dbvolfan
Well-known member
I feel awful, yet at the same time I am relieved that my family is safe.
While coming home from Nashville last night after celebrating my daughters 1st birthday, we were 75 miles or so miles from home when a Pyriennes or some kind of 100lb+ dog jumped out in front of me while I was doing 65 mph or so. I was in the passing lane and had a car on my right so I couldnt swerve...even then, I wouldnt have been able to miss it, as it happend so fast.
Anyway, I hit it square on. I Immediately noticed that my power steering had failed and there was some scraping noise coming from the right wheel well but everything else seemed OK. No CEL's or funny smells. At this point it is 11pm and for those of you who have travelled the Cumberland Pkwy, you know there is ~14-23 miles between exits and NOTHING out there. According to the GPS we were 20+ miles from an exit, the car seemed OK, and I had no cell phone service so we decided to limp on...I checked the front of the car out and it was pitch black...all I could see was that the front bumper was gone and that was about it.
So we are limping along, counting the GPS miles down and then a few miles later both my Check Oil and Transmission Lights come on and within a few seconds the whole thing seized up. Luckily, while sitting there trying to figure out what to do next, a sherriff pulled up to help us. Got us a tow truck to have our car towed to a Mazda dealer in Somerset, called his friend who managed the WalMart to see if he could drop us off there with our dog and let us wait inside while our neighbors drove 60 miles from Richmond to pick us up.
When the tow truck driver showed up we lit up the botom of the car and the radiator was pushed back and flattend against the engine, the oil and transmission pans appeared to be sheared off as well as the oil filter. Plenty of other missing and damaged parts. I personally think it is done..the engine and transmission fried as a result of losing the fluid so fast. I hope not but at least we made it home.
Many thanks go out to the Russell County and Somerset PD who helped us out and the Night Manager at WalMart who opened up the lawn and garden side of the store so we could sit in there with our 1yr old and dog while we waited to be picked up. Finally got home ~2am this morning.
All I know is that had I been on the bike, I'd be dead now.....really makes you think about those (big)dogs/deer.
While coming home from Nashville last night after celebrating my daughters 1st birthday, we were 75 miles or so miles from home when a Pyriennes or some kind of 100lb+ dog jumped out in front of me while I was doing 65 mph or so. I was in the passing lane and had a car on my right so I couldnt swerve...even then, I wouldnt have been able to miss it, as it happend so fast.
Anyway, I hit it square on. I Immediately noticed that my power steering had failed and there was some scraping noise coming from the right wheel well but everything else seemed OK. No CEL's or funny smells. At this point it is 11pm and for those of you who have travelled the Cumberland Pkwy, you know there is ~14-23 miles between exits and NOTHING out there. According to the GPS we were 20+ miles from an exit, the car seemed OK, and I had no cell phone service so we decided to limp on...I checked the front of the car out and it was pitch black...all I could see was that the front bumper was gone and that was about it.
So we are limping along, counting the GPS miles down and then a few miles later both my Check Oil and Transmission Lights come on and within a few seconds the whole thing seized up. Luckily, while sitting there trying to figure out what to do next, a sherriff pulled up to help us. Got us a tow truck to have our car towed to a Mazda dealer in Somerset, called his friend who managed the WalMart to see if he could drop us off there with our dog and let us wait inside while our neighbors drove 60 miles from Richmond to pick us up.
When the tow truck driver showed up we lit up the botom of the car and the radiator was pushed back and flattend against the engine, the oil and transmission pans appeared to be sheared off as well as the oil filter. Plenty of other missing and damaged parts. I personally think it is done..the engine and transmission fried as a result of losing the fluid so fast. I hope not but at least we made it home.
Many thanks go out to the Russell County and Somerset PD who helped us out and the Night Manager at WalMart who opened up the lawn and garden side of the store so we could sit in there with our 1yr old and dog while we waited to be picked up. Finally got home ~2am this morning.
All I know is that had I been on the bike, I'd be dead now.....really makes you think about those (big)dogs/deer.
