# My girls were in a bad traffic accident..



## chadk (Jul 22, 2010)

My 2 teen daughters were on a trip with some of our family friends down in California. Matt, the husband, had to leave early for work, so Kara, her 2 kids, and my 2 kids were driving a suburban pulling a 26 foot travel trailer (like a big RV with kitchen, bathroom, sleeping areas) and working their way back home to WA.

On I-5 in the heart of East LA, they lost control and struck a slightly sloped wall on their left that was for an on-ramp about 15feet above their lane at the time.

Their suburban was sent hurtling into the air and crashing down on the passenger side roof where one of my daughters sat before it finally settled on the ramp facing the opposite direction 15 feet higher than they started. 

The passenger seat area was completely crushed - the roof\windsheild pretty much conturing the seat. Of course the entire vehicle was totalled, but that one seat was really bad....

Matt and I flew right down to LA. Here are some pics:







This is what is left of the nice 26ft travel trailer:





It used to look something like this:


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## hali (Jul 22, 2010)

how horrific - are your girls ok?????


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## Yourlocalpoet (Jul 22, 2010)

Oh my god, that's terrible, is everyone alright?


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## spikethebest (Jul 22, 2010)

where off the 5 in east LA??? near the 60 or 10 ?

i heard about another accident off the 99 in central cali last night.


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## Isa (Jul 22, 2010)

OMG Chad, I am so sorry to hear that!!! Are your girls and all the passengers of the car ok?


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## pugsandkids (Jul 22, 2010)

How terrible, I hope all passengers are well.


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## harris (Jul 22, 2010)

Dude...You can't leave us hanging like that after those photos. How are your daughters??? And everyone else??


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## Stephanie Logan (Jul 22, 2010)

Please tell us your daughters and the other passengers are OK.

I will be praying for all of you.


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## Maggie Cummings (Jul 22, 2010)

Chad, I'm so sorry...tell us about your girls. Are they alright?

They must be or he would have told us...


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## RV's mom (Jul 22, 2010)

Prayers and meditations for you and your family. I hope everyone is OK - if not, then easily healed. Stuff you can always buy.. family, priceless


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## Jerseynox (Jul 22, 2010)

hope all are ok after that...
thats some crazy damage


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## MATortoise B (Jul 22, 2010)

Man i hope everybody is ok. please post something on there status. Wish you guys the best


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## dmmj (Jul 22, 2010)

I would think if they were seriously injured he would have said so in his first post, but one never knows.


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## Neal (Jul 22, 2010)

Man, I can't imagine how you must have been feeling when you got that phone call....that's one of my biggest fears. I hpoe everyone is OK.


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## chadk (Jul 22, 2010)

Sorry to leave you hanging. I'm still in LA and not much time to post stuff. Copied most of that post from something else I was sending out.

Here is what is missing from the bottom:

Kara, the mother has some bad bruises and scrapes and is very sore. But doing fine.

Her son is 6 and has about 30-40 stitches near his eye. But as most kids do, he is acting like nothing happened.

Her 8 yr old daughter just has some scrapes.

One of my daughters had a slight concussion and had blurry vision and some vomiting right after. So they kept her overnight for observation. But is doing great today.

My other daughter has several small cuts and scrapes and limps due to a nice bruise on the shin. But other than being sore, she is fine. 




This was on Tuesday about noon on the 5 juts before the 710 interchange. Their dog was killed after it fled the scene and was then ran over. We are at a friends house here in LA and after some followup doctor visits will be headed home.


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## Kristina (Jul 22, 2010)

That is horrid, everyone is completely lucky to be alive.


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## chadk (Jul 22, 2010)

kyryah said:


> That is horrid, everyone is completely lucky to be alive.



yes. The guy at the wrecking yard said he has been in this business for 30 years and when he saw the remains of the car brought in, he knew it had to be a fatality accident. He said people just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t walk away from that. The officers and aid workers on the scene had similar comments and were in awe when the realized there were no serious injuries. Keep in mind this was in East LA where crazy stuff happens all the time...


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## dmmj (Jul 22, 2010)

don't be prejudiced against all of L.A., crazy stuff happens all over the city.


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## Annieski (Jul 23, 2010)

Glad everyone is ok--- will keep all in my prayers for complete recovery.


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## Traveller (Jul 23, 2010)

Wow amazing amount of wreck, but everyone walked Phew so 
glad that things are turning out for the better for you.


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## Jacqui (Jul 23, 2010)

Glad all the humans made it okay, sad that the dog too made it past the accident only to get run over.  I have been amazed at the wreckage left from accidents and then finding out the people in it, just walked away.

So glad to hear it was also just limited to them, that nobody around them got caught in the resulting damage. The driver has enough to deal with just harming her own family. I hope she is dealing with it okay.


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## Kristina (Jul 23, 2010)

I was in an accident at 17, I was a passenger - I ended up with my back broken in three places, a punctured lung and ruptured spleen, amongst some other minor things. The car I was in didn't look any where near as bad as the photos you posted. Well, at least it didn't before they took the jaws of life and cut me out. I was trapped for an hour and a half. 

There is nothing minor about car accidents, ever. We get behind these two ton bullets and zoom around like we don't have a care in the world... I am an extreme defensive driver, I don't trust a single other driver on the road, and I can't begin to tell you the times I have avoided sticky situations by being "overly" alert.

Being 17 years old and told you may never walk again has a big effect on your outlook on life in general.


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## Stephanie Logan (Jul 23, 2010)

Thank God for Guardian Angels...theirs were on duty that day.


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## Madortoise (Jul 23, 2010)

I agree with Stephanie there. It looks like the car took all the impact for the humans inside. So sorry that it ever happened but it looks like the most fortunate of the unfortunate situation. Poor doggy.... I hope everyone else recover well and come home safe.


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## DonaTello's-Mom (Jul 23, 2010)

Wow I'm so sorry Chad, that is the worst news a parent can get, 'their kids have been in an accident.' Thank goodness everyone is ok and doing well.....my thoughts are with you and yours.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Jul 23, 2010)

Prayers are with you!


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## Candy (Jul 23, 2010)

Our prayers are with you and your family Chad. I'm so sorry that this happened to them and I'm so sorry about the families dog.


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## terryo (Jul 23, 2010)

You are so lucky to be taking your children home safely. Thank God they are OK. Hugs ....Chad.


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## LadyGreek (Jul 23, 2010)

Oh my, how horrible. My prayers are with you and your family. Thank goodness they all made it out alive.

Kendra*


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## chadk (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks everyone. We are home safe and sound now. Drove straight from LA to Seattle area - just changing drivers and stopping to eat and stuff... Oh, adn waiting 3 hours for the 5 to open back up just before the grapevine as they dealt with a brush fire... not a good start.... We had dr. appointments to finish, and some flowers and cards to give to the first responders and such.

Oh, and it was the 10 just before the 710 that the accident happened (not the 5 as I said earlier).


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## Laura (Jul 24, 2010)

Gaurdian Angels.. Aint that the Truth!!! Never Drive faster then they can fly! 
Sorry the dog ran faster then his.. so sad...


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## charms (Jul 27, 2010)

I hope everyone is OK - if not, then easily healed. Stuff you can always buy.. family, priceless 



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## chadk (Jul 27, 2010)

Here are a few more shots from a better camera:


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## Yvonne G (Jul 27, 2010)

Thank goodness for a heavy duty, Detroit monster!


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## Stazz (Jul 28, 2010)

HOLY SMOKES CHAD !!!!!!!

Im sorry I missed this, and so sorry you and your family had to go through this....Im really so happy to hear everyone was okay. Poor doggy though 
Thank you Lord for keeping them safe. Sheesh. I was in a mild manic panic reading this. Will keep you all in my prayers. Must have been the biggest scare of yr life.


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## DoctorCosmonaut (Jul 31, 2010)

Wow what carnage


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