1929 Duesenberg Crashes Near Ann Arbor, Killing 3

Hey Champ,

Not sure what your agenda is, but you might further it better with a slightly less combative post...

Danny

 

OK.

I've gotten a couple pm's regarding doing a raffle.
When I get home from work I'll start a new thread regarding this (providing it's ok with Ryan). Start thinking about what to donate, if you want to donate anything at all. $5.00 a ticket at winning the items in the raffle sound good?

Let me know, I'll be home at 5pm eastern time.

-kris

 

Be careful then!

My great grandparents former place is over there on that side of the freeway, Not as rural as it was in the early 70's when they dies and it was sold to the current owners. there's a little trailer in the yard with a Mercury front axle, wheels and hubcaps. Probably been there since before they died. Pics were taken in April.

 

A terrible tragedy. Everyone involved, their relatives, their friends, their schools and co-workers will always feel guilt and loss. The feeling that "if only I'd said or done something differently" will always fill their thoughts. This accident will be felt for at least an entire generation by those even remotely involved. If any good can come of an incident like this perhaps it is this... We as restorers, rodders, antique auto enthusiasts and admirers should lobby our hobby groups to encourage safety upgrades to cl***ic cars. Discouraging the installation of safety devices by debiting points is not only ***inine but counteractive to encouraging growth of the hobby. Let's face it. A safer car is driven more. The more a vehicle is driven the more public exposure it receives. Increased exposure generates more interest. Our local AACA chapter adds points for fire extinguishers, (how many cars came stock with one?) why not for safety belts?

Pray for the children. Pray for hobby sanity.

 

I don't know about the Pebble Beach elitists, but I do know that both AACA and the VCCA(Vintage Chevy Club) DO NOT deduct points for a seatbelt installation if it's done nice. The VCCA also requires a fire extinguisher in every vehicle on the showgrounds, no extinguisher, no show.

But again, God be with those kids.

Bob

 

Ok guys,
We're gonna wait a week or so to do the raffle....Ryan pointed out that there's ALOT of posts pinned at the top right now, so rather than post yet another and have it get lost in the mix, we'll just wait until some of them are over. This way we should be able to achieve more views, better raffle items, and ultimately a bigger donation. So watch for it, I'll post it up in a week or so.
Any of you that WANT to donate items to the raffle, send me an email with a description of the item and a picture, so when the time comes I can throw it all up on the board in one post. If you don't have a digital camera, feel free to mail me the item and I can take a picture, and then mail the item to the raffle winner as well.

We did a good thing in the past for Jerry (Joplin), I'm sure we'll do it again. Hambers are good people

Kris Brimm
3408 Mills Hwy.
Charlotte, MI 48813

 

Right! So let's kill'em all and let God sort them out! A little comp***ion wouldn't hurt ya would it?

I'm up for a raffle...........I'll pull some stuff together and mail it on.

**x
Brandy

 

When I worked out in A2, I'd come home that way every day. Where those 2 roads come together, it's kinda a Y shape, with the "new" Ford Road (M-14) being the main, and the "old" Ford Road, being the "Y" part. There is a stop sign there for the "old" road, but very few people actually "STOP" because it's 2 lanes for about 500 feet, so the bust the right out onto the road and "merge".

Many, many, times I was almost in an accident like that one. My dad (a truck driver) taught me to anticipate what other people will do, so I always ***umed that the idiots would blow the stop sign. 99.9% of the time I was right, and had slowed accordingly.

A sad, sad, sad story.

God help everyone involved.

Jay

 

Ok.. just heard more details about this on the Cadillac Lasalle Club message board. First of all.. reguarding seat-belts. Duesy didn't have em. The two who survived were thrown from the car, and that's more than likely what saved them.

Next... the car rolled three times. Look at the photos. It was a convertable (Phaeton). If you had a seatbelt on, held into that seat, and the car rolled, you would have cut your head off.

Third, no details as to whether or not the driver was drunk, or on a cell phone, what's with the acusations. Some people need to stop jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers. Yes the driver made a stupid mistake, and yes three people are dead, and yes the driver should pay for it, and probably spend a life in jail, but making threats, and pointing fingers won't bring anybody back.

Lastly, I think there are tons of kids who end up orphans, and it ****s ***. Doesn't matter socio-economic background, race, religion, location, who cares. being without parents ****s. Ask anybody whose lost a parent, I don't care if they didn't lose there parents till they were 70, it still ****s ***. Those kids deserve to be raised well, and they will need much help dealing with this loss. God bless em, and anybody who can help em. It takes a village.

Second guessing and making stupid laws only makes life more difficult for the rest of us. So a 1.5mil car was destroyed, that ****s *** too, but it can be fixed. It's just ****in metal. Lives don't come back. Can't be fixed. Hell, we got welders and choppers right here on the HAMB who could prolly make a Deusy from scratch that would be better than any 100 point restored original. But if they lose a kid, or parent, does it really matter. I know this is an automotive message board, and I love old cars more than most. But I'd gladly watch some ***** crush my car, than watch anything bad happen to my son.

Period.

 

wow that's a nice house.

 

Kilroy and Caddylakman
I dont think anyone was rationalizing anything and on the disscution of seat belts spawned from a couple of stipid comments. Everyone is saddened by the sensless loss of life. This is a discussion board get a grip no reson to fly off the handle.

 

Yeah I was defending that one stupid statement. Come on dude. Did you really think I was rallying behind that one. There are always gonna be some dumb ***es throwing out there two cents. What is the majority of this thread about. Obviously GiantKilla is the in his one statment wrapped up what most of these posts were saying. I thought I read about hambers tring to do a fund raiser and disscussing, that if you think seatbelts don't save lives. Which I guess you fell being thrown from a car is good, because I thought it was a bad thing.

 

You know, I only started this post for those not in MI. that this new may have not ended up in their area or on the boards they go to. I really hated to see this turn into an opinion episode.


Let's all try to keep our opinions of the pros and cons of seat belts, Duisenberg’s, and Orphan children to ourselves. Most everyone on here knows where each other stands about this and how we all feel about this tragedy.

What's important here are those two children that were left behind on this cruel world while there parents and other sibling are now in a better place missing them very much. So let's all end this arguing, please. Life’s too short with not enough guaranties to be wasting our time and Ryan's bandwidth on how WE feel. Let's think about them two parentless children.

 

Thanks 1low lesebre for putting up this news....hadn't heard anything about it in Wisconsin.....prayers go out to the family....

 

This is terrible news. My own son is just about to turn 9. I cant imagine what these kids have to go through.
As for the driver of the Volvo, I'm not an overly religious guy but my prayers go out to him too. Its a horrible thing to be responsible for wrecking a car like that but it's got to be pure hell to be responsible for killing a family and leaving 2 little orphans. I'm sure he'll never sleep well again and his conscience will never let him have a moments peace.
I, for one, am going to try to use this horrible accident as a reminder to drive safely and within reason, thinking about how my actions affect strangers all around me. My wife busts my balls about driving my truck like a granny. I'm going to finally install those lap belts in my '46 and hell, maybe I'll even build a roll bar in there - we'll see.
Thoughts and prayers out to the surviving family members.

 

I removed my posts because they were clearly a waste of my time and I don't want to make this post about the idiots.

But you're just not going to get it are you...

Maybe we should call it the "Seatbelts Save Lives" fund raiser.
We could send the money to the seatbelt manufacturers.

 

I guess your not getting it either so well just have to agree to disagree.

These are two different subjects in a thread and a couple of ***anine ones. I wasn't aware that it was disrespectfull to discuss seatbelts when it could help other hambers stay alive when there veiw was wrong. There has already been a trajedy lets try to stop more from happening.

Can we still be friends
Peace and bearing greese
Brandon

 

I agree...them Volvo drivers coupled with the minimum 95 mph speed on LSD, the mad dash to get to the I-p*** lane, and the 90/94 racetrack with ***holes sweavin' in and out of lanes, makes for driving these days a bit like trying to dodge a 4500 lb bullet.

I see this running stop signs all the time in my neighborhood...people don't even attempt to tap the brake pedal...it's ridiculous and pisses me off to no end. That and the double parking next to open spots on the curb. I have that mentality that hey I'm driving a big car...nothing can hurt me...but something like this kind of wakes you up. It's sad, and my prayers go out to them. That ****head in the Volvo...well there's not much I can say about him that hasn't already been said. I think I'm gonna just buy an old army tank...that seems to be what you need on the road to survive...at least here in Chicago.

 

Weird you wrote that-

In the Bay Area friggin' Volvo's are EVERYWHERE- yuppie soccer moms, berkeley frizzy haired hippies, you name it- Always the first vehicle to cut me off on my motorcycle.

I tell all my friends starting out on bikes to look out for the Volvo wagons.
They usually laugh it off, but always end up coming back a few weeks later saying, "wow, you were right-- ****py drivers in Volvo's"

 

My heart is very heavy with the thought of what those two little girls had to/have to go thru, because someone didn't stop for a stop sign.

I doubt the Volvo driver did it on purpose, but that won't bring back those that were killed. I doubt he'll ever get a moments piece knowing what his actions have done to a young family.

Seatbelts, properly used, do save lives. Sometimes they can kill, but that's RARELY the case. I know this from mopping up the mess of accidents when I drove a tow truck.

There's nothing worse than having to recover a car thats rolled 6 or 7 times,left the roadway, and become lodged in a stand of trees too high up for the paramedics and coroner to get them out first. Call me a puss, I don't care, I never want to see anything like that again!

I'm not at all religious, so I can't pray for these girls. I WILL be donating something to thier cause though. I wish I could give them a big hug and tell them it's gonna be ok.



The moral of this story is: DRIVE SAFELY AND DEFENSIVLY!

 

This is a post from a fellow on The Ford Muscle Forum local to the accident which sheds some light on the incident.



"I was going to post the story in the Ann Arbor News about that accident when FordMuscle went down Saturday and I couldn't post it.
AA News story said the Duesenburg rolled over several times before it stopped. From the description of the crash the Duesenburg was on a divided highway eastbound and the Volvo was on the same highway westbound and the Volvo entered a turnaround that is also a left turn and ran the stopsign hitting the p***ing Duesenburg broadside.
I live nearby and see cars run that stopsign regularly. They misjudge the speed of the oncoming cars and think they can make it across, I've had to hit the brakes many times to avoid the cars that blow through that stopsign. I don't know about where you live but around here people think they don't have to ACTUALLY STOP at stopsigns.
I think that accident happened around 8:30 PM,. shortly after I left to go to the Telegraph Rd. cruise. When I returned from Telegraph I turned off Ford Rd about a half mile before the seen of that accident and saw the flashing lights there but didn't know about the acident until I saw the paper Sunday afternoon.
The driver of the Duesenburg used to be on our Superior Township volunteer fire department and for the last several years has been a full time employee of the Ypsilanti City fire department.
Its really a shame that those two little girls lost both their parents and their brother that night. Also it happened just a half mile from Superior Township Fire Station No.1 so his former partners at the township fire department were the first responders."


I concur about Volvo drivers but there are plenty of A holes out there not withstanding what they are driving. I meet them everyday on my commute to Toronto. Stu

 

Prayers are with them...

Later.

Troy.