I guess the s2k just became a little more rare.

It was around 1 AM last night and I was driving home from a long, tedious day at work. It was a beautiful night for the commute though. Top down, driving through town, the lights passing overhead and the cool air flowing through the cabin. This car never failed to perk me up.

There's a fairly long tunnel which goes under McCarren airport and leads to the freeway. I was cruising through there, getting lost in the sound of the engine reverberating off the walls. I began to approach a taxi who was essentially the only other car on the road. No big deal. I popped on my blinker and went to pass. As soon as I did, he decided to change lanes too. Shit. I try to bounce back into my original lane to avoid hitting him. He does the same thing, playing defense. WTF. At this point I began to panic. I had 2 options: plow into him, or swerve into the passing lane and potentially avoid the accident. In hindsight it was a lose-lose situation. I swerved and lost the back end.

I couldn't correct it. The rear wheel hit the wall first. The car began to spin. I'm still attempting to countersteer to try to regain control. I hit the wall again, airbags deployed. At this point I'm just praying I don't flip.

I spun until I was out of the tunnel, the car finally coming to a rest. I see the taxi's taillights fading into the distance, as if he didnt see me spinning, hear the collision with the wall, tires screeching. He was gone before I knew it.

I was surprisingly calm during this entire experience. I sat there, trying to discern whether it was actually reality or if I was about to wake up from a shitty dream. As I was pondering this I looked down and turned on the hazards. If this wasn't a dream I could still be in peril. I'm at a standstill in the middle of a high speed road. I quickly snapped out of my disorientation when another driver ran up to the window. Apparently, he just merged on from the on ramp I had skidded past. He began asking me if I was okay and told me that his girlfriend was calling paramedics. I told him I was okay. I made sure i could move all my extremities. He had me turn off the surprisingly still running engine. At some point I must have popped it into neutral. I dont remember that.

I got out of the car, shaking with adrenaline. There is a surprising amount of traffic now. More than the occasional car. He was directing them around me. I got both this gentleman's and his amazing girlfriends names, but I was too out of it for them to register in my mind. Without them, though, I likely would have been hit. They jumped into action so quickly. I couldn't have been luckier.

Highway patrol, paramedics, and FD all showed up around the same time. There was no risk of fire and and I was physically fine, so they were quickly dispatched. NHP took the statements from the heroes, and they took their leave. I wish I could repay them.

They asked for my permission to use their cruiser to push my car out of the road. Who would I be to deny their request? At that point im fairly confident the car is totaled. Even if not, a scuff on the bumper is the least of my concerns.

I'm slowly becoming more coherent as the time passes. I give my voluntarily statement, admitting that I was likely going over then speed limit. My honesty was appreciated, but I was still cited for an unsafe lane change. I harbor no resentment about that. The officer in charge had to do his job, but it stung a bit nonetheless. I didn't have the will to argue it.

So my car gets towed and here I am. Insurance is going to assess the damage within the next day or two and I'll know whether she's truly dead.

Ironically, early that day I was reminiscing of the day I bought the car. It was 2 years ago, almost to the day. I was driving on a road which seemed oddly familiar. It was the road I test drove the car on. The memories washed over as I remembered first driving that amazing machine. It was the color I wanted, GPW on tan, and the ideal model year (for me), 2003. For the past couple months I've been flirting with the idea of buying a new car, but in this moment I remembered what an amazing car I had, and how much excitement it brought to me since my ownership. I really feel like I've lost a friend. It was more than a car. I'm sure you all can understand.

So now I wait. Id rather it be totaled at this point. I dont think it'll ever drive the same. It's an excuse to go car shopping though. All i know is I need another s2000. Maybe an AP2 this time around.

I'll get some pictures up soon. I just moved and am still without internet, and this site isnt extremely mobile friendly.

 

Sorry to see this. you are fotruneate to be ok. I had this front fender and hood damage when I went under an SUV that I rear ended, changed lanes with no signal ahead of me and wham...at low speed. My car was fixed, although while at the body shop someone broke into the trunk and cut the top,so that was fixed at well. I have had no issues and still own the car, it's been more than 5 years now.

I hope for you that it can be fixed, i have a few rattles I did not have before. If not then how about going out and buying the best well cared for S2000 you can find again? That was my plan, thankfully i did not have to go though with it. Best of luck

 

Damn, that is a hell of a story. You are a good writer. We're glad your okay, hopefully you will be in another s2000 soon! Look on the bright side, you get to go car shopping!

 

Great writing indeed, glad you're okay

It blows that you were hit with a ticket on top of this, that Taxi driver should have stopped instead of driving off into the night like that.

 

So sorry to hear of your accident. I hope it all works out okay for you. Glad you weren't hurt.

 

Wow! Sorry to hear that. So lucky those two came by, when they did. Glad you are not injured. Hope that your insurance company comes through in spades. The least that they can do, to ease the pain.

Stupid taxi driver.
.
.
.
.

 

I found myself cringing upon seeing the title. I would not be surprised if the cab driver was intentionally driving that way. The fact he went 2 lane changes indicates he saw you and must have seen the accident.

Perhaps this will become one of those events that somehow turns out for the better and you can look back on it with wisdom. So glad you are not hurt.

Let us know how it goes.

 

My gut was twisted when I saw the pictures. The car and the citation are the last things to care for in an accident, thank goodness you didn't get hurt. Kudos to the couple who drove by and helped. My general practice is open my eyes wide when I see taxi drivers. Years ago a taxi decided to cut in front of me for a surprise left turn and my RX7 gen 1 turned into an accordion. Another time I was driving a Conquest TSI in an frozen night on a steel bridge, a taxi cut me off again and I pulled and spun across 3 lanes to the other side of the road, luckily it was at 3 am and no one was there.

I hope your insurance will completely cover the loss and wish you for the best. Now I am waiting for your new GPW.

 

Sorry to hear about your story bro. The most important thing is that you are alright.

 

It's the rawness of the AP1. rawr.


It's a shame it happened to your car. There aren't a lot of clean stock S2000s around anymore and yours just happens to be a clean white one.