long travel rail crash on open trailer story.

[1320]

Me and a freind were tooling around looking at rails, and looking for dunefreak to try and get a ride as we spotted a wrecked rail on an open trailer. This thing was demolished. It was a very nce long travel car. We looked it over pretty good. Many broken chassis bars, almost all of the suspension bent or broken. The drivers seat bent, head rest bent, bars bent, steering wheel bent, remaining wheels bent, etc.....

A few minutes later we talk to a teenager breifly, then the owner comes out. The story.

He arrived thursday night. He was in his 40's maybe early 50's. Said he's been duning his entire life, going to dumont since he was a kid. He had just bought this long travel car in september, new. He had it once before last weekend. He arrive, put his paddles on and decided to just go for a quick ride. He said he isnt a jumper anymore, just likes duning. It was dark. He went by himself. The wind was blowing alittle. As he climbed a hill near the back side of comp, he thinks the wind was blowing up the dune, so it looked like it went further. It did not. He went off the top of the hill in the top of second gear (ls1 car) he figures probably around 70 mph. He said he was air born for what seemed like forever. He landed on the nose straight down, and cart wheeled many times end of end down the hill. No one saw the wreck. He lost his shoe in the wreck. The radio to base camp wouldnt reach anyone, no one either had theirs on or his was broken. He was bleeding, from the head (lol to you no helmet guys) . He walked for around 20 minutes, then at some point went back to his car, on its side, and flashed its lights to people he could see, they didnt see him or come to him. He waited, and did it again for some on quads, and they saw him. Two paramidics inthe group. They got a rail to get him back to camp. He had a bruised foot, (lost shoe), a cut on his head (minor it turned out) and a black eye. He also stated a huge bruise from his lap belt. Thats all besides soreness. The car was hurt bad, maybe fixable, but probably not .

He said, in hind sight he

1. shouldnt have gone alone.

2. shouldnt have thought it would just be a short easy ride

3. should have had some sort of communication.

4. flash light

He also said, he knows he got incredibly lucky, esspecially considering the circumstances. Almost any injury would have killed him (with no help around), with his freinds and family only a mile away.

[dunefreak]

Wow, thanks for sharing the story, Walt. I am glad he is ok. You have to treat every ride, even a quick short one, as safe as possible.

[1320]

Walt? do I look like a walt? its Jon.....

[dunefreak]

Walt? do I look like a walt? its Jon.....

oops, sorry Jon. :north_pole: You guys and your damn number screen names. b370, 1320

[dunefreak]

This makes sense now because I was camping with Walt and I was wondering why he'd be trying to find me for a ride. :north_pole:

[lvnalolife]

Glad to here he was ok. The wind and dumont makes for a scary time. Its hard enough in the day to ride with the wind pushing over the ridges, but at night, I can only imagine what that ride was like. Did a simalar thing when I broke my shoulder on my quad, it does feel like you are in the air forever!

[Spider]

Glad to here he was ok. The wind and dumont makes for a scary time. Its hard enough in the day to ride with the wind pushing over the ridges, but at night, I can only imagine what that ride was like. Did a simalar thing when I broke my shoulder on my quad, it does feel like you are in the air forever!

how about hindsight number 5: a helmet...this time he was very lucky, but may not be the next time....just my opinion.

[SandBox_Kid]

:north_pole: It never fails.

[1BADYFZ]

Be safe guys, safety first..... :north_pole:

[dunefreak]

how about hindsight number 5: a helmet...this time he was very lucky, but may not be the next time....just my opinion.

or maybe next time he'll get struck by lightning while duning- you just never know

He survived w/o a helmet...luck or not...he survived. Let's just be thankfull for that.

[sanddunesaddict]

how about hindsight number 5: a helmet...this time he was very lucky, but may not be the next time....just my opinion.

Not this again

[racertim23]

Me and a freind were tooling around looking at rails, and looking for dunefreak to try and get a ride as we spotted a wrecked rail on an open trailer. This thing was demolished. It was a very nce long travel car. We looked it over pretty good. Many broken chassis bars, almost all of the suspension bent or broken. The drivers seat bent, head rest bent, bars bent, steering wheel bent, remaining wheels bent, etc.....

A few minutes later we talk to a teenager breifly, then the owner comes out. The story.

He arrived thursday night. He was in his 40's maybe early 50's. Said he's been duning his entire life, going to dumont since he was a kid. He had just bought this long travel car in september, new. He had it once before last weekend. He arrive, put his paddles on and decided to just go for a quick ride. He said he isnt a jumper anymore, just likes duning. It was dark. He went by himself. The wind was blowing alittle. As he climbed a hill near the back side of comp, he thinks the wind was blowing up the dune, so it looked like it went further. It did not. He went off the top of the hill in the top of second gear (ls1 car) he figures probably around 70 mph. He said he was air born for what seemed like forever. He landed on the nose straight down, and cart wheeled many times end of end down the hill. No one saw the wreck. He lost his shoe in the wreck. The radio to base camp wouldnt reach anyone, no one either had theirs on or his was broken. He was bleeding, from the head (lol to you no helmet guys) . He walked for around 20 minutes, then at some point went back to his car, on its side, and flashed its lights to people he could see, they didnt see him or come to him. He waited, and did it again for some on quads, and they saw him. Two paramidics inthe group. They got a rail to get him back to camp. He had a bruised foot, (lost shoe), a cut on his head (minor it turned out) and a black eye. He also stated a huge bruise from his lap belt. Thats all besides soreness. The car was hurt bad, maybe fixable, but probably not .

He said, in hind sight he

1. shouldnt have gone alone.

2. shouldnt have thought it would just be a short easy ride

3. should have had some sort of communication.

4. flash light

He also said, he knows he got incredibly lucky, esspecially considering the circumstances. Almost any injury would have killed him (with no help around), with his freinds and family only a mile away.

Every word you said is true, except the the age. He is 36. How do I know this? Went to high school with him. Had'nt seen him since school, then I roll into camp Friday morning, and greetings!!! I must say, the morning after made him look much older We loaded the car onto my trailer, and my stuff in his to get everything back home. It was amazing how many people stopped by to look, and how many different opinions there were. The end result was a horrific crash that resulted in a totaled car and driver that walked away. I am sure he and his family could care less about the car. It was my advice to build another just like it, with a couple of changes. He hit the wink mirror wich was mounted to close, if your seat belts arent tightened enough. Hence the blood from the head. And loose the seats with adjustable headrest, they just layed over. The arms seamed a little to thin, but maybe it was them folding under and absorbing energy that saved his life. Tuff call there. We might have photos to post if we can extract them from a camera phone.

[JoeDuner]

Me and a freind were tooling around looking at rails, and looking for dunefreak to try and get a ride as we spotted a wrecked rail on an open trailer. This thing was demolished. It was a very nce long travel car. We looked it over pretty good. Many broken chassis bars, almost all of the suspension bent or broken. The drivers seat bent, head rest bent, bars bent, steering wheel bent, remaining wheels bent, etc.....

A few minutes later we talk to a teenager breifly, then the owner comes out. The story.

He arrived thursday night. He was in his 40's maybe early 50's. Said he's been duning his entire life, going to dumont since he was a kid. He had just bought this long travel car in september, new. He had it once before last weekend. He arrive, put his paddles on and decided to just go for a quick ride. He said he isnt a jumper anymore, just likes duning. It was dark. He went by himself. The wind was blowing alittle. As he climbed a hill near the back side of comp, he thinks the wind was blowing up the dune, so it looked like it went further. It did not. He went off the top of the hill in the top of second gear (ls1 car) he figures probably around 70 mph. He said he was air born for what seemed like forever. He landed on the nose straight down, and cart wheeled many times end of end down the hill. No one saw the wreck. He lost his shoe in the wreck. The radio to base camp wouldnt reach anyone, no one either had theirs on or his was broken. He was bleeding, from the head (lol to you no helmet guys) . He walked for around 20 minutes, then at some point went back to his car, on its side, and flashed its lights to people he could see, they didnt see him or come to him. He waited, and did it again for some on quads, and they saw him. Two paramidics inthe group. They got a rail to get him back to camp. He had a bruised foot, (lost shoe), a cut on his head (minor it turned out) and a black eye. He also stated a huge bruise from his lap belt. Thats all besides soreness. The car was hurt bad, maybe fixable, but probably not .

He said, in hind sight he

1. shouldnt have gone alone.

2. shouldnt have thought it would just be a short easy ride

3. should have had some sort of communication.

4. flash light

He also said, he knows he got incredibly lucky, esspecially considering the circumstances. Almost any injury would have killed him (with no help around), with his freinds and family only a mile away.

LOL.........this is no laughing matter, even if you are trying to make a point. And 70 MPH in second, I think not.

Glad to hear he wasn't seriously injured. Definately want your belts to be tight.

[Don29palms]

I think that people shouldn't go riding after dark. Most of the more serious accidents I've ever seen or heard about happen at night. It is very unsafe to ride at night. There should be a law to stop people from riding in the dunes after sundown.

[OGP]

Me and a freind were tooling around looking at rails, and looking for dunefreak to try and get a ride as we spotted a wrecked rail on an open trailer. This thing was demolished. It was a very nce long travel car. We looked it over pretty good. Many broken chassis bars, almost all of the suspension bent or broken. The drivers seat bent, head rest bent, bars bent, steering wheel bent, remaining wheels bent, etc.....

A few minutes later we talk to a teenager breifly, then the owner comes out. The story.

He arrived thursday night. He was in his 40's maybe early 50's. Said he's been duning his entire life, going to dumont since he was a kid. He had just bought this long travel car in september, new. He had it once before last weekend. He arrive, put his paddles on and decided to just go for a quick ride. He said he isnt a jumper anymore, just likes duning. It was dark. He went by himself. The wind was blowing alittle. As he climbed a hill near the back side of comp, he thinks the wind was blowing up the dune, so it looked like it went further. It did not. He went off the top of the hill in the top of second gear (ls1 car) he figures probably around 70 mph. He said he was air born for what seemed like forever. He landed on the nose straight down, and cart wheeled many times end of end down the hill. No one saw the wreck. He lost his shoe in the wreck. The radio to base camp wouldnt reach anyone, no one either had theirs on or his was broken. He was bleeding, from the head (lol to you no helmet guys) . He walked for around 20 minutes, then at some point went back to his car, on its side, and flashed its lights to people he could see, they didnt see him or come to him. He waited, and did it again for some on quads, and they saw him. Two paramidics inthe group. They got a rail to get him back to camp. He had a bruised foot, (lost shoe), a cut on his head (minor it turned out) and a black eye. He also stated a huge bruise from his lap belt. Thats all besides soreness. The car was hurt bad, maybe fixable, but probably not .

He said, in hind sight he

1. shouldnt have gone alone.

2. shouldnt have thought it would just be a short easy ride

3. should have had some sort of communication.

4. flash light

He also said, he knows he got incredibly lucky, esspecially considering the circumstances. Almost any injury would have killed him (with no help around), with his freinds and family only a mile away.

LUCKILY HE WASNT WEARING A HELMET, THE EXTRA WEIGHT OF THE HELMET AND THE SUDDEN STOP MAY HAVE BROKEN HIS NECK!!!!!

[Don29palms]

LUCKILY HE WASNT WEARING A HELMET, THE EXTRA WEIGHT OF THE HELMET AND THE SUDDEN STOP MAY HAVE BROKEN HIS NECK!!!!!

Yeah! And he shouldn't have been duning after dark.

[gon2retire]

I have photos of the car, as soon as I can figure out how to get them out of my phone. He was very lucky, and he knows it,

[Spider]

LUCKILY HE WASNT WEARING A HELMET, THE EXTRA WEIGHT OF THE HELMET AND THE SUDDEN STOP MAY HAVE BROKEN HIS NECK!!!!!

somehow i dont think the two pound helmet would have done that :eatdrink021:

[OGP]

somehow i dont think the two pound helmet would have done that :eatdrink021:

iF THE EXTRA WEIGHT WOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, WHY DO NASCAR RACERS WEAR HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINTS?

[barefoot bob]

actually a 2lb helmet killed a dune rider in big bowl about 4 years ago he landed his jump but the whip lash snapped his neck. he jumped into big bowl. I m not saying anything pro or con just kind of wierd incident.

im glad the guy is ok it could happen to anyone . there was a guy named chilidog man he lives in orange county. they were loading up to go home he was pulling his rail around to load it in the trailer. no seatbelt did hotrodding or whatever and was killed . Wife kids succesfull bussiness gone...........

every ride should be treated the same safley as possible.

and lastly you cannot get 70 mph out of 2nd gear in a sand car, but im sure whatever speed it was. was to fast.

thats why nascar introduced the neck piece they wear now my son uses somthing very similar when he rides his dirt bike it ties to his chest protector

jusy my 2 cents reflecting i guess.............

Edited November 15, 2006 by barefoot bob

[Spider]

iF THE EXTRA WEIGHT WOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, WHY DO NASCAR RACERS WEAR HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINTS?

B/c they do 200 mph not 40

[dunefreak]

B/c they do 200 mph not 40

40???

The top speed of sandcars is much more than 40. Even a POS volkswagon can reach 60-70 mph very easy in the dunes.

[1320]

most of the information was directly from him. I guessed on the age but he did have a black eye, was pretty swollen etc.... 36 makes more sence I guess cause his son was pretty young.

As for 70...thats what he said, I didnt really question it, my street cars withs ls1's go to 62-65 in first, 120 in second with a 26-28 inch tall tire. So if he had 4.10-4.56 or something similar I could see it. He also had a boost gauge on the dash (not turboed yet) but maybe it was geared for turboes. In any case, yes a helmet would have limited his head facial lacerations, any beyond anything else he was lucky and the car held up were it needed to. The passenger comparment was pretty much perfect, compared to the rest.

Im glad he walked out and talked to us, because if you just look at the car, you feel like he was probably hurt.

The only reason I look at the wrecks is to learn more about what to do and what not to do. He is a very experienced duner for many years, and that alone doesnt make you untouchable, it may have contributed to him surviving though. He used his experince to choose a car, he used his experience to get the attention of passing duners etc....

[Don29palms]

most of the information was directly from him. I guessed on the age but he did have a black eye, was pretty swollen etc.... 36 makes more sence I guess cause his son was pretty young.

As for 70...thats what he said, I didnt really question it, my street cars withs ls1's go to 62-65 in first, 120 in second with a 26-28 inch tall tire. So if he had 4.10-4.56 or something similar I could see it. He also had a boost gauge on the dash (not turboed yet) but maybe it was geared for turboes. In any case, yes a helmet would have limited his head facial lacerations, any beyond anything else he was lucky and the car held up were it needed to. The passenger comparment was pretty much perfect, compared to the rest.

Im glad he walked out and talked to us, because if you just look at the car, you feel like he was probably hurt.

The only reason I look at the wrecks is to learn more about what to do and what not to do. He is a very experienced duner for many years, and that alone doesnt make you untouchable, it may have contributed to him surviving though. He used his experince to choose a car, he used his experience to get the attention of passing duners etc....

If his seatbelt was tightened like it should have been he wouldn't have gotten his face all cut up either. Let's not start this helmet BS again.If he wouldn't have been duning at night he could have judged the top of the dune better. If he turned before the top of the dune he wouldn't have crashed at all. That word IF is a pretty big word. Let's just be glad he's OKAY and hopefully it won't happen again. Lesson Learned.

Edited November 16, 2006 by Don29palms

[im337337]

Glad to here he was ok. The wind and dumont makes for a scary time. Its hard enough in the day to ride with the wind pushing over the ridges, but at night, I can only imagine what that ride was like. Did a simalar thing when I broke my shoulder on my quad, it does feel like you are in the air forever!

i was riding my banshee on a real windy day and was flying up a dune.. my boyfriend was following me on his ktm.... i was in 3rd gear.. looked like the dune went another 20 feet or so..... i flew off the top and landed some 60 feet or so down the back side .... the ground went away so fast.. but i was in the air LIKE forever... i had time to think "oh SH#T".. my front end was going under so i had time to think.... lean back... i actually landed on all four tires.. grabbed every brake i had... and some.... stopped at the bottom of the bowl... got off the bike... cursed a few times at the bike... took my helmet off.... in the mean time... my boyfriend seen me flying off the dune.. dumped his bike about 4 feet from the top thinking the whole time.. she going to crash .. he crawled up to the top and seem me standing there...a sanrail seen the whole thing and came over to see if i was alright.. i was... wish i did it on purpose..cause it was cool... i rode back to camp and took it easy the rest of the trip..

i have been riding all my life and nothing has ever shaken me up so bad... lets just say i dont lead anymore....