Just call me "Crash"

My car after the tire encounter.

Last Thursday night, September 3rd, I was driving home with my 16 year old daughter and my 10 year old son from the Iowa State football game in Ames, Iowa. While I was cruising down US highway 20, a pickup truck passed me, which in itself isn't unusual because I tend to drive at or slightly above the posted speed instead of 10 miles per hour over it. What was unusual is that the pickup had it's tailgate down and was loaded down with wooden posts which were tied down with a rope, the spare tire was also tied with a rope. Unfortunately, the tire was hanging down over the passenger side edge of the pickup box. As it went by I thought to myself, "There is an accident waiting to happen."

A couple of miles later there was suddenly this tire bouncing in my lane. At first I thought it was going to land on the car but I ran into it just as it hit the ground. This caused my car to ramp up onto the tire, then turn over on it's side and finally onto it's top. It skidded on it's top for quite a ways. Luckily none of us were hurt too bad, my daughter just got a small cut, my son had some abrasions and bruises from the seat belt, and I had the worst of it with a banged up shoulder and bruised ribs. Some of the cars behind me stopped and the folks helped us out of the car. We were transported to the hospital in Iowa Falls where we were examined and finally released after my wife got there.

So we are in the market for a different car or perhaps two. I think that we will get a Subaru after this one held up so well in the accident.

UPDATE: Since I didn't actually get this posted until over two weeks from the accident, I can give an update. I am doing ok but my left ribs and shoulder are still sore. My left knee sometimes hurts too. I am healing but I am impatient and sometimes I do more than I should so it sets me back a bit.

We did get two Subarus after all. A '97 and a '01. More to come on that later.