Monday, February 22, 2010

The Rest Of The Story

I made RockCrawlinChef go to Urgent Care, as I said in my earlier post, and he's fine (which I knew) and they gave him Flexeril (I didn't even have to threaten them for it).  No Vicodin, though, and I'm okay with that.  He seems to be managing his pain well with just 800mg ibuprofen.

Turns out, the accident wasn't exactly a rollover (Thank God), but more of a tip-over.

He and Partner were on the highway, which thanks to Mother Nature, was an ice skating rink.  They were only doing about 45mph and as they crested a hill, Partner saw brake lights, so he lightly tapped his brakes, hoping to slow down before they got to the cars at the bottom of the hill.  When he tapped his brakes, the backend of the truck started to slide out from behind them.  They ended up sliding sideways into the median, tearing it up pretty good.  The truck came to a stop sideways in the median, but the momentum carried the top of the truck right on over and they ended up on the driver's side.  They managed to miss everything: mile markers, guard rails, and median dividers.

A state patrolman was northbound on the other side of the highway and saw the whole thing happen.  RCC says that the patrolman was standing in front of the truck looking through the windshield almost before they'd come to a complete stop.  Partner immediately got out of his seatbelt and stood up, but RCC's seatbelt was locked up with his weight, so he was stuck in his seat on his left side.  Partner was able to get his shoulder up under RCC's hip and lift him enough that they could release the seatbelt and RCC could scramble up to standing.

Now, the thing is, armored trucks are made so that no one can get into them.  Which means that no one can get into them if there's an accident and they need help.  Luckily, RCC and Partner weren't that hurt.  But the doors on the trucks are heavy and they weren't really in a good position to get them open.  You know, one door was under them and the other was over their heads.  The driver has control over the doors, so it took RCC crawling up under the door, throwing the combat latch and heaving it open while Partner released the other lock.  Apparently, RCC had to stand on the side of the seat, put his back to the door and use his legs and back to lift it up and hold it open while Partner climbed up and out of the cab.  Partner then held the door so that RCC could get out.

RockCrawlinChef escaped with nothing more than bumps and bruises and Partner ended up with a small (less than 1") laceration from falling items in the cab.  I can honestly say that all's well that ends well, for that seems to be true.


Side note to Partner: the rubber side is supposed to be down!

11 comments:

Allenspark Lodge said...

Sunny Beach! I had never thought about anti-conscious folks in an armored truck. The "Jaws of Life" wouldn't do squat. 75mph+ice=O+Sh*t
Glad they are OK!
Bill

Daddy Hawk said...

Looks like they will be able to tip that puppy upright and drive away. Gotta love a vehicle that has the aerodynamics and durability of a brick. The downside, of course, is that momentum is a bitch. Glad RCC made it through in one piece.

GunDiva said...

Pretty much the only damage to the truck once they got it tipped up was the side mirror. They had to tow it to the main terminal and download the onboard camera before it can go back on the road. I would pay almost any amount to get to see the video of them trying to get themselves out of the truck.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I'm so glad they were both okay! Those kinds of phone calls are so terrifying.

Anonymous said...

this picture gives me heartburn.

Oy. and I def understand the whole armored deathtrap type thing, hello?! lol. I'm glad he's okay

Anonymous said...

this picture gives me heartburn.

Oy. and I def understand the whole armored deathtrap type thing, hello?! lol. I'm glad he's okay

Anonymous said...

also, I still think this counts as a rollover

Quixotic said...

On board camera you say??? I smell a You Tube hit!!!

Aunt Juicebox said...

Oh my gosh, glad they are ok! Scary!

Fearless_Fabulous_Gayle said...

Yikes! Glad they are O.K....
My computer has been acting stupid, so I was going to comment on the post about your daughter (great how she potty trained herself), and the first part of the "rollover" story.....anyway, all in one, LOL...

Resentful Wife said...

Yikes! I'm glad everyone was ok. I guess you all are more than ready for spring, too, huh?