Drove away from an Accident

[FLtoCOTransplant]

Driving up I-25 today from Monument, CO with our new “to us” boat (like had just handed the guy a check 30 minutes before) traffic started to slow and so I started to slow. A silver Tahoe came speeding past on my left, applied their brakes but to late to fully stop before taking out the vehicle in front of them. So they slammed on their brakes, swerved, hitting the vehicle in front of them and careening into my lane. I hit them at a 45 degree angle - passenger door and front quarter panel. They bounce off and glass rained down on the truck- not sure if the collision or the sound of the glass woke up my son in the back.

I roll to a stop and try and take an inventory of the situation. Son is OK, I am OK and we will see about the truck and the other people. Lots of Good Samaritans stop to check on everyone. One of Colorado’s finest is there in 2 minutes!Fortunately most are OK, the front passenger had to be taken to the hospital with what appeared to be a leg injury. I didn’t talk to them, just looked back.

I didn’t turn the truck off when I came to a stop. I wasn’t sure how long we would be there and with my three year old son in the cab I wanted to keep the air conditioner running. I wasn’t leaking fluids and everything in the engine bay seemed to be working...I was amazed at this. So when the State Patrol asked me to move down to the next exit, I drove away.

After filling out the police report, one of the tow truck guys helped me change the front drivers side tire which had a nice gouge done to the wire in it and pull the bumper away from the tire so it wouldn’t rub. Then I drove the boat on down to Tommy’s in Golden to get checked out. She towed like nothing had happened but after dropping the boat off I did have a check engine light come on. (Will the scanners at Auto Zone read the new 2019 computers?)

The PW handled the accident amazingly. I think we hit them at 30-40 MPH and since it was a glancing blow the impact was not enough to deploy the airbags. Since I got the truck two months ago I have felt very secure in her and she proved it to me today.

Now to get her fixed. When they delivered the truck one of the key fobs wasn’t working and it was estimated to take three months to arrive. Wonder if body parts are as back logged as electronics? Hopefully they can get her in working legal condition while I wait for the 2019 Thuren front bumper...

Thoughts on changing up the grill to go body color? Not a huge fan of the Handle bar mustache but I do like the black. Here are some picks of the before and after.

Stay safe everyone! Rich







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[RustyPW]

Sorry to hear about this. Glad that everyone is ok.

[waldo]

Damn,that really sucks on a new vehicle.

Hard to say about the check engine light. The active shutters behind the grill could be damaged though.

I'd go for a diminished value claim with the insurance and trade it as soon as it got out of the body shop.

[FordyceCreekTrail]

The problem with a 2019 is none have been wrecked or worn out yet, so the parts chain is lean compared to prior models. I would not be terribly surprised at a delay on parts. But that means a free rental with free wear and tear, and you can get a truck. WHOO HOOO free car. Thats how I look at it even if it is not a PW.

Looking at the damage I have a theory the tow hook some how really took the brunt of the force. It looks like you slammed it into a boulder.

[04Ram2500Hemi]

Vehicles can be repaired or replaced. Glad to hear you and your son are ok.

[Oilbrnr]

I hope that front frame horn isn't bent too bad. As FDCT stated, that hook took the hit.

[Bill2014]

Glad the family is OK!

Sucks that this happened to you.

[StefanB]

You might want to think about going with the Tradesman grill

[FLtoCOTransplant]

Update- 7K plus of damage based upon initial estimates. Guy that caused the accident didn’t pay his premiums (he did have a card showing insurance coverage so I suggest everyone- call the other parties insurance while they and the police are present since the police can’t do anything after the fact) will have to go through StateFarm and let them deal with him in court.

I like the idea of the tradesman grill. Can I move the forward camera from this grill to the tradesman grill?


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