http://westseattleblog.com/2012/08/w...ported-on-35th

Happened late last week- was trying to get permission to post pictures on here but the blog editor (a friend) hasn't gotten back to me, so you'll have to follow the link.

First report was that the driver got out on their own and then was put on a stretcher and taken away by ambulance. Later report indicates that the driver had a fractured sternum and a torn ankle ligament, as well as some bumps and bruises. Looks like the R53 did its job and sacrificed itself to save the driver.

Val

 

That is a really bad accident. Glad he is alive.

 

Wow. Hope that driver is doing better. The pic of the engine in the street is crazy.

 

Wow!! Amazing he was able to walk out of the car. I hope the driver is okay... that MINI is just destroyed. I couldn't believe that photo of the engine.

 

Thanks for posting this, valvashon. Amazing that he walked away. This is the first time I've actually seen an accident where the engine dropped out. In this case, flew out. Really glad that the driver is OK.

Looks like some major surprise about the worthiness of a MINI in a crash on that blog. A friend told me that a cop friend of his worked the scene of really bad accident involving a MINI that was totaled. Same story - driver walked away. And then he (the cop) went out and got his own MINI.

 

No doubt MINIs are well engineered cars in many respects. Safety not withstanding.

But who walks away from a crash and who doesn't and the reasons for it is a bit of a mystery.

I've handled fatality claims involving considerably less property damage than that MINI sustained and I've handled claims with two cars damaged much worse than that with no more than contusions and abrasions.

Some of them leave me shaking my head. Some break my heart. Had one of the latter last week. 17 year old kid. Struck on passenger side at 40 MPH. Did not walk away.

 

The engine ended up on the sidewalk? Holy crap! So glad the driver is ok. People who run from accidents like that have no pity from me if they get hurt. Good job little MINI. You done good.

 

Prayers for the drivers speedy recovery.

 

IIRC, Mini's are designed to have the engine separate in a head on collision, rather than have the engine pushed into the passenger compartment....

 

RIP brave little MINI. You did your job and you did it well.

 

+1

Man, it ripped the engine from the frame.

 

Wow glad they're okay! The mini held its ground. Hit and run? The other car can't be looking good either. I can't believe It was able to drive away. i'm thinking this might be the act of drunk driving.

 

Without knowing for sure it seems like most of the damage was caused by a tree. The Jeep may have only provided a glancing blow that set the MINI off course.

 

That gave me chills looking at those pictures. So glad the MINI did it's job. I'm very glad the passenger was OK.

 

That little guy is going to go up to the racetrack in the sky where there are no stoplights or traffic and there's lots of curves and twistys.

 

OP here- I just drove by again today and noticed the skid marks- it appears that a set aim from the street to the planting area where the tree is and then back out on the other side of the tree. I'm thinking it was the Jeep that slammed on its brakes, hit the MINI, glanced off of it and skidded over the tree and ended up back on the street still with its brakes on.

I'll try to track down a police report on this if I can. They are fairly public here in Washington and if not I work for a news organization.

Val

 

Quoted

"got there right after the crash… the mini was anihilated.. never seen a wreck like that – car is unrecognizable & the engine was found on the sidewalk. "the driver walked out, thank god, and was put on a stretcher at the scene by sfd. hope he is ok. respect for this mini cooper, even though it’s unrecognizable it saved its driver!"

 

I would love an update on whether the hit and run driver was found. Thanks for the other updates. Please keep us posted on Dr. Bond, too. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones.

Mini on!

 

Interesting. I would be amazed that a collision that caused the engine to come out of the MINI would not do enough damage to another vehicle that would make that vehicle unable to be driven.

 

I'd be curious to see the other car if they ever find it. I know the MINI is light compared to a Jeep Liberty, and if the Liberty was able to drive away I wonder what speed it was going. A few things concern me about the pictures. There is serious compromise of the passenger compartment, which is bad. If there was someone in the passenger seat, it would have been tragic. The engine being ripped from the vehicle and thrown that far is also concerning. But without seeing the other vehicle and knowing the impact speed, it's hard to say for sure. I think this is a case of the MINI driver being flat out lucky.

 

The engine is designed to break away like that, for safety.

http://www.miniusa.com/feature-breakaway-engine.html

 

Interesting, wonder if any other auto manufacturers have this feature in their cars.. Does Volvo? VW? Curious

 

I have been at my job too long so forgive the thoughts on liability. While it is great for the passengers of the MINI that the engine breaks away in an accident, probably not all that great for someone else who might be in the way of that engine. In the picture there is quite a distance between the car and engine. It is impossible to know the path the engine took from the pictures but I cannot help but wonder if a bicyclist or pedestrian was in the way that engine could do some damage.

 

Typically the engine is supposed to just drop, thus preventing it form coming straight through the firewall. It also helps cause the car to slow down more through additional friction of the crap pressing the motor forward and into the pavement. I don't think the intention is for the motor to leave the car all together...this was just a really nasty crash.

 

Exactly. MINI's write up about a "breakaway engine" feature is mostly marketing hype. Most cars have mounts and such that are designed to absorb impact and worst case, fail and let the engine drop. I've seen literally 10s of thousands of cars in accidents and the number of times I see an engine ejected like that can probably be counted on one or two hands. I don't think that was a matter of the car functioning as it was designed, rather the result of the physics of the crash. Hence why I'd be really curious to see the other car.