I was in the process of running my Oklahoma route today. I work for my friend and I use his VW Golf TDi because of it's great fuel mileage.
I'm driving southbound on Highway 69 about 15 miles north of McAlester. I was tired from getting up at 2:30am but not anymore than I usually feel on this route. Everything is fine, I'm listening to music, then suddenly I'm asleep.............
I awaken to the view of the car being inches from the concrete barrier. I have no time to react. The driver's front tire rolls up the wall, while at the same time, the airbags deploy from the edge of the bumper hitting the barrier. I'm frightened and the car is moving in a straight line. As I apply the brakes, tires start locking up and screeching and I'm suddenly backwards in the right lane. The car continues spinning and I'm now headed toward the edge of the road. The car spins 180* again, while I'm off road, and I come to a stop in some real thick brush and bushes. Recap: I spun 360* plus another 90*
Airbag smoke is filling the car and I can't move because the seatbelt is so tight. The car is still running and I couldn't move due to the thick grass and soft mud.
Thankfully, I'm not a panicer. I roll the window down due to the smoke and get the seatbelt off. The window then falls into the door, but doesn't shatter.
I get out of the car, take a breather, then assess the damage.
No damage to the fender, front bumper or hood from the impact. (amazing!)
I open the hood to find the radiator hanging down. It's not in good shape. Can't tell how bad the damage is since there is so much grass. I walk around the vehicle and can see the prison highway cleanup crew coming toward me. They offered to help me get the car out of the grass, while a lady and her daughter stop after apparently seeing this all happen from their rear view mirrors. The ladies had already called the OHP, so the prison crew left.
20 minutes or so pass and the patrolman shows up. He calls a wrecker and writes an incident report. Then he leaves. The lady and her daughter stay around for a little while, give me some advice and then they leave.
Tow truck shows up after another 15-20 minutes. They drag the car out. I look at the car to assess the damage. It isn't pretty. I have a busted radiator, messed up AC Condenser, broken front lip from the off-road endeavor, 2 deployed airbags, a cracked windshield, a badly bubbled tire, some random, broken, expensive- looking electronic stuff and some damaged AC/power steering lines.
We drive to McAlester. I pay $200 for them to tow me 15 miles or so :rolleyes: and I'm stuck there. I walk a mile or so to Sonic for some food. A marine recruiter approaches me about joining. I decline. We have a nice conversation anyways. I tell him what went down, where I'm from, etc. He gives me a ride back to the wrecker place. I take a nap for however long and my friend's buddy shows up in the tow truck after 4.5 hours have past. I finally get home around 7:30pm.
All in All.........I feel stupid for wrecking my friend's car and I'm PISSED at myself. My friend says it okay. He says that we will work this out and it has happened to him before too. (just not as severe) Our VW tech friend is gonna do what he can to repair it. I have to pay for it, of course, so I might be working for free. Anybody need some part time help? I need the cash.
I will very likely have some pics of this.
