From the Victoria (Texas) Advocate:

Tivoli man dies in crash

A 58-year-old man died Saturday after his vehicle struck the rear-end of a pickup on state Highway 35 just south of Victoria.

According to the Department of Public Safety report, driver Robert Hill Slaughter, who died in the crash, was in his 1983 Mercedes in the southbound lane when it hit a 1995 Chevrolet pickup. The pickup had stopped in the southbound lane and was making a left turn into local hunting grounds. His turn signal was flashing.

Slaughter, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m. No other injuries were reported.

This was disturbing to me on so many levels.

I figure that the driver was probably one of us, being a member or at least a reader of the forum. He may have been someone whose posts I have greatly enjoyed and vicariously considered a friend. Does anyone know if Robert was in fact a member and if so his ID?

It hits close to home. I have a 1983 300SD which I always thought to be a terrifically safe car. If you can die hitting a stopped car with your seat belt fastened, I will have to rethink a few things. I recently upgraded to better headlights. I will probably up it again to Sylvania SilverStar. It suddenly seems important to do some brake work. My rotors and calipers are top quality, I recently replaced the power booster (a job from Hell on a 126), but the pads are from AutoZone. I will also carefully inspect the seatbelt system. All so-so suspension parts will be replaced.

On top of the 1983 Mercedes coincidence, since I recently moved, I drive about 15 miles a day on state Highway 35, though further south. Robert and I were nearly the same age, so that increases my identification with this incident.

Sorry to rattle on, but this death was a message to me that life is short but don't make it shorter by ignoring things that could make your car safer than it is. By not Super-sizing at lunch, you could not only add to your lifespan, but insure it by using that money to buy safety upgrades to your car.

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1983 300SD "Guderian"
1987 MR2
2015 Camry
2015 Chevy Spark
2006 Hyundai Tucson