Written off car
Discussion
Hi tearful phone call from my mum tonight my 18 yr old brother in hospital after car crash. Thankfully he's ok, kept in overnight with slight concussion and memory loss (memory ok up to accident but no recollection of what happened)but his car is a writeoff. My parents have been to look where it happened are completely baffled.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
Equally sorry to hear it. A small piece of advice........... As he`s only 18 I would guess he is on TP insurance. If the car has been towed away by a police contractor, get it sorted asap as it will be costing you at least £12 per day to have it stored. If it is/was a pile of junk then go and see the recovery people, pay the recovery fee and ask them to scrap it. If it`s a decent car get a price to have it towed to a place where storage is free.
I appreciate that your family will be more concerned about your brother, but those £12s soon mount up. get it dealt with !
I appreciate that your family will be more concerned about your brother, but those £12s soon mount up. get it dealt with !
Insurance is fully comp, was a decent car. Dad's sorted out insurance phone call assessor on his way within 24 hours, don't know what happens about the wall he demolished.
Still worried wether he will be charged with a driving offence after my experience with 'failed to stop at accident'
Still worried wether he will be charged with a driving offence after my experience with 'failed to stop at accident'
I would be more concerned with what caused him to go past his turning. If he has some thing like epilepsy he may lose his license for good. I doubt the bill will bother to prosecute, no one else involved he has lost his car so already "punished". I think his insurance will pay for the wall so that shouldn't be much of an issue. Hope your brother gets well soon and it is something stupid like "I saw this bird I faniced and she looked at me and I crashed in the confusion". Well it's better than epilepsy.
chrisbb said:
Hi tearful phone call from my mum tonight my 18 yr old brother in hospital after car crash. Thankfully he's ok, kept in overnight with slight concussion and memory loss (memory ok up to accident but no recollection of what happened)but his car is a writeoff. My parents have been to look where it happened are completely baffled.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
I would strongly urge your brother to get a full and thorough medical as soon as he is able.
The way you describe the accident is absolutely typical of someone either blacking out momentarily or even falling asleep at the wheel; I will assume the latter is unlikely because he is clearly a young, fit lad.
At that age however you can still be fit but have an undiagnosed condition.
Edited by jith on Wednesday 17th January 09:46
jith said:
chrisbb said:
Hi tearful phone call from my mum tonight my 18 yr old brother in hospital after car crash. Thankfully he's ok, kept in overnight with slight concussion and memory loss (memory ok up to accident but no recollection of what happened)but his car is a writeoff. My parents have been to look where it happened are completely baffled.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
I would strongly urge your brother to get a full and thorough medical as soon as he is able.
The way you describe the accident is absolutely typical of someone either blacking out momentarily or even falling asleep at the wheel; I will assume the latter is unlikely because he is clearly a young, fit lad.
At that age however you can still be fit but have an undiagnosed condition.
Edited by jith on Wednesday 17th January 09:46
Agreed.
However, something which has not been mentioned, is although I understand the worry, mothers especially panic.
There may have been a good reason for him to be driving in that direction, or even a reason that he might not want to tell his mum about!
Similarly, I have missed turnings whilst talking to a passenger or listening to music and I am a reasonably experienced driver. As a young driver this is more of a possibility. Similarly, when I was a young driver I tried let say... 'more questionable' manouvres than I would dream of now or even dream of letting on about!
Not trying to be insensitive, and of course as jith has said, a full medical is the way forward, but it should not be discounted that answer of what happened may have a non-medical outcome.
Been down to look at site, the point of accident is about 800m plus from his regular turnoff, the road isn't straight so if he had had some sort of 'blackout' at his normal turnoff he would have crashed a lot sooner. I think he had his mind on something else and realised he had gone too far and slowing down to find somewhere to turn skidded and went off the road.
jith said:
chrisbb said:
Hi tearful phone call from my mum tonight my 18 yr old brother in hospital after car crash. Thankfully he's ok, kept in overnight with slight concussion and memory loss (memory ok up to accident but no recollection of what happened)but his car is a writeoff. My parents have been to look where it happened are completely baffled.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
He was on his way to play in a basketball match but hadn't turned off into the sports centre but carried straight on and about 800 m up the road it looks like he hit the curb, drove along a grass verge, and skidded whilst braking spun and hit a wall with his back end and demolished it.
My mum is now panicing because she can't understand why he didn't turn in at the sports centre, he plays there twice a week, did he have a funny turn and keep on driving? but the road is bendy and he would have left it more or less straight away. and will he be charged with a driving offence and lose his licence (second year of driving) and therefore his job, he's an apprentice builder.
I would strongly urge your brother to get a full and thorough medical as soon as he is able.
The way you describe the accident is absolutely typical of someone either blacking out momentarily or even falling asleep at the wheel; I will assume the latter is unlikely because he is clearly a young, fit lad.
At that age however you can still be fit but have an undiagnosed condition.
Edited by jith on Wednesday 17th January 09:46
Have a proper "brother to brother" chat to see what really happened. He may not want to tell your parents/police but he could've been showing off with his mates etc. It does happen.
However, if he genuinely can't remember and its totally out of character then I agree he needs a full and complete medical asap.
Hope he recovers well.
chrisbb said:
Been down to look at site, the point of accident is about 800m plus from his regular turnoff, the road isn't straight so if he had had some sort of 'blackout' at his normal turnoff he would have crashed a lot sooner. I think he had his mind on something else and realised he had gone too far and slowing down to find somewhere to turn skidded and went off the road.
I'd go for that being most likely, doing a regular journey and mind wandering/in auto pilot, missed his turn and tried something "interesting" to turn around. Or going to fast to stop for turning and missed turning.... Done that one when younger.
Having had a couple of accidents myself as a youngster I would doubt very much that the Police would take an interest in this on the basis that no-one else was involved or hurt.
As justinp1, PorkScratching and Munter have already mentioned, perhaps a spot of "spirited" driving could well be the cause of this.
As justinp1, PorkScratching and Munter have already mentioned, perhaps a spot of "spirited" driving could well be the cause of this.
Just read it a bit more. The road was bendy so he made a conscious (or subconscious) decision to drive past the entrance. You say there are braking marks around the scene of the accident. He was obviously conscious and reactive until the point of the accident so it wasn't a seizure. Best to ask him quietly what happened when mum isn't about.
My dad took photos of the car when he went to get my brother's stuff out of it, to be honest from the photos it's not as 'crashed' as described by the ambulance people. He looks like he's hit a metal post with the rearside (drivers side) then the cars spun and hit the wall with the front wing, very little damage to front wing so suspect wall was ready to fall over if someone kicked it. Front driver's side wheel is at right angles tyre still inflated and rear drivers wheel in sheared off, tyre burst.
Still worried the police will charge him with something - he wasn't visited in hospital, and as far as he knows he wasn't breathalysed, but my mum asked the doc to take a blood sample and record it, in case the police decided that he had failed to give a sample. We've had a standard accident leaflet posted thru the door with the collision ref and which recovery firm the car was taken to, but nothing else. If they had decided from the witness statement he had driven like a t**t what will happen now?
He still can't remember anything and according to mum was getting quite frustrated by it, and no he hasn't told me anything about why he was further down the road, but if anyone will get to the bottom of it my mum will, like most mum's she had special interogation training!
Still worried the police will charge him with something - he wasn't visited in hospital, and as far as he knows he wasn't breathalysed, but my mum asked the doc to take a blood sample and record it, in case the police decided that he had failed to give a sample. We've had a standard accident leaflet posted thru the door with the collision ref and which recovery firm the car was taken to, but nothing else. If they had decided from the witness statement he had driven like a t**t what will happen now?
He still can't remember anything and according to mum was getting quite frustrated by it, and no he hasn't told me anything about why he was further down the road, but if anyone will get to the bottom of it my mum will, like most mum's she had special interogation training!
chrisbb said:
BliarOut said:
Probably worth checking his mobile phone log to see what time it was last used to call or text and see if it coincides.
Mum did the mobile phone check nothing and he was in the car on his own.
Did your mum rely check every possible usage on his mobile ? would she know how ? calls made/received/missed, listening to messages, texts sent/read/drafting, changing music tracks ,canceling an alarm/reminder, looking at pics just received & possibly one of many other functions on modern mobiles.
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