It was a neighbor who was out walking her dog. She wanted to know if we owned a maroon Camaro. She had seen it flying down the street without a driver.
You have to understand that the Camaro has a manual transmission. When you park a car with a manual transmission, you should always put it into gear and put on the parking brake. I typically do the former while neglecting the latter.
D'oh!
The place where I parked was relatively flat. I am somewhat sure I put it into gear, but it must not have been good enough. Apparently, my car must have slowly rolled along until it came to a small hill where it picked up a lot of speed. It traveled about 1/5 of a mile down the street before jumping the curb, taking out a storm grate, and crashing into the back of a Ford Bronco.
Thankfully, no one was hurt. Even though the picture below looks bad, not too much damage was done to the Bronco. Just a dent to the side of the bumper and the side panel is a little smashed in.
The Camaro, however, is totaled. I am pretty sure the cost to repair the damages exceeds the value of the car.
Another amazing thing is that basically no damage was done to the engine. I was able to start the car and drive it back to our place (and yes, I engaged the parking brake and turned the wheels toward the curb, just like they teach you in Driver's Ed). One option would be to get a rubber mallet and pound it back into shape, and then just keep driving it until it falls apart. For the meantime, I am just going to ride my bike the 20 miles to work and think about what I have done.
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7 comments:
How was the bike ride? It's a shame about the car, but you should know that I really love pumpernickel and rye swirl toasted sandwich with liverwurst, lettuce, and swiss. Hope that helps!
Criipes!
Classic!!! I would have loved to see that thing flying down the street with no driver! Ghost rider it is!!!
on the other hand, it is a little sad the camero is no more! One moment, i'm wiping the tear from my eye... ok, done. It was a good ride!
i couldn't believe it when tim described this to me last night...how was that bike ride??? :) thanks to your car, i got to sleep in until...6:20.
k
Um, we still have Gerron's car if you want to take a look at it.
That's totally something we would do.
only you toddman, only you.
Thanks for the comments and show of support. I have had the Camaro for the last six years, so in some strange ways it will not be easy letting go.
Several of you asked about the bike ride. I did it on Monday (but not Tuesday). It went pretty well, but I am pretty sore today. The weather was perfect for it. I kind of crashed around mile 30 (half-way on the ride home), but I stopped at a gas station, had a giant Snicker bar, and was back on my way. The ride in took 1 hour and 35 minutes. The ride home took 1 hour and 50 minutes. I would like to do it again, and even do it once a week if possible.
I know this is late but...when Miranda and I read it i thought her comment summed it up..."is Todd for real??" sorry bra i know it's gotta rip but welcome to the beater club!!
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