This 300SD in MD split in two upon hitting a tree. Occupants survived - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

vstech · #16 04-19-2016, 11:01 AM

so... TWO MB's hit each other? wow.

we now know what happens when the irresistible force collides with the immovable object !

vstech · #17 04-19-2016, 11:05 AM

no... just a lot of different angles of the same car...

where is the other vehicle?

t walgamuth · #18 04-19-2016, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregMN

The body is upside down in both photos. Note the wheels.

Oh, I see now. That makes more sense.

t walgamuth · #19 04-19-2016, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

no... just a lot of different angles of the same car...

where is the other vehicle?

Must have hit a tree.

t walgamuth · #20 04-19-2016, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H-townbenzoboy

Yep. That's the photo.

Wonder if it hit a guy wire and it acted like a cheese cutter?

Zacharias · #21 04-19-2016, 02:30 PM

Something is weird about it for sure.

I was hit on the driver side of the front clip at an intersection in my '83 SD. It was a solid ex-Texas car (only had it six weeks at the time).

I was hit by a full-size Buick sedan doing about 45-50 mph.

It spun me around about 1.5 turns and bent my front clip over at I am guessing a 25 degree angle? Insurance wrote the car off, but it was repairable should I have wanted (I did not, given the shock of the incident).

How you end up with the split I see in the accident pic (the original one) is beyond me. Either that car was terminally rusty or it hit something relatively thin but immovable.

The fact that the occupants weren't seriously injured, even in an S-Class, is remarkable given the huge forces it would have required to sever that car. That was an awful hit, however it occurred.

97 SL320 · #22 04-19-2016, 07:39 PM

Looks like the right hand side was the start of impact and car separated just ahead of the firewall. Note in the last pic that the passenger door is still attached to hinges and the rocker is intact. The drivers door isn't on the front of car either so I suspect it is still attached.

Once metal starts to tear, it does not take much to keep going.

It probably would not be too hard to find the tow company where the car ended up and get better pics.

compu_85 · #23 04-20-2016, 10:16 AM

What I don't get is... the firewall is still there. Note the remains of the HVAC box - you can see the evaporator. Plus the steering column.

I might have to rescind my earlier opinion that this was not a cut and shut.

-J

97 SL320 · #24 04-20-2016, 06:11 PM

I did see the column and evap / heater core. However the passenger door is still attached to hinges / front of rocker is intact. We really need someone in the area to stop by the tow yard or a fireman on this list to contact the involved station and perhaps they will be helpful.

vstech · #25 04-20-2016, 06:31 PM

I just don't buy the carnage is from a tree...

The front of the car is in the road... The back section is in the woods... Upside down... Is the tree in the road? How did the car hit the tree? I'd like to see the entire scene of the accident and understand what happened...

vstech · #26 04-20-2016, 06:33 PM

In the background of the pic showing the front bumper of the wreck, there is a warning sign of a curve ahead... Assuming the car came from the curve, too fast, hit the "tree" and spun around down where it rests...

vstech · #27 04-20-2016, 06:39 PM

Ok, I googled the area and road, only one curve of note in the road, and there is a low guardrail along the curve... I think it's possible the guardrail played a role in the severing of the chassis...

vstech · #28 04-20-2016, 06:42 PM

Three injured in one-vehicle crash | thebaynet.com | TheBayNet.com | Articles

For those of us without Facebook...

Skid Row Joe · #29 04-20-2016, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H-townbenzoboy

This is a call that the Potomac Heights Volunteer Fire Dept & Rescue Squad responded to on April 16. I've only seen one other photo of a W126 split like this, and that was over 10 years ago. I think either shoddy repair work of previous accident damage, or extreme rust led to this result. I was able to ID it as a 300SD by barely making out the Turbodiesel badge in the one photo that shows the rear in the forest.
https://www.facebook.com/PHVFD7/posts/715467258556876

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu

Is this the picture you were thinking of?

More than likely shoddy body work.
Welding a rear or front clip onto a badly wreck vehicle.

Charlie

They had NO WAY of knowing that if not for the clip, their lives might have been lost! What good luck! The energy forces were absorbed / exerted into the clip!