tough times for the Stroker household

As I'm typing one-handed this will be short. We had a very bad car crash Friday night when a truck pulled out in front of us while we were at 65 mph. Our '99 Subaru Forester was totaled in the T-bone collision. I have two broken bones in my left wrist and a broken sternum. Mrs. Stroker's right arm is broken, again at the wrist. We both have badly bruised legs. Ellie (age 2) suffered a concussion but Courtlyn (age 6 weeks) suffered no apparent injuries. The other driver died and his passenger (85 years old) is still in the hospital, condition unknown.

The fact we hit a "stationary" object at highway speed and are in as good shape as we are is a testament to air bags, safety belts and kid seats.

We'll heal up okay barring something unexpected, but I thought the board might appreciate knowing given the Subaru "frame strength" thread of a months back.

I will, naturally, be posting a "what car?" thread soon...

wow. Glad you and the fam are Ok.

Wife and I will be looking at subaru's next....

Damn, glad you are mostly OK, sort of puts thing in perspective though doesn't it. One of the reasons I bought the wife and kid a AWD BMW, roll over protection FTW

Let me guess what your next car will be.

Good gosh. Very happy you and your family are okay. Here's to a speedy recovery.

Holy cow! Glad to hear that you and your family should be A-OK.

May go ahead recommend another Forester since the first one saved your lives?

Congratulations on a real "It could have been a lot worse" situation!

I know you have lots of other things to think about right now, but as you enjoy how relatively unscathed your daughters are, remember the emerging research about the cumulative effects of multiple concussions over time: As Ellie gets older, you may want to think twice about putting her in a sport where participants hit their heads a lot.

i wish the Stroker family all the best in your recoveries. and yeah, i also recommend another Forester.

Yow. Bad week for Subarus and their occupants.

Saturday night, my brother and I struck an S-10 that ran a stop sign while travelling ~50mph in his '02 Impreza TS. Everyone walked away without injury(ok, I swallowed a hunk of a tooth), both cars are writeoffs.

Monday morning, my wife and 5yo daughter took our '04 Forester XS out for errands and were T boned by someone who ran a red light, travelling straight across traffic from a left turn lane, striking my wife and two other cars. My wife is bruised from the side air bags and is currently recovering from "custom speed holes" from the side glass. We should have the car back in a few weeks.

We're wishing you and yours a speedy recovery.

I cannot comprehend what it is like to hit a stationary object at that speed. And you have injuries that will heal, and the kids are basically fine. Unbelieveable. I guess that some of the bitching about all the safety equipment we are forced to have will quiet down a bit now. God speed to you and yours.

And stroker, if you or the family need anything, just ask. We take care of our own around here.

Two years ago a woman lost control of her Blazer coming from the other direction and plowed into my STi causing essentially a direct frontal impact. The Subaru was completely destroyed back to the windshield. From the A pillar back it could have been a new car. The Blazer was totaled also which gives you an idea how bad a hit it was considering the size difference. Thankfully, aside from being shaken up I walked away with no injuries at all. I was thankful there was only the driver in the other vehicle and nobody was injured there either. I think I would feel really bad being involved in a fatality crash though and I am glad you and your family are OK. The good news is that Subarus seem to be very safe vehicles. The bad news is insurance rates will go up as everybody seems to be getting T-boned in them!!

well, if I knew of somebody building a locost who needed Subaru parts, I'd see what I could do with the insurance company and the hulk...

speaking of insurance, anyone who's had experience similar to this is invited to contact me with suggestions on how to wrangle the insurance coverage and the bills.

cwh, the answer to your question is that it happens REALLY fast...

Glad to hear all of you guys are ok....and glad to hear the safety of scoobies is top notch for your families sake.

Glad to hear you guys are okay. I know having you family in the car must have been scary. It's one thing to get in an accident by yourself and another to have you whole world in the car with you. I hope you all heal quickly.

Scary stuff. Glad you and the family are okay. A death on the truck's side certainly puts the severity of something like this into perspective.

Sorry to hear. Good luck have a fast recovery. God bless everyone involved

I agree with vazbmw X4

been through the very same thing (just no wife/kids involved) the red light runner had a well known Nationwide ins company who tried their darndest to low ball me on my totaled Accord and on my hospital bills and my "pain and suffering" (broke both wrists and cracked sternum) ended up having to retain a lawyer before the settlement (even factoring in his cut) was ok

super glad to hear you/wife/younguns are ok/going to be ok

Man, sorry to hear of this. I'm glad the family is going to be OK.

That sucks, but I'm glad that you have basic orthopedic injuries that will likely heal to near-100% in very short time. It's the "soft tissue" neck and back stuff that's usually worse to deal with long term. The one piece of advise I give my clients early on is to make sure you follow up with your doctors and do what they tell you to do. Even if the PT sucks, go and do it. If you're on pain meds, take them on schedule - if you wait until it really hurts it's too late. The docs are the experts and are there to help you, let them.

As for wrangling with the insurance company, the car is worth what it's worth. Last 3 times I had cars totaled the initial offers were reasonable to more that what I thought. Do some quick research to see what replacement cost on the Subie is, and figure in anything extra that you had into the car in terms of recent maintenance or repairs. As for medical bills and pain and suffering, call a good lawyer. Even after paying him/her you'll still likely be far ahead at the end of the process, and it's easier dealing with one lawyer who is fighting for you than one or two insurance companies who are fighting against you.

Wow, our prayers are with you and your family (and the other victims), that's sad to hear but I guess your family's relatively (light) injuries considering are a bright spot.

I think I may have started that Subaru b-pillar thread taht got to talking about the car safety (or not), and I actually feel just as safe in my WRX as in my wife's 4Runner, even in the event of an impact.

Best of luck with the aftermath, anyhow....

My prayers are with you and your family. Glad to hear you are all okay, relatively speaking.

I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Subaru safety.

Glad everyones alright. Lets keep the future t-bones to steaks, ok?

Very glad to hear everyone is OK. Every time I look at my kids I am reminded how important a decision it is to pick out a vehicle for them. God bless.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Get well soon!