... or one can only assume. Paramedics at scene would only say "let's just say there's a good chance alcohol may have played a role in this accident".
We (my wife and I, MIL, FIL) were returning from a concert about an hour north of Fort Wayne when we were met with headlights in our lane after a small curve. Pops was driving and was faced with this (dashcam still shot):
With both vehicles going over 50... in other words, less than a second to react. Somehow he avoided a head-on collision and saved our lives.
Scary stuff. I removed my seat belt off seconds before the crash as I had dropped my phone and couldn't reach it... sat back up to see the other car going left of center. Bounced around like a pinball as the van spun and then started flipping. All transported to hospital (precautionary) no broken bones. Mom is on a heart monitor as her heart rate was very low (probably just shock, she's doing well) and we're all pretty beat up, me more than the others. I've spent the last two days waking up feeling like I survived a bout with Mike Tyson.
LOOKING FOR A LITTLE HELP... AVI file from dash cam is corrupt. It freezes about ten seconds before crash. The only way to view the actual crash is to start video at a point past where it freezes. I've downloaded several AVI editors and they either don't work with Windows 7 or immediately just see the file as corrupted and won't play anything. Rather than trying to explain what to do to insurance company and sheriff, I would like to be able to cut it up and exclude video from before it freezes. Video is 1.5GB and two thirds is meaningless anyway. Thought maybe someone here may have a recommendation.
Anyway. Count your blessings, tomorrow is never promised!
Omg that is really scary. I'm glad you and your family are ok.
I'm no expert on the matter, but I'd probably opt for the explanation to go with an un-tampered-with video. Giving them video with stuff cut out might raise an eyebrow or two. I'd rather play it safe and let them figure it out if it's doable.
I thought the same and figured I would just give them both. Everything from the scene was really all the evidence they would need anyway. The video just shows how egregious and confirms the fact that they made no effort to even avoid the collision with headlights staring them in the face. I watch it and it's best described as a suicide mission.
Glad you’re all okay. Cars are replaceable. Good people aren’t.
Damn Fate, that was a close call. Glad none of you were severely injured or worse.
Sometimes - okay, a lot of the time - I wish I was driving one of these ...
Very glad to hear everyone is okay.
Holy crap, man. Sorry to hear that. Glad everyone is okay.
That is horrible!
Thank God you're all ok.
I think that there should definitely be a Dawg around here that can do some video editing, but if I were you, I'd hang onto the raw copy, too, in case they want something unedited and untouched for legal reasons.
Don't do it yourself if you need it for a legal purpose.
Glad everybody is in good shape.
Dawg-
so relieved that You and Yours are OK.
Close call.
Man, Thank God you are all OK.
No suggestions on video editors, but Windows 7? That's been unsupported for almost 2 years now. That might be part of the problem.
Thanks guys. Everyone is doing well. I won't be throwing any left hooks for a while but I've got a mean right jab. Could have been a lot worse.
YTown - Don't make fun of my Windows 7 bro... that's my ten-year-old MSI laptop I have here in Fort Wayne... and it's still a beast!
I have a 10+ year old Toshiba Satellite that is happily running Windows 10.
I do remember when Win 7 came out, and how impressed I was. I hated 98, and upgraded my personal rig to Win2000 instead of 98, but Win7 was MS's best OS to date.
Win 10 is better, though.
Glad your ok buddy. I will keep you all in my prayers for a fast recovery.
Wow.....
Other than, I ass-u-me bumps and bruises, I hope all parties in both vehicles made it thru relatively unscathed.
Is that your parties white upside-down vehicle?
Damn Fate. I am really happy to hear you and the family are alright.
Man I'm glad you are all okay. That's the most important thing. From the looks of your vehicle it could have turned out much worse.
Wow.....
Other than, I ass-u-me bumps and bruises, I hope all parties in both vehicles made it thru relatively unscathed.
Is that your parties white upside-down vehicle?
Yes, that's my pop's minivan. New axle and some bondo and it will be good-as-new!
BTW I have an alibi lol, unless you were hit by a can am spyder, then it wasn't me lol
Happy you all are okay, Fate. That’s really scary.
I'm glad everyone in the fam looks to be OK. Working the midnight shift over the years there were a few times I almost got hit by a drunk.
As for your video... if the authorities who handled the wreck aren't requesting it and their investigation already shows what happened, they aren't going to need it for prosecution. If you want it for potential a civil lawsuit then I would contact a professional to preserve the data. If you want an edited version that's probably fine, but you want to maintain the original for all the reasons the other Dawgs have said. IMO its probably worth the time especially if the the other driver was drunk, doubly especially if they've been convicted of drunk driving before.
Just gonna blow off some steam here.
Insurance parties purposely make things so confusing that you spend countless hours of your life trying to keep your ducks in a row and make sure everything is on the up and up. What a nightmare.
In the end, I'm a fair guy and $2500 per person "inconvenience" settlement seems acceptable for my wife and I. We were just passengers and back about our normal lives in a few days.
Mom and pops, not so much. Minor injuries aside, they basically get jobbed trying to replace a vehicle that insurance companies undervalue while the market for vehicles bends them over backwards. Not to mention being stuck in a state you don't live in, waiting two days for a rental, more doctors visits, etc... yet they are offered the same 2500 each even tough they incurred many more ancillary expenses.
Whatever.
Then there's the drunk driver. She's twenty-one, she blew over twice the legal limit. I did my research... Grandpa (Amish) owns a very large farm and actually deeded her her own house adjacent. She's a "yankover", at least that's what we called them in Middliefield... Amish when they want to be... her and all her friends. Half her picks she's wearing a bonnet, the other half she's dressed like a punk rocker at a party slamming drinks and shots. Pics on her profile getting smashed at parties from age 15.
Whatever. Hopefully she learns her lesson.
The first real curious episode was a letter from the prosecutor to pops. Bunch of forms to fill out, questions concerning sentencing recommendations, etc. Letter didn't arrive for over ten days, arrives with a SASE stating it is due the same day. Pops calls numerous times saying he sent back the questionnaire but it was late because the deadline was the same day. Office never returns any calls or acknowledges him in any way.
Whatever.
Pops gets a letter from prosecutor today. "You were the victim of a crime so you are being notified...."
Notified of the plea bargain offered to defendant.
Double the legal limit, completely left of center, causes devastating accident, lucky nobody died...
$50.00 fine
One year probation
Back to her FB page with the prosecutors name... Ah, there it is... she's friends with her son and daughter, of course she is!
Hope this chick never kills anyone.
Thats redic. Please sue them and let their ins pay for it and you get properly compensated. Like many zeros. You and your family almost died. Seriously.
$50 fine, and 1 year of probation? In today's times?
45 (this '45' thing. My cat was helping me type. I guess.
Wow. You'd think a news channel would love this story.
Wow. You'd think a news channel would love this story.
I would definitely call a news station. And a civil lawyer. As well, I'd report the facts to a local paper and would also send supporting documents to major news outlets.
So relieved that everyone made it through this.
Dang Fate... That’s rough, but I am so happy to hear that everyone is alright.