2006 Houx Annex crash
Discussion
I'm not dead yet! If you are interested in the red speedster that crashed at the Houx Annex in 2006, then read on.If not,don't bother coz its a long one!
I'm the fella who owned it & I was the passenger in my own car. I've spent many hours trawling the internet for information and photos of the accident, but had found nothing until this week. I recently signed up to the Pistonheads Noble forum as I bought an M12GTO last year and needed some info. I mentioned my previous car and by chance a member mentioned he'd read about it in the LeMans forum and here I am.
First, I would like to thank all of you who helped at the time and those of you that have sent your best wishes via the forum since. I'm sorry for taking so long to find you! Yes, it was a Chesil Speedster, and yes it had a Busa engine. I had only got it back from ZCars the previous week and to be honest there were problems that Zcars had failed to sort before I got it back. The problem at the time was a slipping clutch. I'd got a replacement that weekend from Suzuki in LeMans. A decision had to made whether to change it in the campsite or risk getting back to Kent on the original and we all know what its like to breakdown in France. As it was sunday evening and a bit quiet, we decided that we would run it down to the roundabout and back to see if we could prove it was slipping. My mate tried it out by accelerating hard off the roundabout to listen for excessive engine noise against performance. I still don't know if it slipped, but I do know 0-60 was 4.5sec. Which meant 80 could have easily been achieved on the straight.But this is just hearsay from the hospital staff. The Picasso just came straight out of the site without stopping, our brakes probably didn't even get touched. Hence, no skid marks.(not on the road anyway) I know we were probably going too fast for a B road, but I'm sure we've all done it. Please remember that in certain parts of France, unless a STOP or GIVEWAY sign is present, you still give priority to the right. Please also take note that I have heard from more than one French source that if you are a Brit in France you WILL be guilty! I was even told this by hospital staff. Also, check your insurance policies, coz my mate has 2 full comp policies, neither of which gave him 3rd party on any other vehicle.(unbeknown to us at the time).That meant 25 grand down the drain.
Now, check this out. From day one I believe a woman was driving. Some of you guys mention the woman driver. The police report has her husband as the driver. At the time the two of them said they were not injured. Later that night she went to hospital with a cracked sternum. According to GPs, this is common to steering wheel impact. How did she crack her sternum on the opposite side of the car to the impact? It leap frogged her husband some how.Anyway, it's all a bit odd and it can takes years to sort this sort of thing out abroad. The bottom line is the French got 13 grand from me.
My injuries: 9 days in a coma, compound fracture to my left arm(the bone saw daylight!)This now has a titanium rod and 6 screws. Femur smashed through hip socket(I'm stiil awaiting a hip replacement)Pin through my knee and I was put in traction for weeks. 3 ribs, jaw in 3 pieces, now has 2 titanium plates and 8 screws, broken nose, missing and dead teeth, cracked cheek ones, tracheotomy, 2 punctured lungs, 3 stomach injuries, 12 pints of blood. 100percent oxygen and twice given 3 hours to live. To top it all after 63 days in intensive care, you become constipated and I was fisted by the biggest doctor you will ever see, with hands like a bunch of bananas! Luckily for my mate, he got away with minor injuries. Unfortunately though, he has to suffer the psychological damage and guilt. If this woman is proved to be lying, it would help him no end. Had I not survived, he could be behind bars. Not good if she was pissed or uninsured.
Moral of the story? Lifes a b
h, enjoy yourself while you can and then buy a Noble.
P.S. If I can find how to post pictures, I will put some on.
I'm the fella who owned it & I was the passenger in my own car. I've spent many hours trawling the internet for information and photos of the accident, but had found nothing until this week. I recently signed up to the Pistonheads Noble forum as I bought an M12GTO last year and needed some info. I mentioned my previous car and by chance a member mentioned he'd read about it in the LeMans forum and here I am.
First, I would like to thank all of you who helped at the time and those of you that have sent your best wishes via the forum since. I'm sorry for taking so long to find you! Yes, it was a Chesil Speedster, and yes it had a Busa engine. I had only got it back from ZCars the previous week and to be honest there were problems that Zcars had failed to sort before I got it back. The problem at the time was a slipping clutch. I'd got a replacement that weekend from Suzuki in LeMans. A decision had to made whether to change it in the campsite or risk getting back to Kent on the original and we all know what its like to breakdown in France. As it was sunday evening and a bit quiet, we decided that we would run it down to the roundabout and back to see if we could prove it was slipping. My mate tried it out by accelerating hard off the roundabout to listen for excessive engine noise against performance. I still don't know if it slipped, but I do know 0-60 was 4.5sec. Which meant 80 could have easily been achieved on the straight.But this is just hearsay from the hospital staff. The Picasso just came straight out of the site without stopping, our brakes probably didn't even get touched. Hence, no skid marks.(not on the road anyway) I know we were probably going too fast for a B road, but I'm sure we've all done it. Please remember that in certain parts of France, unless a STOP or GIVEWAY sign is present, you still give priority to the right. Please also take note that I have heard from more than one French source that if you are a Brit in France you WILL be guilty! I was even told this by hospital staff. Also, check your insurance policies, coz my mate has 2 full comp policies, neither of which gave him 3rd party on any other vehicle.(unbeknown to us at the time).That meant 25 grand down the drain.
Now, check this out. From day one I believe a woman was driving. Some of you guys mention the woman driver. The police report has her husband as the driver. At the time the two of them said they were not injured. Later that night she went to hospital with a cracked sternum. According to GPs, this is common to steering wheel impact. How did she crack her sternum on the opposite side of the car to the impact? It leap frogged her husband some how.Anyway, it's all a bit odd and it can takes years to sort this sort of thing out abroad. The bottom line is the French got 13 grand from me.
My injuries: 9 days in a coma, compound fracture to my left arm(the bone saw daylight!)This now has a titanium rod and 6 screws. Femur smashed through hip socket(I'm stiil awaiting a hip replacement)Pin through my knee and I was put in traction for weeks. 3 ribs, jaw in 3 pieces, now has 2 titanium plates and 8 screws, broken nose, missing and dead teeth, cracked cheek ones, tracheotomy, 2 punctured lungs, 3 stomach injuries, 12 pints of blood. 100percent oxygen and twice given 3 hours to live. To top it all after 63 days in intensive care, you become constipated and I was fisted by the biggest doctor you will ever see, with hands like a bunch of bananas! Luckily for my mate, he got away with minor injuries. Unfortunately though, he has to suffer the psychological damage and guilt. If this woman is proved to be lying, it would help him no end. Had I not survived, he could be behind bars. Not good if she was pissed or uninsured.
Moral of the story? Lifes a b
h, enjoy yourself while you can and then buy a Noble.P.S. If I can find how to post pictures, I will put some on.
Edited by bernhund on Friday 28th March 08:07
Thanks for the e-mail, i was at the scene I thought you were dead mate, put me right off my McDonalds that i'd just picked up! Glad to hear you made it, e-mail me the pics and i'll gladly post them for you. BTW, the woman was definitely driving, they'd just got married that day and were off on their honeymoon i was told, husband wanted to see the end of the race
G T 3 said:
We were on the way to Mc D got detoured, cos of a death.....but not thank god...R U Lemanning this year?
Hope you didn't get too hungry, some of us are so sellfish! Not been to LeMans since coz wife and family have suffered a bit. Was planning to go this year but nobody wanted to go with me! Next year is definate. Its been an annual pilgrimage until now.
I was at the scene and am glad even after all this time to hear what happened
and that you are alive. As I said in the original thread the Picasso had white
ribbons attached to it which is usual for wedding attendees. I wonder if the
French ever sample a glass or two of vino in such situations? It was remarkable
how incredibly rapidly the occupants were spirited away from the scene.
and that you are alive. As I said in the original thread the Picasso had white
ribbons attached to it which is usual for wedding attendees. I wonder if the
French ever sample a glass or two of vino in such situations? It was remarkable
how incredibly rapidly the occupants were spirited away from the scene.
Oversteer said:
I was at the scene and am glad even after all this time to hear what happened
and that you are alive. As I said in the original thread the Picasso had white
ribbons attached to it which is usual for wedding attendees. I wonder if the
French ever sample a glass or two of vino in such situations? It was remarkable
how incredibly rapidly the occupants were spirited away from the scene.
I'd thought exactly the same thing. Can you imagine a French wedding without wine? I'm convinced it's all dodgy. Still, when you survive something like this, just being able to walk again is a bonus, the rest is just money! and that you are alive. As I said in the original thread the Picasso had white
ribbons attached to it which is usual for wedding attendees. I wonder if the
French ever sample a glass or two of vino in such situations? It was remarkable
how incredibly rapidly the occupants were spirited away from the scene.
I'm not gonna s
g the French off in general. The hospital was fantastic. If you're gonna have a r.t.a, have it next to a major race circuit.So so glad to hear your ok or at least on the mend mate i was there with my brother it was a truly horrific accident and we all had a feeling of absolute helplessness amongst us and others around .We only heard the crash and did not see it happen but i definatly heard a skid before the impact what people were suprised at was how long it took to extract you from your car which i guess gave people the idea you had'nt survived If i remember rightly there was an audi pit crew with a doctor who got too you first and administered first aid
Ok, i guess we'll start with the before pics
Then some after pics, ouch
And some of the Barry Sheene stylee nuts and bolts
And a nice one of your new motor, don't let your mate drive!
Seriously though, really pleased to hear you made it, i started that thread back in 06 thinking you were a gonna, hope you get back to full health and join us back in Le Mans next year
Then some after pics, ouch
And some of the Barry Sheene stylee nuts and bolts
And a nice one of your new motor, don't let your mate drive!
Seriously though, really pleased to hear you made it, i started that thread back in 06 thinking you were a gonna, hope you get back to full health and join us back in Le Mans next year
Edited by JBL930 on Wednesday 26th March 23:31
bernhund said:
... and I was fisted by the biggest doctor you will ever see, with hands like a bunch of bananas!
Best line in a first post I think I have ever seen 
Great news that you made it OK Stephen and, now that you have found a shed load of independent eye witnesses, can you not go back and stuff it up those concerned?
burriana said:
Great news that you made it OK Stephen and, now that you have found a shed load of independent eye witnesses, can you not go back and stuff it up those concerned?
That's what I was thinking. The whole affair stinks big time by the sounds of it -why would the other party have blatantly lied about who was driving if they where in the clear? If it were me, I'd kick up a lot of fuss, but then I'm not so good at suffering/witnessing injustice. 
Hi,
Glad to hear you are OK now, it was shocking what happened that night. I stayed at the camp but others in our group did go to see what happend and I'll forward your request for witnesses. I am a Barristers Clerk and I wonder if you have a good lawyer? There are many good lawyers who specialise in overseas claims and I'd be happy to help try and find you a good one that you can trust. Contact me if you want any help as a fellow le Mans enthusiast, I'm happy to help. Will be in the usual spot in a few months!
Stephen
Glad to hear you are OK now, it was shocking what happened that night. I stayed at the camp but others in our group did go to see what happend and I'll forward your request for witnesses. I am a Barristers Clerk and I wonder if you have a good lawyer? There are many good lawyers who specialise in overseas claims and I'd be happy to help try and find you a good one that you can trust. Contact me if you want any help as a fellow le Mans enthusiast, I'm happy to help. Will be in the usual spot in a few months!
Stephen
sw3367 said:
Hi,
Glad to hear you are OK now, it was shocking what happened that night. I stayed at the camp but others in our group did go to see what happend and I'll forward your request for witnesses. I am a Barristers Clerk and I wonder if you have a good lawyer? There are many good lawyers who specialise in overseas claims and I'd be happy to help try and find you a good one that you can trust. Contact me if you want any help as a fellow le Mans enthusiast, I'm happy to help. Will be in the usual spot in a few months!
Stephen
You know this is all a bit surreal. I would love to prove that I've been stitched up. I've turned down a big personal injury claim to protect my mate, lost my car and 7 months off work. Not to mention more time off when I get a hip replacement & possibly 5-10 grands worth of dentistry. Then there is the stress my wife and family suffered. What do you do when you get a phone call from France saying your husband will be dead in 3 hours? You'd be lucky to get out of England in that time.Glad to hear you are OK now, it was shocking what happened that night. I stayed at the camp but others in our group did go to see what happend and I'll forward your request for witnesses. I am a Barristers Clerk and I wonder if you have a good lawyer? There are many good lawyers who specialise in overseas claims and I'd be happy to help try and find you a good one that you can trust. Contact me if you want any help as a fellow le Mans enthusiast, I'm happy to help. Will be in the usual spot in a few months!
Stephen
If anyone has any other contacts who were there & if anyone would honestly be prepared to be a witness I would be eternally gratefull. I won't conact my insurer yet, but will see what else might crop up.
Thanks again fellas!
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