The Downfall of a 1990 300SE
 

As I'm told:

My buddy's mom and sister were on their way somewhere. Someone in a Pontiac Sunfire. Drunk and High hit them. The Police estimate the speed to be 100Mph.

The SE is done for. Pics:

http://imgur.com/a/395RJ/downfall_300se

Reportedly the driver side door had to be cut to get his mom out. I didnt see it in the pics.

The Police also said that if it were any other car they would most likely have been dead.

No report on their status as of yet.

Very unfortunate. Hopefully everyone involved pulls through. But I think we all know this is exactly why we drive these cars...most Asian and American cars would look worse than that after a 50mph side impact.

Alright, so his sister (passenger side) has bruised ribs and his mom (driver) seems to be alright, they thought she had a broken hip however its just very stiff. They're keeping her overnight.

Glad they're ok. And the Sunfire? They're not the most robust vehicles.

If it was really 100mph the good 'ol W126 took it like a champ. My buddy wrecked his miata at 55 and the whole car is measurably shorter.

So his sister is walking abound a lot better shape than his mom. The hospital kicked em out pretty much...No pain meds or anything. Extremely crappy service, pretty much dressed her up and stuck her on the curb in a wheelchair. When asked how she's gonna get up the stairs at her house, a nurse shrugged and walked away. Took us like a half hour to get her from the van inside her house.

Mike and I went and saw the car at the towing company's yard:

Lots of salvagable parts on her still. Will most likely go into fixing up his new 560SEL.

We're not sure about 100mph, but it was definitely above highway speeds.

http://imgur.com/a/44HK4/the_aftermath_interior_shots

Wow! Notice no real intrusion into the passenger compartment.
These were one of the first designed for the front structure to crumple and absorb energy before it reached the passenger compartment. Looks like it performed as Bruno Sacco intended.

My wife's car is a dead ringer for that one; Kinda unsettling, and reassuring at the same time.

James, one question: I assume that '90 model has a driver air bag, but no passenger bag? Do you know if it deployed properly? I've heard that 20-year-old airbag systems can't be considered reliable anymore.

DG

I would definitely say that's at LEAST 70mph impact If the driver seat is squished that much.....:eek:. A 40mph side impact would not have intruded even that much into the passenger compartment. Interesting that the airbag didn't deploy. Maybe the sensors didn't get tripped? Aren't they located low on the front of the frame?

You can see from the interior picture that the airbag didn't deploy, but in this accident it looks like most of the G's were taken on the side so the airbag sensor probably didn't have a triggering signal anyway.

Yes it has a driver's side air bag, however no passenger side. The driver side didn't deploy. I wouldn't consider the 20 year old air bag reliable. My 420SEL has a sticker the says it should be replaced/inspected every 10 years I think.

The car did its job remarkably well. They both came out with no critical injuries. His mom (driver) is having a lot trouble walking though.

I'm not sure where the airbag sensor is, I know he and I didn't mess with anything with regards to that system. It was an $800 car that my buddy dumped a load of money into restoring, most of the parts are new.

The airbag sensor is inside the airbag computer, under the radio. It looks like most of the energy of the crash was on the side of the car so it probably didn't trip the sensor.

The final collision speed was probably closer to 40 mph. If it were 100 the other car would have driven right though the benz. In any event for such an old car to do so well is a testimonial to the design! Notice how the door card and speaker grille collapsed in without injuring the driver.

-Jason

Not sure on the final speed. There was no skid marks in the road so the driver of the other car didn't attempt to brake or anything.

I'll type up one of the eyewitness reports.

Everyone is in good moods though and finding humor in things.

That's good to hear :)

hope everyone, except the damn drunk, are ok.

also the pics are not loading on my end

Wow, and that is why I will continue driving MB's/my W126. Looks like a very nice car prior to the hit, too bad. :o