. It had been a really long time, but I remember enjoying it as a kid, and knew my kids would get a kick out of it, too. Hobby stocks, sport compacts, sport mods, etc. There wasn't any sprint cars or midgets, but whatever it was still awesome. Kids loved it, my 6 year old fell asleep around 10p, but my 10 year old was INTO it. She wants a race car now - ha!
Fun night at the races. We don't know anything about it, but were eventually able to follow along a little bit towards the end. Cant wait to go back, and you can bet your rear I will be throwing down $100 bill if we have a spare one for the six lap ride along. Holy crap that looked fun!
So, Camber is asleep, I scoop him up and carry him to the truck while my wife manages the blankets and other misc things we managed to spread about. Note: take folding chairs next time. Walking out I think to myself - could probably lay him down on the middle seat and clip the belt around him, just so he can sleep comfortably. We were 90 miles from home and it was going to take at least that many minutes to get there. Didn't do that, but instead just sat hi down, buckled him the proper way, and he was fine.
Fast forward a few mins, we are heading towards the I-10 on highway 287 going along at 55-60mph (speed limit is 55 and Im not trying to get caught by a speed trap out there) and all of a sudden, we are in a ditch. WTF just happened? Turns out that a drunk was flying down some road perpendicular to ours, had some weird colored headlights that I did not see until the very last second, and he blew a stop sign, right in front of us. We plowed into his drivers side just behind the cab, and the carnage ensued. Loud bang, big crash, 60-0 in about a second, and what seemed like 100 yards or less, just wild. Turn to my wife, she's already trying to get to the kids, and as I look back at Camber, he is just sitting there looking around like, "whats going on and why did you wake me up? Also, where am I?" with the funniest confused look on his face. totally protected, totally safe, and totally oblivious. Looking back now, it was awesome!
My daughter was awake, and very confused. Knew we were in a crash, but didn't know what to think. Said she felt like a spider and was trying to get up in the top corner of the cab to get away from whatever was happening. That was weird, but she was also tired and probably almost asleep, too. Every one was ok, though. That was huge. Seat belts and airbags freaking rock, and saved our lives. No injuries.
There was already a group of people that had stopped and were there right as I was getting out of the truck it seemed. Wife got the kids out and they were all just standing in the dirt, barefoot. Racers from the track, on their way home. Such a great group of people that stayed with us for over an hour. Called 911 right away for us, and genuinely wanted to make sure we were ok and that they were there for us. Spoke with law enforcement, hung around, and were great to have there. I didn't speak with them TOO much, but they were awesome and I wanted to thank them for doing that. Part of the #5 cars team, one guy was the owner of the car.
This is longer than I expected, but here is what my truck looks like now. Really loved my truck and hate to see it like this, but it did its last job flawlessly, and saved my family. The dude is not insured and has been in and out (mostly in) of trouble with the law for a better part of his life. I don't know what the next step is, but Im sure we will figure something out.
I guess I wanted to share as a reminder of a few things. Anything can go south, in the blink of an eye. Wear your seatbelts, and make sure your kids are too. I do not drink, never have and never will. I don't care much for drunk people, but I hate drunk people that drive. Do not do that, ever. You will get no sympathy from me if you choose to do that and something goes wrong. Also, tell you friends and family that you love and care for them. I could have looked back to a totally different back seat than I did - that is a weird thought.
Been wanting to take the kids to some "Manzanita style racing" that I grew up going to. It had been a really long time, but I remember enjoying it as a kid, and knew my kids would get a kick out of it, too. Hobby stocks, sport compacts, sport mods, etc. There wasn't any sprint cars or midgets, but whatever it was still awesome. Kids loved it, my 6 year old fell asleep around 10p, but my 10 year old was INTO it. She wants a race car now - ha!
Fun night at the races. We don't know anything about it, but were eventually able to follow along a little bit towards the end. Cant wait to go back, and you can bet your rear I will be throwing down $100 bill if we have a spare one for the six lap ride along. Holy crap that looked fun!
So, Camber is asleep, I scoop him up and carry him to the truck while my wife manages the blankets and other misc things we managed to spread about. Note: take folding chairs next time. Walking out I think to myself - could probably lay him down on the middle seat and clip the belt around him, just so he can sleep comfortably. We were 90 miles from home and it was going to take at least that many minutes to get there. Didn't do that, but instead just sat hi down, buckled him the proper way, and he was fine.
Fast forward a few mins, we are heading towards the I-10 on highway 287 going along at 55-60mph (speed limit is 55 and Im not trying to get caught by a speed trap out there) and all of a sudden, we are in a ditch. WTF just happened? Turns out that a drunk was flying down some road perpendicular to ours, had some weird colored headlights that I did not see until the very last second, and he blew a stop sign, right in front of us. We plowed into his drivers side just behind the cab, and the carnage ensued. Loud bang, big crash, 60-0 in about a second, and what seemed like 100 yards or less, just wild. Turn to my wife, she's already trying to get to the kids, and as I look back at Camber, he is just sitting there looking around like, "whats going on and why did you wake me up? Also, where am I?" with the funniest confused look on his face. totally protected, totally safe, and totally oblivious. Looking back now, it was awesome!
My daughter was awake, and very confused. Knew we were in a crash, but didn't know what to think. Said she felt like a spider and was trying to get up in the top corner of the cab to get away from whatever was happening. That was weird, but she was also tired and probably almost asleep, too. Every one was ok, though. That was huge. Seat belts and airbags freaking rock, and saved our lives. No injuries.
There was already a group of people that had stopped and were there right as I was getting out of the truck it seemed. Wife got the kids out and they were all just standing in the dirt, barefoot. Racers from the track, on their way home. Such a great group of people that stayed with us for over an hour. Called 911 right away for us, and genuinely wanted to make sure we were ok and that they were there for us. Spoke with law enforcement, hung around, and were great to have there. I didn't speak with them TOO much, but they were awesome and I wanted to thank them for doing that. Part of the #5 cars team, one guy was the owner of the car.
This is longer than I expected, but here is what my truck looks like now. Really loved my truck and hate to see it like this, but it did its last job flawlessly, and saved my family. The dude is not insured and has been in and out (mostly in) of trouble with the law for a better part of his life. I don't know what the next step is, but Im sure we will figure something out.
I guess I wanted to share as a reminder of a few things. Anything can go south, in the blink of an eye. Wear your seatbelts, and make sure your kids are too. I do not drink, never have and never will. I don't care much for drunk people, but I hate drunk people that drive. Do not do that, ever. You will get no sympathy from me if you choose to do that and something goes wrong. Also, tell you friends and family that you love and care for them. I could have looked back to a totally different back seat than I did - that is a weird thought.
