This is mostly a run down on the condition of the 1959 Cadillac the pit bull teens, Biff, Richie and Gaston were in. Their girl friends, Sandra, Roxanne and Avia, were not riding with them at the time of the crash. They were racing Danny Otter's Studebaker Goldenhawk on the night before Christmas Eve of 1960. Riding with Danny were his girl friend, Lidia Otter, and a teenage beaver couple, Carl and Susan. Those in the Studebaker escaped harm being that Danny kept his car under control long enough to bring it to a safe stop.
This short story mostly focuses on the condition of the 1959 Cadillac after it was wrecked. Gore, blood and death are not included in this upload. There is an upcoming story I am working on that will be about the evening events leading up to when Danny and Biff wage a bet on who's got the faster car. The end of the upcoming story will contain the gory details when the wreck occurs.
At a 124 mph, it took only five and a half seconds of skidding and fishtailing out of control to cover a distance of nearly a quarter mile. It was another six seconds from the time the Cadillac flipped to when it struck a power line pole. During two of the six seconds of the Cadillac was flipping over at 124 mph, the trunk lid also twisted open, spilling the load of stolen gumball machines as those were smashing to pieces sparking against the pavement at 124 mph, along with pennies and gumballs strewn all over the highway. Also within those two seconds, the left front wheel came off, tearing the lower control arm and shock absorber off the frame with it. That's when the front left spring shot off like a missile. The steering tie rod tore off, breaking part of the pitman arm off of the steering box with it. Tires were busted loose on the rims with the sidewalls torn. For about one second, a steel stem of one of the gumball machines hung up and dragged under Danny's car at 124 mph, hurling an intensely bright hail of sparks from against the pavement before working back loose and bouncing down the highway behind Danny's car. Fortunately, the steel stem did not impale up through the floor of Danny's car. Had it did, it would not have ended well at the extreme high rate of speed they were going. It would have most likely impaled up through someone in the car like a harpoon. The driver's door of the Cadillac flung open and tore off. Then the buckled and folded driver's door of the Cadillac struck the driver's side of Danny's Studebaker. One of the Cadillac's rear bumper ends barely missed coming in through the windshield of Danny's Studebaker. During another two seconds, the Cadillac's hood also tore off, and the carburetor and other parts of the car's motor were smashed off against a rock outcropping, along with the front fenders being smashed down. The left valve cover was torn off along with a section of the left valve head being shattered off exposing the tops of two the pistons. Also the top portions of the radiator and A/C condenser were ripped out against the rock outcropping. The engine block was also cracked in the process along with the A/C compressor and alternator torn off. The driveshaft was busted loose at both U-joints, bent and thrown out from the center X area of the frame, along with the rear axle being bent (many GM cars back then had hourglass shaped frames). The Cadillac then struck a power line pole sideways and upside down, driver's side first, with a tremendously loud bang at still nearly 124 mph, wrapping around the pole and breaking the pole down onto the highway with downed power lines arcing bright blue flashes on the ground and highway. The front seat area of the Cadillac was crushed around the broken pole to less than two feet wide. The force of impact was severe enough to also break the car's chassis. The transmission was busted wide open. The right engine mount was busted in two upon impact with the power line pole. The rear seat was twisted and dislodged from the floor. The front seat was crushed down to less than a foot wide with the seat upholstery ripped to shreds against the power line pole. The horn ring had torn off of the steering wheel and went flying out of the car at 80 mph. The instrument panel was shattered out of the crumpled remains of the steel dashboard. The busted car battery had ripped the cables out with it along with the starter terminals upon impact and went flying at over 100 mph bouncing 12 feet above the ground. The battery and cables ended up 750 feet beyond where the car struck the pole. Also upon impact, the spare tire and jack had flown out of the twisted open trunk, flying at 100 mph until the jack ended up 450 feet beyond the car, and the spare tire ended up nearly 1,000 feet beyond the car. The force of impact had impaled the tire iron like a harpoon out through the sheet metal of the left quarter panel of the car. Upon impact with the pole, the vacuum booster with the master brake cylinder had partially torn out from the firewall. Sections of wiring, brake lines and fuel line were ripped out. The driver's side windshield pillar tore away from the door hinge panel-firewall-cowl assembly upon impact as the car wrapped around the pole. Both rear fender skirts were torn off, with the right one twisted and folded. All four wheel covers had flown off and were smashed up in various ways, with one of them flying like a Frisbee and ending up near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks 100 feet from the opposite side of Highway 54. The radio had even torn out of the dash, and it's remains laying smashed into the brake petal linkage assembly inside the dash board where the instrument panel had shattered out (the last song that radio ever played was What a Dolly by Red Berry). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zP1MOUemJo One of the dual tailpipes had torn away and was flung up into the power lines arcing in a bright blue flash 370 feet beyond the car, then fell to the ground. One of the dual mufflers with a section of exhaust pipe also tore off and went flying, then bounced off of the next power line pole and came off spinning at 100 mph, and came to rest on the center line of Highway 54. Many other pieces had also went flying at 40 to 100 mph and ended up an average distance of 350 feet beyond the car (It certainly was not a place where a hitch hiker would have wanted to be standing...Just imagine being struck by a spare tire, a jack, a muffler, a tie rod, a horn ring or a car battery, among other pieces, most of which flying at 100 mph, all of which being potentially deadly missiles). Oil smoke and hot coolant steam arose into the cold winter night air from the mangled wrecked remains that was barely recognizable as a 1959 Cadillac Coupe-de-Ville. The gas tank was also ripped open. It was only by a miracle the fallen power lines arcing did not ignite the scattered gasoline which would have caused an explosion (the same gasoline Biff earlier had the bobcat at the Sinclair Station at Cline's Corners top the tank off with).
On average, it takes a car 18 hours to be built at the factory. Most likely, cars such as that Cadillac take 18 or more hours to build...It took Biff Pitbull only 11 and a half seconds to destroy Mom and Dad's 2nd paw 1959 Cadillac.
The first postlude following my story, Clarence Coyote and Project Courier, explaines the aftermath of the crash in detail.
The account of the crash begins following pages 11 and 12. In the year 2018, Danny Otter and his wife Lidia along with others who were around in 1960 tell Clarence Coyote (who was born in 2010 and is age 8) about that crash that happened 58 years earlier. Danny and Lidia's generation are grand parents by the year 2018. Al and Marge Coyote, who were Clarence's adoptive parents when Clarence spent 6 months in the year 1960, are great grand parents by 2018. Clarence's adoptive siblings, school class mates and neighborhood playmates in 1960 are grand parents by 2018.
The first postlude following my story, Clarence Coyote and Project Courier, explaines the aftermath
While the number of deaths on the road is higher in the US, the ratio is lower. I'd in part put that to better car design as people never learn, we're as bad at driving today as then and no less stupid.
While the number of deaths on the road is higher in the US, the ratio is lower. I'd in part put that
