Chicago Vacation - Eight Lives Remaining....

The Sniper

Greetings my friends! Since Ive been out of pocket so long (sorry fellas!) I thought I would try to make up for it by posting pics of my recent family vacation to Chicago with my daughters.

Had some excitement at the beginning - rented a car for the trip to keep some miles off my personal vehicle. About 6 1/2 hours into our 8 hour (!) drive, we stopped for gas and snacks in a little town off I-55 called Dwight, IL. Got our goodies, went back to the car, girls climbed in and buckled up. I went around the car to put the fuel hose away. The instant my hand touched the handle of the hose, I hear someone near the door of the Casey's hollar "HOLY SH!T!!!". I look back towards the door, and they're all looking back towards the interstate. When I look back there, I see a car barreling at about 60-70 miles per hour.

Except the car is about two feet off the ground.

And UPSIDE DOWN!

And this upside down flying missle car is headed STRAIGHT AT US!!!

Its amazing how fast things go thru your head at a time like this. I realized I had no shot at getting to my daughters in the car. Fellas, I didnt even have time to call out to them. All I had time to do was dive away from our vehicle.

Just before I hit the ground, I heard the impact behind me. I hit, rolled, got up, and turned around.

Upside down flying missle car was not there.

MY CAR was not there.

Then from behind me (?) I heard the sweetest sound Ive ever heard in my life - my girls WAILING! Knowing they were alive was the greatest relief Ive ever felt.

Upside down flying missile car hit our rental in the driver's side front bumper, crushing the front end into the firewall and pinning it into the tire. This had the effect of driving a PARKED vehicle in a 50 foot semicircle arc from the point of impact.

Long story short, the girls, other than my oldest having a real nice bruise just below her knee where the glove box came open and hit her, were fine. We had angels watching over us folks - if upside down flying missile car hits 2-3 feet more to the left, instead of a bruised knee my oldest daughter's legs are most likely shattered, IF she survives.

Five more feet to the left and upside down flying missile car hits the gas pumps, leaving a smoking crater where the Casey's station used to be and killing everyone there.

Thank you Lord, for looking out for me and mine!!! :-)

Here are some pics of the scene and our vehicle.














Does the Sniper clan know how to start a vacation with a bang or what??? LOL

j0z3r

Sweet Jesus Glen. Glad to hear everyone is safe and (relatively) unharmed. I told you...you should've just come out to California to see Maiden with me.

The Sniper

Who would have ever guessed that a mosh pit at a Maiden show would be LESS hazardous than stopping for gas in a piss-ant little town? LOL Even my insurance lady said "That's some Final Destination sh!t!" LOL

Toombes

Day-um!!! Glen, that is insane! I'm so relieved to know the Lord was watching over you and the girls. Thrilled to still have you with us and to see you posting again!

JDH

That's incredible! Thank God everyone was unhurt - but what about the "upside down flying missle car"? How the hell did it get that way? What about the people in that car?

james40

Glad everyone is okay and able to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

y2pascoe

Holy schnikies, Glen! Glad you and your girls were okay! God was definitely looking over you today!

The Sniper

JDH:

That's incredible! Thank God everyone was unhurt - but what about the "upside down flying missle car"? How the hell did it get that way? What about the people in that car?

From what I understand, old boy started having a heart attack and floored it trying to find help. At some point, the big one hit and he lost consciousness. Went off the road, down into the ditch near the Casey's turnoff, up out of the ditch where he hit the curb which is apparently what flipped the car upside down. The fact that he hit our car (more than 100' away from said ditch) on the fly speaks to how fast he must have been going.

After he hit our car, he careened into another parked vehicle in front of the store, t-boning it. Its amazing that he was the only casualty or even serious injury from the accident.

Dude was dead from the heart attack before his car hit anyone.

The Kid

The Sniper:

JDH:

That's incredible! Thank God everyone was unhurt - but what about the "upside down flying missle car"? How the hell did it get that way? What about the people in that car?

From what I understand, old boy started having a heart attack and floored it trying to find help. At some point, the big one hit and he lost consciousness. Went off the road, down into the ditch near the Casey's turnoff, up out of the ditch where he hit the curb which is apparently what flipped the car upside down. The fact that he hit our car (more than 100' away from said ditch) on the fly speaks to how fast he must have been going.

After he hit our car, he careened into another parked vehicle in front of the store, t-boning it. Its amazing that he was the only casualty or even serious injury from the accident.

Dude was dead from the heart attack before his car hit anyone.

Frickn Kamikazee,,uh I mean RIP old dude,, Glad you were on your toes,, way to stay alert and aware of your surroundings!!

JDH

The Kid:

The Sniper:

JDH:

That's incredible! Thank God everyone was unhurt - but what about the "upside down flying missle car"? How the hell did it get that way? What about the people in that car?

From what I understand, old boy started having a heart attack and floored it trying to find help. At some point, the big one hit and he lost consciousness. Went off the road, down into the ditch near the Casey's turnoff, up out of the ditch where he hit the curb which is apparently what flipped the car upside down. The fact that he hit our car (more than 100' away from said ditch) on the fly speaks to how fast he must have been going.

After he hit our car, he careened into another parked vehicle in front of the store, t-boning it. Its amazing that he was the only casualty or even serious injury from the accident.

Dude was dead from the heart attack before his car hit anyone.

Frickn Kamikazee,,uh I mean RIP old dude,, Glad you were on your toes,, way to stay alert and aware of your surroundings!!

WOW! Thank God nobody else was hurt.

fla-gypsy

Wow, that was close. Good to know the sniper brigade is alright

jsnake

WOW, you just never know what to expect in this thing called life. I am so happy that you and your kids are okay. Hopefully this experience doesn't cause too much trauma for them. You are blessed brother!

Bombay

Glen baby, glad you and the girls are safe. Someone was definitely looking out for you. Lately it seems there has just been one thing after another going on that makes you think this stuff we are doing other than being with family isn't worth it. Travel safe!

The Sniper

jsnake:

WOW, you just never know what to expect in this thing called life. I am so happy that you and your kids are okay. Hopefully this experience doesn't cause too much trauma for them. You are blessed brother!

Thanks for all the well wishes fellas, much appreciated. As for the girls, I kept them so busy during the remaining week of vacation that I dont think they'll even remember the accident in a couple years except as a footnote to an otherwise kickass vacation.

Gonna bump the thread of the good stuff in case some of you missed it. :-)

jgibv

holy $hit, Glen! Way to be on your toes though and be able to dive out of the way....
And thank goodness the car missed you & your girls and that no one was seriously hurt as a result of the flying-missile-car.

Phew, glad you all were able to continue on and enjoy your vacation .... that's one helluva story.

The Sniper

When you watch this crap on TV shows like "Wildest Car Crashes" or whatever, you never think it could happen to you. LOL Its kind of comical that when I tell somebody this story, it seems like the next five or so things they say all begin with "So lemme get this straight...". :-)

jgibv

The Sniper:

When you watch this crap on TV shows like "Wildest Car Crashes" or whatever, you never think it could happen to you. LOL Its kind of comical that when I tell somebody this story, it seems like the next five or so things they say all begin with "So lemme get this straight...". :-)

Hey, now that you mention it...I wouldn't be surprised if you're on a future episode if the gas station had security cameras rolling.....
You might be famous!

JDH

Well, you guys will always have the flying missle car crash vacation memory, & nobody can ever take it away from you. As time passes, this will be something you will all look back on and be able to thank God for your blessings, and ...wow....what a story!

The Sniper

JDH:

Well, you guys will always have the flying missle car crash vacation memory, & nobody can ever take it away from you. As time passes, this will be something you will all look back on and be able to thank God for your blessings, and ...wow....what a story!

All due respect, as time passes he11 - Ive been thanking God more than I do every day since the moment of that accident for the blessings in my life! :-D Dude, if that accident kills my girls, thats it - everything I live for gone, in one fell swoop. I dont know how or if I could have gone on. Scary stuff.

JDH

The Sniper:

JDH:

Well, you guys will always have the flying missle car crash vacation memory, & nobody can ever take it away from you. As time passes, this will be something you will all look back on and be able to thank God for your blessings, and ...wow....what a story!

All due respect, as time passes he11 - Ive been thanking God more than I do every day since the moment of that accident for the blessings in my life! :-D Dude, if that accident kills my girls, thats it - everything I live for gone, in one fell swoop. I dont know how or if I could have gone on. Scary stuff.

Good man!

Diamondog

glad your kids are ok that would have been heartbreaking

The Sniper

Diamondog:

glad your kids are ok that would have been heartbreaking

You got it man. Im pretty sure my heart actually stopped in the time between hearing the impact of the accident and when my daughter let out that wail. I cant even describe that feeling - and its something I hope to GOD I never feel again. If somebody would have told me that the sound of one of my children screaming would be the sweetest sound Id ever hear, I would have told them they were off their rocker - but so it was. :-)

Lasabar

Wow... Truly a crazy story. One-in-a-million thing to have happen. So glad that your family is okay and you can move forward after an accident like this!