Thank goodness for after market Steel Bumpers. I drive an 08, 4 door Jeep Wrangler. I have an off road modular steel bumper with a stinger on the front. This thing is massive, and heavy.
last evening I was traversing the most dangerous intersection in Fairbanks, Johannson Expressway and University Ave. The Johannson ends at University, and the road across is Giest Rd. I was on the Johannson, where we had a left turn lane, two lanes going straight across, and a right turn lane. There was a big box truck in the lane to go across. As I approched the intersection no one was in the left turn lane, the way I needed to go. The people on University started turn left onto the Johannson. I was almost stopped when suddenly there was a car cutting the corner and coming into my lane. I stopped, she did not. A Nisson Altama, hit me. Half of her bumper hit half of my bumper. The temp was 12 below, plastic flew everywhere from her front end, I felt a jar. The left turn signal for University had turned yellow and the Toyota Tocoma following her rear ended her. This knocked the Altama spinning across both lanes and into the Jersey Wall beside the roadway. The Toyota after hitting the Altama, slid on the ice to her left, and impalled her truck on my stinger. My stinger went through her window, angling towartds the rear. Luckily she was not hit by the big tube, the door raised my Jeep enough the tube slid over and behind her head, against the roof of her truck. I think her air bag may have shoved the tube away, there was a black dirty mark on the side of her air bag.
My airbag did not deploy, I did not get hit hard enough I guess. The first hit by the Nisson was a glancing blow. The second was more a lifting, as the stinger went through the window then was raised up by the door. I got out to see if the driver in the truck was OK. A little elderly lady, scared bad. I helped her out the passengers side of her truck, she had a bloody nose and lips from the air bag. Other people got out to help, and they went across and pulled the young girl out of the Nisson. The air bag had left it's marks on her as well. The Police arrived and started investigating. It was cold so I asked the elder lady to get into my Jeep to stay warm. She sat down in the Jeep and told me she did not understand what had happened. She admitted she was trying to beat the light, and get through the intersection. She said she should have stopped, and not tried to speed up to get through. I did not say anything.
The EMTs arrived, two came over and took care of the bloody nose and lips on the old woman. The Cop was interviewing the young girl in the Nisson first. Then he came over to ask me what had happened. I told him what I had experienced, he said that is what the witnesses had also told him. Several more people were standing around my Jeep and told him the same thing others had said. He told me I was free to go as soon as a wrecker got my vehicle loose from the little truck. We looked at my Jeep, the officer was surprised at the fact I had received no significant damage to my vehicle. I backed my Jeep up enough to remove my stinger from the window. The coating was ground off the bottom and right side of the stinger. The left end piece was bent back, but not enough to hit the wheel. And the coating has also been ground off in places.
The Toyota pickup had significant damage to the front end. Bumper shoved back into the wheel on the right side, and the right fender was also crushed. The drivers door had damage, along with the piller behind the door. The Nisson both ends had lost the plastic covering the internal bumpers. As cold as it was, that plastic shattered like glass. Then her left side from the rear wheel to the drivers door was caved in where the Toyota hit her.
I stayed around letting the old lady stay in my Jeep till her daughter arrived. I left after that, the wreckers were just pulling up as I drove away. I brought my Jeep into the garage, and took off the bent end to my bumper. I got out the torch and heated up the bent area till it was glowing. using the Heel of my anvil and a five pound hammer, I straightened back out. Come spring I'll take the end cap and the stinger off and have them recoated. They have the same coating that is used for bed lineing on pickups.
The main thing is no one was hurt.
