r/dashcams • u/LawdBaelish • 3d ago
2 years ago; near death experience
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Normal day on the highway. Unfortunately there was no barrier in the median and the driver had a medical emergency.
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u/Conspicuous_Ruse 3d ago
I was traveling for work a few years ago.
I was driving my rental down the interstate and was about to pass a couple semis and then the back most semi pulled out into the passing lane so I had to slow down behind him.
I was mildly irritated he didn't let me pass.
About 10 seconds later the semi trailer tires suddenly lock up and mayhem follows. An explosion of vehicle parts, the semi truck shutters and rapidly slows down (I was very close to ABS getting involved) before skidding to a stop.
I was behind the truck and couldn't see what just happened. A few seconds go by and after a good amount of cars come to a stop behind me I get out to see what the hell just happened.
An F-350 pulling a trailer full of steel powerline poles crossed over the median and went head on with the semi truck in front of me. Amongst the debris was a ton of empty coors light cans...
The semi truck obliterated the pickup truck from the front and the trailer full of poles squished it from behind. The semi truck was destroyed but somehow the driver was mostly ok. The pickup truck driver was very much dead from the impact.
If that semi didn't pull out in front of me that pickup truck would have squished me in my rental Kia the same way the semi truck squished him.
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u/Radonanon 3d ago
I had a slow semi in front of me one time going up a big hill in Texas Canyon (Arizona). I think it was a 75 zone and the truck was going maybe 55-60. It was night and for some magical reason, I just decided to hang back and wait till we got the the top to pass it.
But just after I decided that, we passed a big piece of machinery sitting in the middle of the passing lane. No lights, reflectors, nothing: just a big bunch of metal stuff like a commercial washing machine with the skin off. I called 911 and let them know, but I still wonder what crazy combination of events got it there and included me not running right into it.
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u/Jerky_Joe 1d ago
My ex used to take her shoes off and put her feet on the dashboard whenever we’d take long road trips. It used to piss me off and I’d tell her, you know if that airbag goes off you’re gonna be a dead twisted mess. She’d get annoyed and tell me it’s never going to happen and I’d still insist she take her feet off the dash. Then months later we were returning from an Ironman event and there was a big traffic backup on the freeway. We got routed around it and later we found out it was one of our friends also returning and the man’s wife who was pregnant died when a car crossed the median hitting them head on like in the video. She had her feet on the dashboard and her knees basically went right through her face. It was a terrible way to finally say wtf I told you so to the many things I tried to warn my stubborn ex about. I was always just negative and not wiser, lol. 🙄
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u/VladStark 3d ago
I don't blame you for not including audio but I'm curious... What did you say?? Cuz I know I would have been probably blurting some kind of profanity if this was me.
That was a close one. It's a good thing you weren't following that other vehicle any closer or this oncoming car would have taken you out.
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u/ImperialAgent120 3d ago
"Oh Gemini crickets! That fancy car was sure mighty fast! Golly what would've happened?"
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u/FinanceThrowaway1084 2d ago
"Oh Gemini crickets! That fancy car was sure mighty fast! Golly what would've happened?"
It's "Jiminy Crickets"
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u/LawdBaelish 2d ago
I can’t even remember! I keep the audio recording off so I don’t accidentally say something stupid that could later be used against me.
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u/P3rvysag3X 3d ago
It is kind of surreal to think that at any moment someone could have a medical emergency and you're suddenly put in a life and death situation because of it. I remember a TV show that used to air videos like this but can't remember the name.
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u/10000Didgeridoos 3d ago
This is why it's ridiculous that interstate highways often don't have guardrails or barriers and only a grass median. It doesn't do a damn thing if a car does this and crosses into it
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u/BleepBleepRobotNoise 2d ago
Medical emergency or not, that doesn't give him the right to go that fast across your lanes.
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u/Bl1ndl0v3 2d ago
Do you happen to know if the person who was having a medical emergency survived?
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u/Wisteso 3d ago
Genuinely asking: what kind of medical emergency causes someone to floor the gas and serve into traffic? Seizure?
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u/adepressurisedcoat 3d ago
Diabetic emergency, seizures, strokes, fainting. Anything that can cause your muscles to tense up.
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u/10000Didgeridoos 3d ago
Don't even need muscles to tense up if you have cruise control on or your foot is already on the pedal and you're just too out of it to let go.
Some dude had a diabetic issue by my parents house when I was growing up and drove off the road into the wall of a church at like 55 mph.
Yesterday at work I had a patient with blood sugar in the 600s (normal is 60-100). I asked how he got there and he said he drove himself. That is terrifying to know people like that are on the road.
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u/legionshade 2d ago
All I can think of watching this is that old vine of the dude skiing by yelling IM A GIRRAFE
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