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accident update

7054 Views 24 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Glenn B
Hi guys. Two Saturdays ago my wife and I were riding my bike on one of those “perfect weather” afternoons. Joyce was tired from the days gardening and decided to leave her Low Rider in the garage. We went and picked up a friend (Tommy) on his Hoss, and from there intended to go look at a friends “new” 48 Harley.

A few minutes from Tommy’s house we stopped at a red light at a “T” intersection. We were going north, and were going to turn left and head west.
A car coming from the east stopped at the intersection in the left turn lane as the light turned red , and green for us.
We were the only three vehicles at the intersection, and Tommy was on our left. We pulled out and began our left turn. Just as we almost completed the turn and before the bike was straightened out, we were hit from the rear, on our right side by a 93 van and never saw or heard him coming. It was just a loud crash, a very hard hit, and we were both on the ground in the blink of an eye.
We landed near each other on our left sides and she was moaning. Everything from then on happened in abstract time.
I was able to reach out and touch her shoulder but everyone kept hollering for me to lay still. My foot was hurt and some nice guy held my leg in the air for twenty minutes till the ambulances got there. Our new half helmets stayed on and probably kept us from being knocked out or worse. I hollered for someone to get the tag number. I had no idea of what even hit us. My bike was shut off by Tommy and it was lying in a big puddle with antifreeze and steam coming off somewhere.
Tommy started to flip out and verbalize the driver of the van. I looked up and saw some *’n asshole looking at me with a stupid look on his face. Bystanders were trying to keep Tommy cool , and not having much success.
They took my wife first and then I went for my first ambulance ride.

Morphine is good, very good.
I was able to talk with the state troopers in the emergency room. They brought Estaban Ramerez in for his blood alcohol test. The 37 yr old worthless p.o.s. has no license, registration, or insurance, and the van wasn’t his, and the ins. card was a fake. Don’t be surprised, but he can’t speak English either. He is an illegal immigrant and at this point they’re still not certain who he really is.

The witness at the preliminary hearing this morning, saw him coming in her mirror, and then watched him blow thru the red light and run into us. She said his brake lights didn’t come on for about ¼ mile. Apparently he got a flat when he hit me. Probably the crash bar when it broke off. Tommy saw him get out of the van. Then he wandered back to the crash site where he tried to pose as part of the onlookers. Tommy recognized him and tried to kick the **** out of him. But two troopers and three fire police stopped him.
Unfortunately, a 91 yr old man with a new two week old pace maker, also got in the middle of Tommy’s charge, and received a fractured leg when he was pulled out from the bottom of the pile.
So Tommy got arrested for disorderly conduct.

In the hospital we were visited by a very nice old lady. She wanted to see how we made out since she was the one who called 911. And, it was her husband that got creamed. She was funny, and told us as soon as she heard an old man was involved in the tussle, she new it had to be him. She said he “acts like he’s still 71 all the time”. He is doing fine. I’ll have to meet him.

Joyce has a fractured pelvis in two places. But the breaks are in line and will heal in time without surgery. She gets around carefully with a walker.
A good chunk of my right foot was degloved. Two bones were broke in three spots. So the surgeon put two 4” pins in and 60 some stitches and got it back together. I’m over the infection hump and it should be good enough without any further work.
The bike got a rough estimate by email only, and has $8200 in damage not counting the headlight, windshield, and slightly bent frame down by the master cylinder.

We are both just so thankful that the man upstairs was looking over us. I think if the guy didn’t tag us, he might have wiped out a whole family down the road. Who knows ?

So we each loose 3 months of work, we survived with little damage on the grand scale of things. And it ain’t like I can’t rebuild it and make it better and faster ! I didn’t have full coverage on it since I too have the “can’t happen to me “ attitude. Soon as I can I’ll start looking for parts. Now I have the bug again for building a 406 and a new front end and a slight rake !! In time.

Thank you all for the kind words and emails.
Jeff
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Jeff, I just can't tell ya how pi##** :evil: it makes me when something like this happens. Insurance or not ya just want to beat the **** out of the guy for some self satisfaction. Now you will do all the suffering, go through all the hassels of insurance and this guy walks, because all the do gooders in this country feel sorry for him. Glad everyone is ok..I feel better too! :) My best to you and the lady.... Steve
oh man!

what happened to you is our worst nightmare. I think about it every time we ride, wether with a group or not. hang in there (such meeger words). hopefully you can turn pedro into the state for being in an accident and not having insurance. (like what are they going to do? pull the license he doesnt have? ) I am sure you have notified your insurance company? even tho you dont have full coverage. if you happen to live in a state that requires you to have "uninsured motorist' coverage, at least your own policy will cover your hospital bills and the big van ride. there goes the rest of the summer huh? we will be thinking of ya and keeping ya in our prayers. let us all know when you get ready to re-build. maybe we will have some extra parts you can use. you know, the old johnny cash song, "its a 49, 59 69 etc etc........ dani
Jeff,

I got your e-mail when I got home from the rally, answered it then read the post about your accident.

You & your bride get well and be good to each other. "Estaban" is going to reap his reward some day......somewhere........his 'ticket' will get punched and with any amount of luck they'll just send the ashes back to Mexico.

We just went through a horrific incident this past Saturday on a benefit ride. One of our very best friends lost her life in a bike (no Bosses involved) accident that involved 3 bikes and a van. Unfortunately is was the the bikes fault and the rest was collateral damage, but we have lost a truly great friend and two others recieved real significant injuries as a result of the wreck.

It is a reality check that makes one contemplate the things we do and take for granted......and maybe makes us better people in the long run.

Get well soon and when you make your parts list out let me know, I'll see what I have on the shelf.

Tim
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god morning

Hi Folks,

Before I start rambling on, I really want to thank all of you for the replies you posted for us. I passed this borrowed laptop over to my wife so she could read and enjoy them also. You are a dam good bunch of dudes.
We are doing pretty good camping out here in the living room. Our local biker friends are doing a great job by dropping in on their bikes, and mildly breaking my balls by pointing out how nice the roads and weather have been lately. All in good fun !
Soon, I’ll have the ****s of not riding. I thought I could go out on my wife’s bike and take a short ride. I don’t need a right foot to stop, but I can see a big problem if I need to put weight on the foot to keep it from falling over, I think I need a long legged buddy to ride on the back before trying it. And speaking of foot, they took all the stitches out on Tuesday. I have to go see another guy for skin grafts next month.

With all this time off, I have caught up on all the bike shows on discovery channel. All that cutting ,welding , and making of all those parts really drives me nuts. I was impressed watching the one about Arlen and Cory Ness. They really had some great ideas for some of their machines. They sure have my respect for the engineering and fabrication skills they both have .
The other bike buildoff shows also featured guys with some real talents when it comes to building a bike their way. Would it be cool if we could see this kind of effort and visions going into a “custom BossHoss “ show? Actually , I hope that never happens. Two Boss’s in neighboring towns is plenty for me.

On the details of the driver and the van, well. We(they) still don’t know if he is who he says he is. But he is in jail in an orange jump suit and he smells.(so the DA says). And all of them complain because there is no AC at that prison. Ha Ha.
We don’t know where the van is for sure, or who owns it. The attorney still hasn’t called us back yet. The uninsured motorist “stackable policy” from our other three vehicles, got out of any responsibility as soon as they found out we were on the bike. I bet that just made some managers day when they found out they could get out of the picture. State farm (bike policy) won’t accept any bills at all until everything is done . Then, they’ll have a settlement and decide what money we’ll get. My health ins., thru work (Aetna) will reject all the bills forwarded to them since this was a motor vehicle accident. They haven’t found out yet, so we have been using that insurance card for the Dr.s and prescriptions.
So , we have some bugs to work out yet.

I seldom give advice , but from what I know, if I were you, maybe you
should do this on Monday. Call your friendly ins. agent and wish him and his family a good morning. Ask him if he knows of anything, anything at all , that you can do , in advance, in case you are hit by an illegal p.o.s..
Just see if he has any special form you can sign, that makes the ****ing a bit less intense. Maybe even a form where they give you 20% less bull**** if you crash on a holiday.
I think I’ll quit here. Re-reading this sounds like I have a bad attitude. I don’t . It’s a beautiful day out this morning !! Guess I’ll scope out the History channel a while.

More later , Jeff
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Jeff,
I get so mad when I hear stories like yours that I can't see straight! Love the orange jump suit visual though :lol:

Hope you both heal up quick and 100%. I am just finishing up this process with my father after his wreck in March. It has been a long road, but he is 100% as I'm hoping you guys will be soon.

Question; you have gotten me thinking about my insurance. I always thought that my employer's medical insurance that they provide for me would cover me in case of any type of accident...car, boat, skiing and motorcycling. Is that wrong? I know that I can buy "medical insurance" on my vehicle policys, but I have never bought it since I have assumed that I was covered.

Any information on this, from anyone, would help if I'm not covered or confused.

Thanks,

Bill Taylor
Bill, with the laws being different in each state, you need to call and find out. Get ready for the "if this is in english,press one", etc .! good luck , Jeff
Insurance,

Ouch!, I have an insurance agency, (shhhh, dont tell anyone you mighta saw me drinken beer at the rally)... and, It is true that the laws are really different in each state. However, if you have a major medical policy, wether you pay for it, or your employer provides it, it SHOULD cover you in most any accident UNLESS it specifically excludes it. most policys will exclude things like war and nukes etcetc, some exclude coverage if you are a pilot or hang gliding, etc. But i cant imagine them excluding a not at fault "auto" accident. yes, you were on the bike, but almost all bike claims are handled exactly like autos. I suggest you get your medical policy out (if you can find it) and see what it says. They may ASSUME you have med-pay on your bike, and therefore, they might not want to pay until you exhausted all of that money. but they are still obligated to cover your medical bills, no matter what unless it excludes any accident while on a motorcycle, or if for some reason your employers policy doesnt cover you at all off the job. the uninsured motorist coverage sounds like its at least there for the amount you had on the bike policy. yes, some states do "stack" the coverage for all policies you have with them. 4 cars, 25,000 um =$100,000 no matter which "auto" you are in. but, sounds like your company doesnt. again, like you said, its not a bad idea to call your agent, say good morning, tell them to kiss yer ass ( dont worry, we are use to it, -- really. ) and find out what your auto AND bike policys have and how they work. scuuze me, its only sunday, spent the weekend at a rally, and now i'm preachin on like i'm at work. hope this helps, dani
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WOW ... I have been away from the boards for awhile and was just "checking in". I'm sorry to hear of the accident Jeff but glad the injuries to both you and your wife were not worse. It is ashame that you did nothing wrong but YOU will be the one forced to jump through hoops with insurance to get bills paid and bike repaired. Good luck, heal fast ...
thanks V-man. I can't wait to get working on the bike again. We think we are on the right track now, and are stepping thru the hoops slowly..
jeff
My Insurance fix

Hi Jeff, hope you and your wife recover soon!
I had some experience with my daughter on two occations one was a drunk with 15K liability, the other was an Iranion illegal last month.

My fix for insurance is to get:
500K liability
500K underinsurred
500K uninsurred
stacked for all 4 vehicles
full tort
The stacking of limits gives us 2 million in coverage for any asshole that hits us for an additional $212 a year, which should be enough to fix our bodies, car, trucks, and bike!!!!

Ray

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Kinda says it all about the influx of 'imigrants' to the US doesn't it. I hate to use that term, cause these people aren't imigrants here to find a better life, they're here to freeload and suck the system dry, while they stand in the streets and bitch about they fact that we don't alter our entire society to fit their bull**** life styles and beliefs.

It's too bad that the working stiffs in this country have to 'over insure ' their lives to protect themselves from these vermin. Maybe 'isolationism' isn't such a bad idea in todays times??

Tim
Tim, well put,but lets be careful , we don't want to step on any of their rights. They might be able to sue you!
I have a friend at work who is Mexican. He has already told others he feels I won't talk to him now, when I get back to work. That is such crap. He works just as hard as all the others do. I help him and he helps me. Nothing to do at all with the worthless pos that nailed us.



Hey X_ray how far are you from Shippensburg , Pa?
Jeff
Jeff,
Glad you are on the mend and your sense of humor isn't lost. I agree there are too many liberals out there. Back a while ago when I got in an accident my health insurance carrier was trying to deny my claims due to a vehicle accident. At the time CT had a no-fault insurance law but it was not required on bikes. With debate and an atty. they covered the bike accident. Insurance companies can be such a pain in the ass. With speaking to an insurance broker last week he was explaining many policies have language in them that have certain exclusions. Some of these exclusions may not apply in the state that person is in even though it is on their policy. In order for them to write coverage in that state they cannot over-ride state regulations.
Good luck and keep up on the mend.
Glenn
I got the pins out of my foot last week. And, I'm still gonna be on crutches for awhile longer. My wife is good to go, and is returning to work on Monday. She will miss me.
I sent the headlight back to headwinds to see if they could fix it. And today my boy helped take the tank and fender off, so I can get them to the painters. But, before we did that, I removed the ground connection on the water pump, and started the bike a few times.
It was great to hear it run again !! As soon as I can get it in the garage I can start taking it apart.
BTW , I enjoy reading all the posts! Jeff
Hi Jeff!
Happy to hear you're well enough to start "tinkering" again. Keep at it Pal! Before ya know it, you'll be back in the saddle. Hang in there!! :D :capwin: :biker:
Jeff

Glad to hear your comming along. I have been folowing the post and have a question about the pins you had out. I met someone a few years back and we discussed what happened to the pins people were having removed. As far as I can remember they were thrown out or not used again and kept for novelty. My question at the time was why if they were made of stainless steel could they not be reused . What happened to yours. Please excuse my curiosity if this seems impolite.

Bill
Jeff,
Did you get my e-mail about my wheels?? They are for '03 and later and the tires are already gone.

Glad to hear you're up and about a bit more. Good to hear that your bride was able to return to work, need that beer money :beer3:

Hang in there.

Tim
Tim, I sent you an email the other night about the wheels. Thanks.


Bill, I saved my pins so I could check them out ,and also, in case there was a way I could use them somehow , as part of my rebuild. They just look like regular stainless . I found them on the hospital bill and they were a bargain at $15.50 ea.
I think if your surgeon offers you a set of someones elses used pins, you need to leave that room in a hurry ! !
Jeff...Great to hear you are on the mend. I have a problem with those of us here that try to make this an ethnic or immigration issue. This could just have well been a "good ole' boy" drunk scumbag as a Mexican. I've seen every kind of scum in my 60 years and it has never been the sole pervue of any ethnicity. If this is too "liberal" a statement...too ****ing bad!
Joe
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