Running a Redlight

It's been a while since we had a little gratuitous crashing around here.  So, let's have some fun, get out some rescue equipment, and have ourselves a good old fashioned traffic accident.   

These pictures were shot at the old house, on the old tables-- but they'll be new to you!   We never intended these to be used as a stop-motion video or anything, they just tell the story of an accident and rescue from various angles.  Ready to go?  Buckle up and click on!

I don't think much is needed to explain the pictures so you can just click them full screen and go through them if you'd rather...  but I'll go ahead and fill in the details here in case you want them. 

 Nice quiet day in town.  This delivery truck just entered downtown while making deliveries.

 Hard to say who had the green light-- but someone didn't stop when they were supposed to!

 The black car slams on its brakes and slides sideways just a little bit as it makes impact.

At first the impact of the black car threatens to topple the van, but then the tires touch.

 The black car's front hits the vans back tire and gets popped up into the air as packages start flying out.

 The momentum of the car spins the van around as the car starts to roll/

 You can see the driver's eyes get wide as he realizes he's going over.

 We don't know who caused the accident but there are plenty of witnesses around!

 Lots of other cars are now hitting their brakes as they see the crash in front of them.

 Finally the car and van are separate.  The van is stopped but the car is still crashing.

 The violent collision has tossed the car over on its side into the oncoming lane.

 Luckily all the other drivers have been able to stop without causing more crashes.

 You can see how badly damaged the car is from its hard impact to the left front.

The van has been crushed nearly into half it's original width.  The rear door knocked completely off.

The driver of the blue truck runs over to check on the car's driver.

 A man runs from the sidewalk to check on the delivery van driver.  Traffic stops all around.

 The driver of the car is hurt and he is also trapped in his car, pinned in the wreckage.

 The delivery van's driver is okay but a little shaky as he gets out.

 Looks like the van driver will be okay.  Everyone around has called 911 for help.

 A police officer arrives first and the van driver tells him what happened.

 An ambulance arrives and the blue truck's driver waves firefighters over to the black car.

 All the emergency services are on the scene and starting their work.

 The firefighter grabs his cutting tool and rushes to the crashed car.

 This fire truck is one of two fast-response heavy rescue trucks that the town has.

 The EMT pulls her stretcher out to receive the injured car driver.

 The firemen begin cutting into the wrecked car.

They cut the roof off and the steering wheel.

 The injured driver is loaded onto the stretcher.

 The fireman helps the EMT load her patient into the ambulance.

 The fire captain lets the police officer know that they'll be leaving soon.

 Here's the remains of the black car.  That's not going to "buff out".

 The firefighters load up their gear and go prepare for the next rescue call.

 The police officer still needs to hear the car driver's side of the story, but it'll have to wait until he's better.

 The tow trucks have arrived, but first the police officer clears up some of the stopped traffic.

Traffic behind the black car will have to turn around or wait.  There is not enough room to pass.

 The yellow tow truck moves into position to clear the van.

 The van is dragged clear of the accident scene.

 The van will not be easy to fix!  It also can't be towed with the crash end on the ground.

 They tow truck drivers reload the delivery van on the blue truck and prepare to flip the black car over.

 To get the black car flipped they'll have to rock it.

 It takes them several tries, but finally they get the car back upright.

 The delivery van driver still wants to finish his deliveries so he asks the police officer to call a taxi for him.

 The yellow tow truck carefully pulls the wrecked car around so it can be towed away.

The yellow tow truck has an articulated hook that lets it get lower under smashed bumpers.

Some folks are going to get dented packages!

The yellow tow truck pulls the car clear of the scene.

They realize the car is dragging part of the delivery van with it.

The taxi arrives and the delivery van driver can resume his route.

The towing company's flatbed truck arrives to clean up all the smaller pieces of debris.

The debris is loaded up onto the truck.

The police officer helps with the larger pieces.

The blue truck driver will soon be able to resume his trip too.

Finally the scene is cleared and traffic resumes normally.  
The police officer checks in with dispatch and reopens the road.

 I think we did a pretty good job modeling the damage to the cars and the whole recovery process.  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting us here at www.bricksburgh.com and check out the videos on our YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/MSIMMONS.