69ShelbyGT350H 61 Report post Posted May 2, 2018 Physically I was OK. I was going less than 5 mph through an intersection that I entered under a green light. A car in front of me blocked me causing me to stop in the intersection and the light changed while I sat there. They cleared and I then continued to clear the intersection that I had legally entered and now have the legal right to exit. I had previously crossed the 3 eastbound lanes OK, and only had the 3 westbound lanes to go. The first two had cars in them, and they saw me and were waiting. The last lane was void of traffic. Just as I got to that last lane, a speeding Chevy truck entered the intersection and hit the front passenger corner as seen in the photo. The impact was so hard that my car started a counterclockwise rotation, the passenger rear corner of my car hit the front of one of the waiting cars knocking its grill out. The impact pulled my car alongside the truck, where its rear bumper entered my passenger rear wheel opening pulling the car around even more and then ripping the quarter panel between the wheel opening and door almost off the car. My car has spun about 270 deg in the intersection. Both front fenders were pushed back over the front edged of the doors and under the hood. Both rear quarters were under the trunk lid. Both the roof and floor had a wrinkle running diagonally across the car. Surprisingly, no glass broke, and as the impact was on the passenger side, I was safely in my driver's seat, with the seatbelt on for the entire ride. I suffered no injuries. I originally did not think the damage was that bad till I found I could not get out of the car. Climbing out the driver's window, my heart sank more and more as I was able to see the extent of the damage. I was initially given a traffic ticket for running the red light, causing the accident. I was finally able to talk to the car that I had knocked the grill out of and they concurred that there was a car that had blocked me causing me to stop IN the intersection under a green condition for me. With this information, they guessed that I was not speeding, trying to beat the traffic light as a 19 y/o with a fast muscle car and that the truck was speeding. The ticket was dismissed, and as the truck driver was not ticketed, the insurance company (State Farm) raised my rates for the next 5 years. Yea, don't get me started on insurance companies. May none ever have to go through what I did. Stay safe out there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 773 Report post Posted May 12, 2018 G. Nice pictures of your car. I work for Framatome, HQ is in LaDefense. Are you located near Paris? I would love to come see your car next time I am over there for business. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 773 Report post Posted May 12, 2018 HQ Headquarters Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasEd 188 Report post Posted March 7, 2019 Was searching for something on insurance and came accross this grat thread again and read about the crash restoration again (3rd time maybe?). Thought I would ping it and see if Guillaume gives us anymore updates. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mach1 Driver 560 Report post Posted January 19, 2021 Guillaume, I just read your build thread, and felt so bad when you got hit! I love the color- she's a beauty. 1 Guillaume69 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boss429Dreamer 18 Report post Posted January 24, 2021 Just spent the last 2 hours reading this thread. What an uplifting story and re-news my interest in getting my car back on the road. 1 Guillaume69 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted March 25, 2021 Morning y’all! Sorry I haven’t been posting of late. Been fairly busy since we’ve moved back home in 2015. Lots of work for those of us in the service. Bad guys ain’t afraid of viruses, you see... The car is going great. It now has 17.000 miles on the odometer, since it was restored back in 2014-15. Every time I get in it, I am privileged to feel like what I think they did, back in the day, when those were still available new on Ford sales lot. My wife and I are planning a road trip down the south of France in a couple weeks, for Easter. And that will be in the Mustang, of course. I am still in touch with my hot rodding friends from the Panhandle and visited them twice since we moved back. Always very happy to go back. A pic taken last fall in the Burgundy vineyard. G 4 fvike, staffy, Mach1 Driver and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted March 25, 2021 On 5/12/2018 at 2:34 AM, Vicfreg said: G. Nice pictures of your car. I work for Framatome, HQ is in LaDefense. Are you located near Paris? I would love to come see your car next time I am over there for business. Vic, No, I am stationed in Lyon, on the west side of the Alps. I was in Paris couple days ago and La Défense has incredibly grown since I was a kid. Soon it’ll look like Downtown Houston! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted March 25, 2021 Glad things are going well G. Don't know if it's considered the south of France, but my crusty hard as nails maternal grandfather was born in Gap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted March 25, 2021 Yep, that’s already the south. Beautiful area, les Hautes Alpes. I love going there. Did some mountain combat training over there, back in the day. Rough people too, as you seem to have found out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerC 136 Report post Posted March 25, 2021 Still looking good! I would love to vacation in France. My paternal ancestors immigrated from northeastern France (Zittersheim) in the 1700s Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 814 Report post Posted March 26, 2021 Well, look who showed up after 2 years! Glad to see the old beast still rampaging across France. After Hurricane Michael, I moved to Tucson, AZ. Come on out and see strange cactus that are found nowhere else. Oh, and bring some good French wine, eh? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted March 26, 2021 Hey Randy!! Yes, I heard about Michael... So you got hit twice, right? And finally moved to a hurricane free area? I’d love to visit Tucson. I went to Phoenix once, but never to your new hometown. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 814 Report post Posted March 26, 2021 No, only got hit once. We didn't evacuate because we didn't think the storm would intensify so rapidly. We ended up about 10 miles from the eye. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guillaume69 150 Report post Posted March 26, 2021 Yikes... I saw pictures of Tyndall and that base was destroyed... I am glad you guys got out of it safe. Do you still do your magic on vintage harnesses? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 814 Report post Posted March 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Guillaume69 said: Yikes... I saw pictures of Tyndall and that base was destroyed... I am glad you guys got out of it safe. Do you still do your magic on vintage harnesses? But of course! It is what keeps me (in)sane. http://midlifeharness.com 1 staffy reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites