Pulled up to a narrow 5 lane intersection stopping for the red light next to the left turn lane in the front without a car behind me but many cars waiting to turn left. Dog was still panting from his dog park outing and had just jumped in the back seat when a large new full size pickup made a left turn to go down the street I was coming from. In one second and a half the truck leaped into the air spinning around a 180 degrees, rear wheels 8 feet off the ground and coming right at me. Jammed it in reverse, floored it and dumped the clutch spinning the tires launching us back almost 5 feet instantly.

Needed every inch of that because a full size leaf spring from the truck slammed onto the pavement right where I had been, just missing my front driving light by inches. Stuff spattered all over my car as the truck landed on the front car in the left turn lane squashing everything in front of their windshield and blowing their tires out. It then came to rest with the trucks right front exactly where my car had been. Shrapnel hit my drivers side rear view mirror punching a one inch hole in it. Dust, glass shards, plastic rained down.

In that same moment as I was backing up a rather flat speeding blue car appeared from underneath and from behind the truck still moving fast; it had been what launched the truck in the air. Mashed almost flat but still scraping across the intersection throwing sparks all over and digging into the asphalt slowed him down about 80 feet later.

Airbags went off every where, people looked shook up and the guy from the blue car scraped his arm superficially in a zillion places squeezing himself out of his car but no one appeared to be seriously hurt. My dog was terrified and hid in the back seat while I got out to lend assistance. Gas all over the place. What a freaking mess. Like I said, everyone got a good shaking up and stuff got broken but no one was really hurt and got out of their cars on their own.

Really shook me up how quickly all that happened and I can't bear to think of what would have happened if I hadn't had my hand on the shift **** and my foot on the clutch. I could have been petting my dog or fiddling with my cell phone like I usually do at stoplights.

 

It wasn't your time. Glad you and the dog are ok. Who was at fault? Blue car or Pickup?

Tom

 

It all happened so fast and since I usually don't pull all the way up to the stop line I could not see to the left into the intersection. The speed limit is only 35mph there but it looked like the blue car was doing at least that while the frame was grinding on the pavement so he must have been going faster. The black truck turned in front of him, the light was clearly green and had been for at least 15 seconds before that - not a case of running a red light,... So I left after the cops and medical people showed up, I did not have anything relevant to say really. The people whose car got squashed next to me saw it all.

 

Yikes! Does your Mini need any dent/paint fixes from the shrapnel? Flying pickups are never a good thing. Where were you? I used to live there.

 

Glad no one was seriously hurt!

Sent from cellular device.

 

Won't be turning anything in to the insurance company because I can take care of the mirror which the checker pattern had faded differently than the other side anyway and rub out the marks left by flying plastic pretty easily. This happened in midtown Tucson, where the streets are more narrow than in the 'burbs.

It seemed like a Michael Bay movie, lens flare at sunset and all,...

 

Ya, been there, only I was one of the drivers. I was approaching an intersection at about 35 mph, I had the green light. To my left, I actually had enough time to see someone was running the light. I laid on the brakes and had enough time to think, dang I'm going to hit him. Nailed him in the right rear wheel, estimate I was going about 10-15 mph as I had some time to slow down and the air bags did not deploy. I spun the other driver around 180 degrees, was surprised.

Totaled both cars, the other driver didn't have insurance. Fortunately, no one hurt. Have since increased my uninsured/underinsured auto insurance.

 

Sounds like a movie scene.....good to hear all involved are still above ground and OK!!

 

Glad you are OK. Lucky for you you were paying attention & could escape.

A trend around my part of the world is folks fiddling with their phones while stopped & being totally oblivious to the world around them. Often it takes a horn honk to get them moving when the light changes. One of those folks would have been crushed.

 

Glad you were in a mini and could get out of the way.

Mini seems built more solid than some other cars.

 

I'm happy to hear you were on your toes and had the instincts to take the proper evasive action. Good job.