Car Accident Info - Finding a Police Report?
September 25, 2023 3:08 PM Subscribe
I am trying to find out more information about a serious car accident that I narrowly escaped being a part of but am having trouble getting a confirmation that the accident even occurred. Can you help? More info inside.
On Saturday around 2:20pm I was on the I-710 in California between what I think was the 105 and Imperial Highway, going north. I heard a strange sound and decided to accelerate, then saw in my windshield and rear view mirror that a black compact car either plummeted from the Imperial overpass or came shooting over an on-ramp. It missed t-boning my windshield and me by maybe 5 seconds, spun into the right meridian, shattering the front bumper and what I think was passenger side of the vehicle. It then accelerated backwards. By that time I had to put my eyes back on the freeway and continue going north due to the speed of traffic so I don't know what happened afterwards. Something about the experience makes me think it was a suicide attempt on the part of the driver which I know is insane conjecture on my part but whatever, this is what near death experiences do to you.
I cannot find any info about this accident. I tried the CHP's accident history feature but can't find an entry. I've tried street view on Google maps to see if I can figure out exactly where I was between the 105 and Imperial Highway but don't recognize anything which is freaking me out. The only thing I know for SURE is that I stopped at the Target on Firestone Blvd afterwards because I was panicking and that it took me a while to get there because the flow of traffic slowed and I couldn't get over.
Something that's probably screwing with my search results is that back in June there was a horrible crash with 5 fatalities on the same freeway in almost the same area.
Are there reliable online resources that could help me get more concrete info? I'm seriously considering driving down (I live in Pasadena) to the area to just reorient myself with the exact stretch of highway but I'd rather not. I almost died here, though. I gotta get some semblance of closure.
Thank you.
On Saturday around 2:20pm I was on the I-710 in California between what I think was the 105 and Imperial Highway, going north. I heard a strange sound and decided to accelerate, then saw in my windshield and rear view mirror that a black compact car either plummeted from the Imperial overpass or came shooting over an on-ramp. It missed t-boning my windshield and me by maybe 5 seconds, spun into the right meridian, shattering the front bumper and what I think was passenger side of the vehicle. It then accelerated backwards. By that time I had to put my eyes back on the freeway and continue going north due to the speed of traffic so I don't know what happened afterwards. Something about the experience makes me think it was a suicide attempt on the part of the driver which I know is insane conjecture on my part but whatever, this is what near death experiences do to you.
I cannot find any info about this accident. I tried the CHP's accident history feature but can't find an entry. I've tried street view on Google maps to see if I can figure out exactly where I was between the 105 and Imperial Highway but don't recognize anything which is freaking me out. The only thing I know for SURE is that I stopped at the Target on Firestone Blvd afterwards because I was panicking and that it took me a while to get there because the flow of traffic slowed and I couldn't get over.
Something that's probably screwing with my search results is that back in June there was a horrible crash with 5 fatalities on the same freeway in almost the same area.
Are there reliable online resources that could help me get more concrete info? I'm seriously considering driving down (I live in Pasadena) to the area to just reorient myself with the exact stretch of highway but I'd rather not. I almost died here, though. I gotta get some semblance of closure.
Thank you.
Could this be it? The incident report has very little detail, but location and timing match your description.
I'm sorry this happened to you. It's natural to be looking for answers after a near-death experience and I hope you find the closure you need.
Once when I was a young child I experienced a very similar near-miss — my mom was driving us on the freeway when a car flew off the overpass and landed inches behind us, so close that it spattered mud onto our car. I didn't understand the full gravity of what happened until I was much older, but that moment is seared into my memory and I've always wondered about the details of the accident.
posted by mekily at 5:11 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm sorry this happened to you. It's natural to be looking for answers after a near-death experience and I hope you find the closure you need.
Once when I was a young child I experienced a very similar near-miss — my mom was driving us on the freeway when a car flew off the overpass and landed inches behind us, so close that it spattered mud onto our car. I didn't understand the full gravity of what happened until I was much older, but that moment is seared into my memory and I've always wondered about the details of the accident.
posted by mekily at 5:11 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Yes, that's got to be it. It looks like two more cars were involved, too, which is horrible but makes sense based on the trajectory of the main vehicle and its insane post-crash velocity. Maybe more info will show up later. I'll save the incident number.
Thank you for your help and I am so glad your experience was also a miss.
posted by The Adventure Begins at 5:20 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Thank you for your help and I am so glad your experience was also a miss.
posted by The Adventure Begins at 5:20 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I’m sorry this happened to you, and on preview, that mekily tracked down the details.
I hope you find closure, like in the closing line of Lucille Clifton’s poem “ won’t you celebrate with me: my one hand holding tight/my other hand; come celebrate/ with me that everyday/something has tried to kill me/ and has failed.”
Sending calming energy.
posted by childofTethys at 5:32 PM on September 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
I hope you find closure, like in the closing line of Lucille Clifton’s poem “ won’t you celebrate with me: my one hand holding tight/my other hand; come celebrate/ with me that everyday/something has tried to kill me/ and has failed.”
Sending calming energy.
posted by childofTethys at 5:32 PM on September 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
I have seen vehicles clipped at the exact right angle become horribly airborne and then flip. There is a very good chance this was not a suicide, but rather someone with a lightweight car getting dinged at the worst possible angle.
Here is a car that flipped after hitting a tire. (Not the accident you mean. This one was on a straight away in 2021.)
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:51 PM on September 25, 2023
Here is a car that flipped after hitting a tire. (Not the accident you mean. This one was on a straight away in 2021.)
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:51 PM on September 25, 2023
Actually, this seems to be the same incident with a little more detail.
Glad you're ok.
posted by mekily at 5:57 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Glad you're ok.
posted by mekily at 5:57 PM on September 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
You might ask on whatever the local subreddit is. For better or worse, there are lots of redditors who post about wild accident things and some who have dash cams - could help find another witness to the accident or people with more insight into what happened.
posted by leastlikelycowgirl at 9:27 PM on September 25, 2023
posted by leastlikelycowgirl at 9:27 PM on September 25, 2023
I am sorry this happened to you.
I was in a bad car accident in 2007 (two passengers were fatalities, although I and another two folks were mostly OK). I was eventually able to request a copy of the CHP report in 2008, but I had to go in person and pay per-page to get a printout. Also, it was relatively unsatisfying even if it was detailed.
It is uncomfortable to reckon with just how unknowable such momentous things can be.
posted by samthemander at 10:48 PM on September 25, 2023
I was in a bad car accident in 2007 (two passengers were fatalities, although I and another two folks were mostly OK). I was eventually able to request a copy of the CHP report in 2008, but I had to go in person and pay per-page to get a printout. Also, it was relatively unsatisfying even if it was detailed.
It is uncomfortable to reckon with just how unknowable such momentous things can be.
posted by samthemander at 10:48 PM on September 25, 2023
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posted by The Adventure Begins at 3:13 PM on September 25, 2023