Semi wheel out of nowhere!
08-27-2007, 03:56 AM
#1
From NY to AZ
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 578
Semi wheel out of nowhere!
This made my road trip from New York to Arizona a hell of a lot more interesting.
New door
This all happened at about 4:30 am on August 12th, after over 30 hours on the road, as I was driving through Moriarty, New Mexico. Up until then the trip had gone smoothly, the Z had had 0 issues, and my girlfriend had driven part of the way so I wasn't even too tired. At that point I was passed by a semi which must have been going about 85 as I was keeping with the 75mph speed limit on I-40. As soon as the back of the trailer passed me I saw sparks shooting from underneath and then not even a second later it hit me. I heard the loudest bang and there was shattered glass everywhere. I had no idea what hit me and I quickly pulled off to the side of the road. My girlfriend was scared shitless and covered in glass, my door wouldn't open and was pushed into the cabin a couple of inches, and the buzzer was warning me that the the door was open while the lights were on. Luckily neither of us were hurt, which is amazing considering the amount of shattered glass in the car. I proceeded to call 911 to report the accident. The truck had continued driving and I had no idea if it had pulled over at all. When the state trooper showed up I learned that I was hit by the second wheel that had come off the truck, the first having gone through a man's garage about a mile earlier down the road. The trooper wrote the report while my girlfriend tried to get as much of the glass as possible out of the car. The trooper told me that it was unlikely that the truck would be found and then left to take a report from the man whose house had been hit by the other wheel. Quite agitated I went to a gas station at the next exit to get some energy drinks and then continued on down the road, where, about 5 miles later I came across a semi missing 2 wheels off the back of the trailer. The driver had no idea the wheels had hit anything and almost lost it when I told him that the other one had hit a house. About 5 minutes after I came upon the semi the trooper showed up, followed by the man whose house had been hit. I collected the trucker's insurance info and proceeded on my way to Phoenix, which was another 7 hours away. Luckily it being AZ i didn't need a window or a t-top over my head as I was driving. The trucker's insurance company put me in a rental for a week and a half and cut me a nice check after declaring the car a total loss. The rental was great to have because driving in the Z in 110* heat for two weeks without A/C was not something I was looking forward to. I picked up a new door from a local junk yard for $200 and drove the Z for the last 4 days I was in town. I'm now back in New York and the Z is at my friends house in Phoenix until January when I move back there to start school at ASU.
New door
This all happened at about 4:30 am on August 12th, after over 30 hours on the road, as I was driving through Moriarty, New Mexico. Up until then the trip had gone smoothly, the Z had had 0 issues, and my girlfriend had driven part of the way so I wasn't even too tired. At that point I was passed by a semi which must have been going about 85 as I was keeping with the 75mph speed limit on I-40. As soon as the back of the trailer passed me I saw sparks shooting from underneath and then not even a second later it hit me. I heard the loudest bang and there was shattered glass everywhere. I had no idea what hit me and I quickly pulled off to the side of the road. My girlfriend was scared shitless and covered in glass, my door wouldn't open and was pushed into the cabin a couple of inches, and the buzzer was warning me that the the door was open while the lights were on. Luckily neither of us were hurt, which is amazing considering the amount of shattered glass in the car. I proceeded to call 911 to report the accident. The truck had continued driving and I had no idea if it had pulled over at all. When the state trooper showed up I learned that I was hit by the second wheel that had come off the truck, the first having gone through a man's garage about a mile earlier down the road. The trooper wrote the report while my girlfriend tried to get as much of the glass as possible out of the car. The trooper told me that it was unlikely that the truck would be found and then left to take a report from the man whose house had been hit by the other wheel. Quite agitated I went to a gas station at the next exit to get some energy drinks and then continued on down the road, where, about 5 miles later I came across a semi missing 2 wheels off the back of the trailer. The driver had no idea the wheels had hit anything and almost lost it when I told him that the other one had hit a house. About 5 minutes after I came upon the semi the trooper showed up, followed by the man whose house had been hit. I collected the trucker's insurance info and proceeded on my way to Phoenix, which was another 7 hours away. Luckily it being AZ i didn't need a window or a t-top over my head as I was driving. The trucker's insurance company put me in a rental for a week and a half and cut me a nice check after declaring the car a total loss. The rental was great to have because driving in the Z in 110* heat for two weeks without A/C was not something I was looking forward to. I picked up a new door from a local junk yard for $200 and drove the Z for the last 4 days I was in town. I'm now back in New York and the Z is at my friends house in Phoenix until January when I move back there to start school at ASU.
Last edited by 007max; 08-27-2007 at 07:32 PM.
08-27-2007, 06:22 AM
#4
From NY to AZ
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 578
Yes it was very lucky that no-one was hurt, had the tire bounced even a few more inches it would have gone in through the window and hit me in the head instead of mangling the door. No-one was hurt in the house either, just some siding.
I asked the insurance company for the full NADA value of the car becuase the adjuster they sent out said there was $2600 worth of damage and it was not worth fixing. Guess I proved them wrong with that $200 door
I asked the insurance company for the full NADA value of the car becuase the adjuster they sent out said there was $2600 worth of damage and it was not worth fixing. Guess I proved them wrong with that $200 door
08-27-2007, 05:58 PM
#11
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Southaven, Ms.
Posts: 218
total loss?? What is your state law?
hmmm..interesting......A pig in a poke....congradulations from me, lucky you.
however, here, if the insurance company determines that your vehicle is totaled, and they cut you a check, in essence pay you for your vehicle, then your vehicle becomes the property of the insurance company.
They get the title.
Something doesn't smell right....
Here you can then buy the vehicle back from the insurance company, you made no mention of that...
You sure they totaled it?
I have bought back a vehicle from the insurance company 2 times and each time I got back from the state a "branded" title the insurance company sent them.
The vehicle gets issued a Salvage Title from the state. It can then only be used for parts, cannot be driven on the roads legally because you cannot register that vehicle again.
Even though safe and damage slight, its not legal. No new tags..can't get em'.
Unless....
You document that repairs have been made. With pictures and paper trail.
A long drawn out procedure.
The state then has to inspect the vehicle to satisfy that you are in complience, then they remove the vehicles VIN number from the base of the windshield, destroy it, then issue another one, a state generated VIN number, and attached to the vehicles frame, behind the front wheel, drivers side.
Grins and giggles all around....when you get pulled over and they look for the VIN plate at the base of the windshield...[its not]...and they end up belly down, looking at the frame for the aluminum sticker the state placed...
You then get a rebuilt title, which will superceed the salvage title and you can register it and drive it legally, but it is still a branded title, one that you can never clear.
kenny.
however, here, if the insurance company determines that your vehicle is totaled, and they cut you a check, in essence pay you for your vehicle, then your vehicle becomes the property of the insurance company.
They get the title.
Something doesn't smell right....
Here you can then buy the vehicle back from the insurance company, you made no mention of that...
You sure they totaled it?
I have bought back a vehicle from the insurance company 2 times and each time I got back from the state a "branded" title the insurance company sent them.
The vehicle gets issued a Salvage Title from the state. It can then only be used for parts, cannot be driven on the roads legally because you cannot register that vehicle again.
Even though safe and damage slight, its not legal. No new tags..can't get em'.
Unless....
You document that repairs have been made. With pictures and paper trail.
A long drawn out procedure.
The state then has to inspect the vehicle to satisfy that you are in complience, then they remove the vehicles VIN number from the base of the windshield, destroy it, then issue another one, a state generated VIN number, and attached to the vehicles frame, behind the front wheel, drivers side.
Grins and giggles all around....when you get pulled over and they look for the VIN plate at the base of the windshield...[its not]...and they end up belly down, looking at the frame for the aluminum sticker the state placed...
You then get a rebuilt title, which will superceed the salvage title and you can register it and drive it legally, but it is still a branded title, one that you can never clear.
kenny.
Last edited by captken; 08-27-2007 at 06:10 PM.
08-27-2007, 06:11 PM
#12
The Cake Is A Lie!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: WA
Posts: 5,690
Originally Posted by captken
You then get a rebuilt title, which will superceed the salvage title and you can register it and drive it legally, but it is still a branded title, one that you can never clear.
08-27-2007, 06:27 PM
#14
From NY to AZ
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 578
They decided that the car was totaled, but as it had no salvage value, they did not want the car and let me keep it. They never touched my title, which says it is a salvage in the first place (stolen from the PO). I guess it helped that the insurance company did not have a local office in AZ and had to send out a 3rd party adjuster. That is why it took them a week and a half to get it settled. I'm pretty happy with the outcome, since NADA says my car is worth > $5k, but I would not want to go through this again.
08-27-2007, 07:00 PM
#16
Political n00b crusher
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,576
Oh man that sucks! Glad both you and your girlfriend are OK. My 350 got hit with some truck tire debris a couple years ago...cracked the front spoiler. This is the exact reason I minimize the time I spend around semis on the interstate when I'm on the bike.....
08-27-2007, 07:30 PM
#17
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 65
Amazing adventure! I was just wondering about how the road trip went. My girlfriend was asking too, so I'll have to share the story. Glad all is well. Though, you seem to be a bit of an unlucky fellow... snow collapses, semi tires, worn out coil wire at the Z meet... buy a lotto ticket quick!
08-27-2007, 09:50 PM
#18
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Alameda, CA
Posts: 903
Geez... I live in Albuquerque. Those trucks just fly through that area. I don't know how they make it around some of those corners going as fast as they do.
Hey, next time you make that trip, exit on Hwy 14 and take the old Route 66 into town. It's a beautiful little ride, and it turns into Central Dr. in town. Lots of the old hotels are still there, too. Once you're in town, it's really easy to get back over to I-40.
Glad you and your GF are ok!
Hey, next time you make that trip, exit on Hwy 14 and take the old Route 66 into town. It's a beautiful little ride, and it turns into Central Dr. in town. Lots of the old hotels are still there, too. Once you're in town, it's really easy to get back over to I-40.
Glad you and your GF are ok!
08-27-2007, 10:22 PM
#20
From NY to AZ
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 578
I wish I had more time on these cross country trips to see the sights but instead its always a mad dash across the country. I've driven from NY to AZ and back 4 times now and I have yet to spend more than 38 hours on the road. Next time I will be driving my Tacoma pulling a U-haul trailer so it doesn't look good then either. At least this time I switched it up a bit and took the more northern route trough Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri instead of taking I-81 all the way down to I-40 in Tennessee and going west from there. Hopefully there will be no more encounters with random objects falling off of semis on future trips.
08-28-2007, 11:53 AM
#24
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: z junk yard
Posts: 1,271
just to let every one know i live in CLOVIS , NEW MEXICO really close to Lubbock Texas , Anyways i know to often about semi truck tires on the road i personnaly had to dodge a semi " WHEEL " that broke off and flew on i-40 while i was heading to ALBQUERQUE N,M. I was in my 280zx turbo going to a doctors apt. And i was in 4 th gear going 55 mph onto the onramp from Santa Rosa N,M. when i hit 70 mph in 5th gear i was juist cruseing along cruse control set enjoying the ride about 20 min. on i-40 east I see someing coming at me very fast i had to move into the other lane quicky i had maybe 20 seconds to pull over or boost up and get ahead of the car on my right " SO i punshed it ! Saw the boost hit 10 psi the car really moved in that 15 sec i went from 70 to beyond 85 mph passed up the pick up truck on my right side right in time to see the SEMI TRUCK tire fly by me I was scared out of my mind so i pulled over and watch the Tire smack into a car and cause a pile up i sat there for and hour while the State Police came to the sceen it was nasty bruital and they caught the Semi Truck Driver.
Point is New Mexico has very shitty roads if u ask me it tears up brand new tires really fast. " Watch out for the huge pot holes ! " im not joking !
Point is New Mexico has very shitty roads if u ask me it tears up brand new tires really fast. " Watch out for the huge pot holes ! " im not joking !
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