Alright... so the Mini is in the emergency room right now... hemorrhaging oil.

So I live in Columbia, SC... for those of you who have been there you know that it is a concrete jungle. Anyways, there is a quarry about 10 miles from USC and dump trucks are constantly rolling through the city. So I was on my way to Moes for some burrito awesomeness when I see a boulder in front of my car, dead center of the road.... It is about 6 feet in front of me when I notice it and there was no way to avoid it... traffic on both sides and I was going about 20mph.

The next think I feel is my car pivoting on this thing.. by the engine block. I knew this couldn't be good and I heard and smelled the hiss of smoke as fresh oil hit my hot exhaust... I knew this was going to be bad.

I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a jeep blow its tire on it and a Lexus behind it had one of its mufflers sheared off and the frame bent...

Needless to say we all pulled over and talked.

About 15 seconds after pulling over, I saw the truck that had dropped the rock stopped at a stoplight about 150 yards away so I sprinted as fast as I could to confront the driver.

When I got to his truck I knocked on his window and said "Sir do you realize you just caused 3, maybe more, accidents with a giant rock from your truck." and his response was, "Oh well that's not my fault, call the number on the side of my truck." Then he floored it and drove away.

Iphone handy, I snapped a few shots of his truck, the rock, my car, and the other two cars, then called the police.

All in all, the officer put out an APB on the dump truck and the guy was found and is being charged with felony fleeing the scene. I got really lucky because we were able to contact the trucking company through the police department and get all of their insurance information. Also, the three of us drivers that hit the rock are noted on the police report as "not contributing to the accident", while the driver of the truck was reported as contributing. Here are some pictures!



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Wow that sucks. I am glad you and the other drivers are OK. Good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out after your baby is back on the road.

 

Unsecured load not his fault, yeah right tell that to the Police Officer. Signs on back of trucks saying stay back xx amount of feet and not responsible for damage is all BS to deter you from calling and making a insurance claim against them. State laws clearly state trucks etc are responsible for their unsecured loads that cause damage from gravel to boulders, FYI.

 

That's not a rock - it's a boulder! Glad you were able to nail the truck driver.

Kevin

 

That is very upsetting but nice job catching up to the truck and reporting him to the police!

 

See this is why I like mini forums haha, so supportive and helpful. When I posted my mustang wreck all I got was a flame war over my choice in wheels lol. But yeah I'm honestly just glad that I got one of the few good cops in Columbia! He could've just written it off as a hit and run but he tracked the guy down!

I talked with Way down at wmw right after the accident and he agreed that it sounds like an oil pan puncture, from what I saw there may be some transmission and block damage as well.

 

I wish I could have caught the truck who left the piece of retread in the road I hit. It was unavoidable as I was in the passing lane behind another truck that had lot's of clearance.

 

Yikes! Ive driven my MCS in Greenville and that was bad enough for me!

 

It's the Mini Valdez!

 

If the driver is convicted of felony fleeing the scene (and it's a big if, because it could be argued that he never knew the rock fell off the truck), his career is done. All because he couldn't be man enough to take responsibility for his actions. A rare and lucky break that you were able to catch him. Good luck with your car.

 

ouch! Glad you were able to catch the guy.

 

Lucky is right haha, im just glad that I was able to think fast and get to his truck. I think he will have a hard time explaining this away, especially since he was informed that he had caused multiple accidents.

 

Sorry about your MINI, but glad to hear nobody was hurt....and really glad to hear that you were quik acting and got pics and proof! good for you

I see crap on the highways in the city where I live regularly that these idiots leave behind, ...never hit anything myself...but recently seen people on the side of the expressway suffering from this...feeling for them.

I really want to get a dash cam that I can run for regular driving (like some already have) to capture this kinda poo-poo (wouldn't let me post ****...lol) when it happens!

 

Ok guys it's update time! I just talked to GEICO and they are going to cover it all and then go after the trucking company insurance for the payment. The driver of the Lexus texted me and told me that her repairs are quoted at $4262... WOW! Although I must admit that I am expecting a far bigger number for my mini haha.

Another awesome thing, I was talking about the wreck in my Anatomy and Physiology class today and a guy in the front row turned around and said, "You should give us a call, it sounds like we can work something out." I was a little confused until I read the card he gave me... he is an attorney. I never even thought about this aspect, but the more I consider it the more I realize that this company should not be allowed to endanger all of the drivers in the city by cutting down the main street. So I may very well pursue some legal action!!

Rest assured that any settlement amount would be funneled into the mini and of course I would give you guys a build thread

 

At least you kept your cool when confronting the driver, I seem to have anger issues especially when it comes to someone messing my MINI up and I think I probably would have attempted to jerk the guy out of his truck, granted that would be stupid.

 

Looks like your wheels may have caused you to sit lower to the ground and directly contributed to the accident .. J/K!

That sucks. ironically, I just bought a skidplate from a member here so i hope the non-bouldering other garbage here in jersey doesn't ruin my day.

Hope everything works out for you.

 

Damn. That is crazy, glad you caught up with the guy. He is an idiot for leaving like that. He should have just manned up, because I doubt his employer is going to keep him around. I can't believe he just thought calling his employer would fix things.

What a douche.

 

Your statement suggest you didn't see the rock fall off the truck, and that trucks drive through the city all the time. How are your certain that the truck you ran after was the truck responsible for the large rock in the road? (be honest, there is no way you can be certain)

Your insurance is going to cover it, that's good for you, however I doubt they will be able to recuperate the cost from the insurance of the trucking company.

Also, how do you not see a rock that large in the road until it's six feet in front of your vehicle?

 

Texting?

I think Nerotrobe is right, unless you or the others saw the rock fall from that truck, it'll be hard to force the truck driver to admit it came from him, and harder yet to prove it.

Glad your insurance is going to step in tho, let us know how bad it is and post some pics if you can.

 

Ever read the signs on those monsters? "NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OBJECTS COMING FROM THE ROAD" and "STAY BACK 100 FEET". I always found those disclaimers to be dubious at best.

 

There is a small possibility that it wasn't that truck, but it is highly unlikely. I saw an object fall out of the back, although I couldn't tell how big it was. There was a raised F-150 in front of me (between me and the dump truck) and this rock was so large that nothing other than a lifted truck couldve driven over it. So obviously this rock had just hit the road because after it played pinball with all the cars behind it, it was knocked off to the side. It was dead center of the road, so obviously no car had hit it yet and I was the next person behind the dump truck after the F-150. Regardless, the driver was informed that he had caused an accident (or at the very least was suspected of it) and chose to drive away. He also confirmed that he was hauling a load of large grey rocks before I told him he had caused an accident. So there is like a 2-3% chance that it wasn't him... Their insurance company will have a very tough time explaining away the police report and 3 witnesses.

However, if for whatever reason they dont compensate me, the woman who drove the lexus (who is a DOT worker) assured me that it would be possible to file the incident as a road hazard with the DOT. Someone is paying for this, there is no reason a giant boulder should be lying in the center of the street.

 

Also we were in very tight, fast moving traffic, so this rock came up on me fast. It was so large that the 2 seconds of reaction time that I had weren't enough to rule out that it wasn't just a giant piece of styrofoam. There was honestly no option but to run over it and pray, because there was a full lane of traffic on my left and a guard rail on my right. If you think explaining how I am not liable for the rock incident is hard, just imagine how hard it would be to explain why I swerved into the opposite lane of traffic to avoid some mystery rock... I think I really would've been screwed in that case.

 

Oh yeah, I'm stopping by the body/repair shop tomorrow to take a look at her so I will try to get some undercarriage shots for you guys!

 

Get some fresh tires with the insurance money, they look a little thin...

Good job snagging the culprit. Call you **** Tracy!

So I guess ***** is filtered out. Richard Tracy?