Car crash in CA

[Just puttering]

I did not see this posted yet.

https://www.ranchomurieta.com/stories/car-crashes-front-home-–-backwards

If it was, sorry for the duplication.

[michael everson]

Ouch. That sucks. Definitely a Factory Five.
Mike

[KDubU]

Very strange. Perhaps in a panic his foot got caught on the pedals? Or the throttle got stuck. Regardless that sucks.

[CDXXVII]

Worst nightmare.

I wonder if this was an automatic transmission. I can completely see how the first incident into the garage wall could happen but I don't understand the reverse into the neighbors house. Perhaps with an automatic and a stuck accelerator pedal?

[Jeff Kleiner]

I wonder if this was an automatic transmission...

My first thought also. I can see a scenario where there was not a functional neutral start switch---guy working on the car starts it in drive---it moves forward---he reaches in and attempts to put it in park but only makes it to reverse. :(

Jeff

[1932]

Yep-- I almost put a pickup into shop wall. Auto and working on wiring, dam thing started and went about ten feet before stopped!

[AC Bill]

The update below the article mentions, " The owner and driver put the car into reverse." so you might conclude someone was actually driving?
Maybe he just panic'd, after it drove into the wall?, Stuck it in reverse, went to hit the brake, and hit the gas instead. The G force kept his foot pressed on the gas, as it accelerated.

[bil1024]

I had something similar happen, clutch switch was not installed in wire dieted harness, started car right into my work bench! Scary crap. I should have known better

[David Hodgkins]

I think the thing to note here is that the person may be a member or lurker and if he decides to step forward and share his experience with the group he will not be made fun of or attacked. We've all been there one way or the other and there is probably something we could all learn from this experience.

I'm just glad he wasn't hurt!

:)

[GoDadGo]

Looks like a MK-4 by the size of the roll bar.

NOTE: And I thought I had troubles with my engine issue.

[Mark Eaton]

It brings up the question in my mind as to how infallible are these clutch safety switches? Do forum member routinely check them? Seems like it would be easy to knock the connection loose in that tiny foot box space...

[turbomacncheese]

No joke about the owner being a possible forum member. Won't get anything but sympathy from me. It could happen to the safest of us with just a small bit of inattention or bad luck.

[h22bomb]

Ouch!

[Frank Messina]

I was having trouble accounting for the busted headlights and front bodywork until I read the update. What comes to mind for the front end kiss was perhaps the owner was adjusting the motor with the engine running, car in gear, parking brake applied.
Brake doesn't hold and away she goes. Too bad no matter how it happened.

Frank

[shark92651]

Man that's awful. From the article it sounds as if the car traveled in reverse without a driver.

Nevermind, just read the update in the article. damaging both yours and your neighbors house AND your beloved project car must be an awful thing to go through.

[glastron351]

Yeah that would really be a bad day.....hopefully nobody got hurt....everything else is just dollars

[Big Blocker]

Hmmmm, lets think about this scenario for just a minute . . . car "lunged" forward. Like was mentioned above, 99.9% an automatic in neutral and somehow got "bumped" into drive - car lunges forward. Now, in a panic, owner leans in and tries for neutral but makes it all the way to reverse, maybe trying for "Park" ?? . . . definitely NOT a stick shift car, that involves pushing in a clutch pedal (read: someone in the car). Car lunges in reverse out the driveway. IF anyone was in the car, brakes would have been applied (I would hope). All-in-all, a bad situation and lucky no one got dragged out of the garage when the car was in reverse - I can relate to that scene completely as it happened to my dad back in the 60's.
Thankfully, no one in either the car or the house got hurt.

Doc