68 Charger Totalled in Amarillo 1/20/2012

[TexasStroker]

Well, I hadn't been on the site in awhile due to being insanely busy...and I sure didn't want to come back and post something like this 

We had a very cold and snowy tail end of fall and around Christmas.  Since then we have been pushing 60-70.  Today was a very nice day, close to 70...perfect cruising weather.

I never got to speak this guy, but had seen the car a few time.  He had it in Make-A-Wish last year, but that was about the extent of it...apparently he drove the car quite a bit.  He had a lot invested in this car and the body shop that did the work was so proud of it they let him keep the car in their shop.  Well, 70 degress in January is definitely reason to drive your Charger.  The owner, a 71 year old man, went around 4 PM to get his Charger.

Around 5 PM I started getting several texts/calls and since they were all from guys in the club I knew something really great was going down or something bad happened...sadly it was the later.

The 68 Charger was heading southbound on I-27 (Amarillo to Lubbock)...a white gmc acadia was leaving Western Bowl (a bowling alley) somehow shot out of the parking lot, across the access road (2 lane btw), thru the bar-ditch (pretty steep around here due to most of the rain falling in 2-3 storms), and then into southbound traffic....right into the side of the 68 Charger.  The inital report is that it "may have been a medical emergency" which leaves a lot to be desired for such a crazy way for the wreck to transpire. 

I mean this is a textbook blindsiding.  You can be vigillant against nuts flying by you and even leary of a car that might weave from the north bound lanes, across the median and into a southbond lane...but to get t-boned in a north-south lane by a car going east-west?  I have no clue how the lady could have built up that much speed, but she devasted the car...


The real tragedy is that the owner was air-lifted and is in critical condition.  I never got to meet him personally, but any 70+ year old that put that kind of time into a 68 and drove it has to have been a pretty cool guy.  Keep him in your thoughts and prayers...I am hoping he will be okay and we can help him locate another 68 if he is so inclined.  I will let ya'll know how he is doing if we get any updates.

Here are some cell phone shots a member got last year when the car was just getting finished:





And now, here is a shot of the same car after getting blindsided:


It is a sad way for the car to go and I just hope that the driver will be alright.

[bobs66440]

Terrible news and just a miserable bad luck situation. Hopefully he will fully recover.

[charger Downunder]

That is just horrible i hope the driver recovers OK. Car looks really bad if he had a passenger they would be in bad shape buy the looks of the car. My thoughts are with him and his family that is just so tragic.

[bill440rt]

Ugggghhhhhh... that is horrible. I feel for that guy. What a shame. Hope he has a speedy recovery from all this.

[Charger-Bodie]

Im with ya Bill. What a horrible thing to happen.  Hope they werent texting......

[tan top]

awwww man thats bad  , hope he is ok !!   , let us know what happens

[RECHRGD]

That's a nightmare that we all have from time to time.  Hope he fully recovers from his injuries...

[400/6/PAC]

That really is a shame.
Hope He is OK.

[404NOTFOUND]

Sad to see and I hope he recovers and gets another car. I do think about this kind of thing because I know my Charger can't compare safety wise to my modern car. It is worth the risk though. Still safer than a mototcycle.

[Back N Black]

Wow! I hope the owner has a speedy recovery.

[BrianShaughnessy]

That's awful.   Hope the guy recovers OK.

[69bronzeT5]

Wow, that's horrible My prayers are with a fast recovery for the owner

[elanmars]

ugh. that totally sucks, i hope he recovers well. it'll take some time for sure...i know, i've been there in a similar situation recently. really really sucks. hope he had his car insured/the other person's insurance company doesn't try to mess things up.

[Magnumcharger]

Boy! That is tough news.
I hope the best for the old guy.


I expect to see that Charger on Copart.com soon.

[1carcrazyguy]

Wow...  That is a horrible deal for all involved.   A friend of mine sent me an email to see if I knew of the car or the owner.  I moved from Amarillo in 2002 so I was not familiar with either.  I wish the best for the owner of the Charger and hope he fully recovers from this!

I also saw this post on the Amarillo newspaper site...
He is my daughter's father-in-law. From what we know, the woman left the parking lot at the frontage road exit and crossed the frontage road, the grass, and the traffic lanes of the highway to hit the Charger. The man (who I won't identify either) had just had the car finally completed from a total restoration and was driving it for the first time. We are asking for prayers for him and the family, he is critical at the hospital. And yes, some people are talking about how sad it is about the car--that car meant a LOT to him, it was a first car of muscle-type he had back when it was new and he had found it and had it totally restored. He had been showing it at car shows as they were finishing it up and it was his pride and joy.

[angie]

  That is so very sad. I hope and pray for him and his family.

[projectanimal]

Speechless......Horrible story with such a freak accident.    Thoughts and Prayers will be sent his way. 

[bull]

That really, really sucks all the way around. Can't blame the old guy for driving it though, I would have been doing the same thing. It almost seems like the lady had it in for him. I sure hope it really wasn't the car's maiden voyage, as said above. That would make things even worse.

[mauve66]

this is starting to sound like a conspiracy from ford and gm, they put a computer virus in the management module and when the car detects a mopar through the frontal sensors it just accdelerate blindly (like that trk the t-boned the white charger on here) everyone start watching out now.......................................

[69charger2002]

very sad. hopefully he recovers and is able to find another charger. 

[vancamp]

my prayers for him to recover quickly, shame about the car.

[terrible one]

Wow, the entire passenger side quarter panel was ripped right off of there. Looks like they probably cut the roof to get the guy out.

[1carcrazyguy]

From what I recall of that area.  The grass median between the side road and the highway was fairly steep.  iF THE SUV had any speed at all, I would not be suprised if the SUV was airborn enough to take out the side and the roof pillars at the same time.   I am pretty sure that median was a drainage ditch, probably 6-8 foot deep with a smooth slope on both sides that would have acted as a ramp.....   And looking at how the entire windshield is laid back like it went "under" something.  I would think, just cutting the pillars it would not be laid back...but who knows.    

Latest pic from Amarillo newspaper link...

[bull]

So what was her issue? Why was she driving like a bat outta hell?

[1carcrazyguy]

So what was her issue? Why was she driving like a bat outta hell?

Paper is stating.. the SUV driver suffered a "medical emergency". 

[PocketThunder]

It looks like the quarter panel was ripped off at the seam in the sail panel.  I wonder if the car had new quarters put on it during restoration.

[TexasStroker]

The news reporting around here has alway been mediocre...I have my theories on what "medical emergency" means to the reporters here, but I figure you probably don't suffer a heart attack or stroke, shoot off at a hight rate of speed, make a hit like that around 5 PM, and by the time the 6 PM news is on you are magically in stable condition.  Someone yesterday was suggesting a seizure, but they have yet to really provide more details or an exact cause.  A fellow Charger owner and cop for the APD posted on our forum that he saw the pics and the front clip looks to be in decent shape. 

I heard on the 10 PM news tonight that he was still in critical condition.  The news cast had a good walkaround of the car, similar to the shot 1carcrazyguy posted up later on...It is a shame to see what became of the car and those of us in AAM are just hoping he will be alright.  I'm still betting he was driving it to help keep it charged up for the Make-A-Wish show (first weekend of March).

If we ever get someone in to talk to him I will make a point to let him know that everyone at DodgeCharger.com is pulling for him to recover and get back on the road...things like that mean a lot to people  

[Fred]

Speechless......Horrible story with such a freak accident.    Thoughts and Prayers will be sent his way. 

My words exactly. How shocking!

[1969chargerrtse]

   Amazing, hope he's O.K.