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Saw 2 accidents New Years night

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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 03:46 PM
  #1  
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Default Saw 2 accidents New Years night

Its a dangerous time to drive. Last night the first accident I saw I was waiting in line to get into a party at club Utopia. So my cousin and myself are chatting and there is tons of traffic headed N, not much going South.

Well a guy in a new Ford Expedition got tired of waiting and decided to make a U turn in the street.

Well somehow he totally missed the old Buick Regal driving, and WHAM, he hits the drivers side in front of dozens of people! Both guys got out and seemed okay. Both cars had heavy damage, the Expedition front drivers side around the headlight was caved in, headlight cracked.

I had another party to go to and my friends and I carpool in my car to go. Even with a 2" drop and side skirts, I only scraped a couple times with 5 people inside

So this is what happens. This older E-class is on the right side and I am at the left at a light. I need to eventually move over to the right side, I know I won't have an issue merging over in front the E-class. Light turns and I hit it and have plenty of time to get in front the E-class. I make it to the next light in the right side at least a hundred feet in front the E-class. The E-class instead of staying behind me, moves left and of course edges half their car over the pedestrian line.
So I look over at them and the girl in the passenger side looks over.


WHAM


I see her head bobbing back and forth and look back and a new Ford Edge rear ends them hard at the light. The driver of the Ford just sat there, looking sick....Substantial damage to both cars.

Everyone was okay, and I left.

Be careful out there!!
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 03:51 PM
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At least neither of these were (or seem to be?) drunk driving incidents. That's what I was expecting.

Be safe
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 03:52 PM
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I got hit yesterday too. I was parked in front of my friends house and this car just backs out of their driveway and t-bones my car. Pretty bad damage to my front/rear doors & side skirt. I just got the car two months ago. I feel like a part of me died, but luckily nobody was hurt.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 03:54 PM
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On my way home from work last night, there was an accident that blocked my typical way home. Couldn't really make out anything, other than backboards were being deployed.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 04:06 PM
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dangerous last night, was watching a car in front of me weaving from left lane to right lane without warning. obvious drunk driver, had florida plates and 2:40 in the morning. scary watching him drive....was waiting for him to hit the curb or something but he didnt.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 05:13 PM
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I saw about eight different cars pulled over last night, and one car crash.

And by the way, I was a pedestrian just walking around downtown Long Beach!!! I wasn't even driving on the roads!!!
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 05:50 PM
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Another reason why we do not go out on New Years. Too many idiots waiting to become a statistic.

This one is very sad, I know if I ever killed a mother , her two kids, and two other kids I would want to find the nearest bridge.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- An Adrian man has been charged with five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide after the pickup truck he was driving collided with a minivan on Interstate 280 in Toledo killing a mother and four children inside.

It's believed the family in the minivan was headed home to Maryland after spending Christmas in southeast Michigan.

The accident occurred around 11 p.m. Sunday.

Police said the minivan was traveling in the southbound lanes on Interstate 280 near the I-75 interchange, when it collided with the truck, going north in the southbound lanes, assistant fire chief Luis Santiago said.

Several people called 911.

911 Calls In Tragic Fatal Highway Crash

"It happened so fast. You really couldn't tell what was going on until it was too late," said one witness at the scene.

Bits of gift wrap and toys were strewn about the highway, suggesting the minivan was carrying a family heading home from the holidays, Santiago said.

Both drivers tried to avoid each other, but the crash ripped a side door off the minivan, scattering stuffed animals, luggage and baby blankets.

"It was among the worst I've seen," he said of the crash scene.

Bethany Griffin, 36, Jordan Griffin, 10, and Vadie Griffin, 8-week-old, all of Parkville, Md., were killed in the crash along with Lacie Burkman, 7, and Haley Burkman, 10, both of Redford, Mich., according to the Lucas County Coroner's office.

A man and two other children from the minivan were taken to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Santiago said.

Danny Griffin, Jr., 36, of Parkville, Md., was listed in serious condition; Sidney Griffin, 10, also of Parkville, was in critical condition; and Beu Burkman, 8, was released from the hospital.

The driver of the truck, Michael Gagnon, 24, of Adrian, was taken to a hospital, but his injuries did not appear to be as serious, Santiago said.

Police said Gagnon had a blood alcohol level of 0.254, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Police said Gagnon had been drinking in a bar in Oregon, left the bar, and then bought food at a Taco Bell.

The restaurant notified police that an intoxicated driver was at their restaurant. By the time police arrived, Gagnon had driven the pickup onto I-280, officers said. Samuel Gagnon, Michael Gagnon's brother, told The (Baltimore) Sun that he, his brother and their cousins were drinking at a hotel.

Their sister was supposed to drive them home, but Gagnon said his brother took off in the truck without telling anyone.

"I don't know why he decided to leave," Samuel Gagnon told the newspaper. "Everyone's in shock. We're supposed to be celebrating the New Year, but now I got to look forward to my brother in jail the rest of his life."

Police said Gagnon did have a valid license and he had no previous criminal record.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 06:03 PM
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The restaurant notified police that an intoxicated driver was at their restaurant. By the time police arrived, Gagnon had driven the pickup onto I-280, officers said. Samuel Gagnon, Michael Gagnon's brother, told The (Baltimore) Sun that he, his brother and their cousins were drinking at a hotel.
Here is a perfect example of why laws need to be changed to allow classic drunks like this (his BAC was over three times the legal limit) to be physically held UNTIL police arrive. Even being drunk in public WITHOUT driving is a police matter....a misdemeanor. Now this guy's got five dead people and two totaled vehicles to deal with.......plus his own wounds.

Many bars have bouncers....if this bar had them, and the law allowed it, they could probably have held this guy until the police arrived.

And I wonder how the Baltimore Sun got involved when the accident took place 500 miles away in Toledo?

Last edited by mmarshall; Jan 1, 2008 at 06:11 PM.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 06:20 PM
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And I wonder how the Baltimore Sun got involved when the accident took place 500 miles away in Toledo?
The family is from Parkville, MD which is in Baltimore county. They were coming back to MD after visiting relatives in MI for the holidays.

It's been all over the news here in Baltimore....

Last edited by Corey140; Jan 1, 2008 at 06:24 PM.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 06:55 PM
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Lets see, me and a new friend were dropping his auntie back home, and on the way, there was a overturned suv on its side. I was semi surprised.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Corey140
The family is from Parkville, MD which is in Baltimore county. They were coming back to MD after visiting relatives in MI for the holidays.

It's been all over the news here in Baltimore....
It is news in just about every media outlet.


mmarshall, unless I am mistaken a citizen can hold someone that is breaking the law and also place them under citizen arrest.
Problem here is that if this guy was injured while being held he could/would sue Taco Bell. They need to trade in the Chihuahua for a larger dog.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 07:42 PM
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I was driving with my friend in his Camaro and hit a patch of ice on a downhill, tried taking a right, and went over the curb into a ditch. A large rock stopped us from going any further in. We got out and a cop showed up about 3 minutes later. He parked on the side of the road where we slid off. There were about three separate times when we were waiting for the tow truck were someone tried taking the same right hand turn and nearly slid into us and the cop car. His car was fine and he was able to drive it home, but it had the low oil pressure light on. I am thinking the oil pan got pretty beat up but i haven't looked at it yet.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Pearlpower
mmarshall, unless I am mistaken a citizen can hold someone that is breaking the law and also place them under citizen arrest.
Problem here is that if this guy was injured while being held he could/would sue Taco Bell. They need to trade in the Chihuahua for a larger dog.
So what's better.....one injury or five deaths? And he ended up getting injured anyway.........in the crash.
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 07:57 PM
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I almost got hit FROM BEHIND at 70 mph today on the freeway!

Some dude in a white older E-class that was obviously drunk, high, or just plain stupid came running up at 90+ and then acted like he had no depth perception at all because he got within 6 inches of my back bumper and LOCKED IT UP and swerved across two lanes almost into a white ford explorer.

I mean it was like I wasn't there and he only saw me at the very last micro second. It was weird..........
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Old Jan 1, 2008 | 10:28 PM
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Originally Posted by O. L. T.
I almost got hit FROM BEHIND at 70 mph today on the freeway!

Some dude in a white older E-class that was obviously drunk, high, or just plain stupid came running up at 90+ and then acted like he had no depth perception at all because he got within 6 inches of my back bumper and LOCKED IT UP and swerved across two lanes almost into a white ford explorer.

I mean it was like I wasn't there and he only saw me at the very last micro second. It was weird..........
Same thing happend to me.

On my way down to Alabama for the holidays I was outside of Baltimore heading South on 70W when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw this white large Chevy pickup truck heading right for me. I was doing around 80 and this guy had to have been going well over 100mph, I only had time to quickly swerve to the right lane and he somehow did not hit me and I had to swerve again because he was in back of me again, luckily I did not loose control of the car. It scared the living crap out of me, once I regained myself I floored it to catch up with him, apparantly he must have done a similiar thing to another pickup truck in front of me or the guy saw him almost cause me to get in an accident because the guy in the pickup started riding the other guys tail. I kind of noticed the guy in the white pickup throw something at the other guy riding his tail from his window.

I was able to catch up to him and pulled along side of him and started honking and yelling at him(won't be able to type what I said on CL). He then started swerving at my car trying to hit it and was yelling back. I was about to floor it, pull in front of him and hit the brakes then make this dangerous ***** stop so I could beat the living crap out of him but I came to my senses as that would not have been a smart thing to do and just said I am calling the cops on him and pointed to my cell phone. I noticed the guy in the truck in back of him was on the phone and I tried dialing 911 but it did not go through so I just stayed real close to his rear and acted like I was giving the police his license number.

This must have scarred him because he started slowing up and doing the speed limit in the left lane with the other pickup riding his tail the whole time. For about a half hour the guy in the pickup rode his tail until right before I was about to get on 81S traffic came to a stop and the guy who almost ran me off quickly pulled off to an exit where the pickup in back followed. As I was pretty much stopped in traffic I saw the pickup pull up and stop at a gas station, the other pickup followed and stopped in back of him, two guys got out of the pickup that was following him and proceeded to beat the living crap out the guy who almost ran me off the road. I rolled down my window and was yelling at them to kick his azz, that was such a great scene.

I decided not to keep trying to call the police earlier because I remembered a friend of mine told me he did the same thing to a guy the almost hit him and another vehicle and was probrably drunk and had called the police and followed the guy giving the dispatcher where he was and what he was driving. After about 25 minutes a cop came flying up and put his lights on my friend telling him to pull over, my friend pointed to the guy in front but the idiot cop did not listen.

He pulled over my friend and the cop asked if he was the one who had called and he said yes and why did you pull me over and the cop said because my friend was causing problems and playing "cop" even though he was just following the drunk driver to update the dispatcher who acted like she was going to help but pretty much knew the cop was going to pull my friend over. My buddy said that he did not do anything wrong and that he was just trying to make sure a drunk menace was off the road that almost hit him and someone else and the cop said he did not care and he did not see the other guy do anything and if a another cop sees him do anything the cop will decide to pull him over. The cop ended up writing him up for a bunch of BS charges that ended up being a couple hundred dollars. My friend said to the cop this will be the last time I ever call the police for anything no matter what and the cop said that is your choice and then followed him as he drove off for like half an hour so I did not want to deal with that possibly happening during my long drive.
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