[mcbear]

I just got these pics in on this fatality accident from Easter weekend from Paducah Sun Photog Stephen Dennee.

The two women in the SEC were traveling on Interstate 24 and crossed the median and hit the maroon car head on. Indiana Troopers estimate the combined speed at impact to be around 100. Both occupants in the SEC died.

 

[Proof_ro]

Rip!!!

 

[BenzW113]

What happened to the driver of that other car?
RIP

 

[Musikmann]

Thanks for sharing those pics McBear. Not that I have made a study of MBs after having been in accidents, but that is the worst one I've seen. R.I.P.

 

[cascade]

Dibs on the wheels!!!




j/k that's horrible, and scary; Did they have seat belts on, was there air bag deployment? What happened to the occcupants of the other car?

That's frightening as a Benz owner, they are supposed to protect you in bad wrecks - this one had passenger cell deformation - yikes

 

[mcbear]

The reason I posted was to show that, even on a 15+ year old car the air bag did deploy [which has been a point of discussion on these boards]. I talked to the investigating trooper and he said that even though the bag deployed, and the car crushed as it was designed, the closing rate of speed was still too great.

From looking at all the pictures it does looks like the SEC crashed "as designed" but there was just too much physics going on to keep things safe.

The women were running errands before heading out to the casino for a day of fun.

The car looks like a fully tricked AMG SEC from all the pics. There were no pics of the badging on the back.

One killed and two injured in the other car.

The Courier News :: News :: Three killed in I-24 crash near Metropolis

 

[Bee]

Just Awful, RIP

did they have there seatbelts on?

 

[DslBnz]

Dibs on the wheels!!!




j/k that's horrible, and scary; Did they have seat belts on, was there air bag deployment? What happened to the occcupants of the other car?

That's frightening as a Benz owner, they are supposed to protect you in bad wrecks - this one had passenger cell deformation - yikes

Considering the combined speed of 100 mph, it held up well. From the one pic I can see the passenger cage had minimal intrusion (the bottom sills had zero "high strength steel") with a slight buckle over the driver's side A-Pillar. It looks as if the red car was speeding, and the SEC was cruising leisurely. The SEC clearly took the lion's share of the impact energy. Don't forget it's also pillar-less!

Occupants were likely killed due to the excessive tension of the seatbelts and/or head contacting interior appointments.

I am quite upset that this happened. Even manufacturers of today are promoting reckless driving...Anybody see the new Acura TL commercial where an owner is speeding through crowded streets with total disregard for the law?

This has got to stop.

 

[DslBnz]

That's just an example of how well a car can maintain its integrity and the occupants are STILL killed. There's more to it than just having a car look pretty after its been wrecked.

 

[rothmans18]

oh god, proof that mercs aren't bullet proof...yeah the interior doesnt look too bad does it

 

[JimmyD89]

My father got in a front end collision with a school bus a few months ago in his 85 300SD, and the car held up remarkably well, he got out completely untouched, the bumper was fully intact, I will post pics if I get the chance. The insurance company totaled it because of axle damage but it was otherwise repairable.

Bad accident for those SEC owners. RIP

 

[Merc_aficionado]

Yeah well when you hit even the brand new S-class hard enough it will deform badly and passengers will die. No car is invincible. Some are just safer than others.

Airbag(s) did deploy it seems. Even though there was survival space for the passengers, excessive G-forces on the body will be fatal anyway.

Sad. RIP.

 

[HeirKranz]

makes a grown man cry---looks like it was highly maintained. once upon a time with extremely brey rotted tires and a heavy foot in the gas i managed to roll a 500 sec and came out without a scratch. we actually fixed the car and you would not know the difference. I have also have been in a rear end collision which McBear has seen and the car crumpled exactly as this one but in the rear-- but at a dead stop with a jeep going 50mph from behind.

Whenever you have a head on collision, it doubles the rate of speed of impact--
so if they were going 60mph and the other car was too---it is like the sec hit a wall going 120mph----this is the result

 

[rph74]

Wow that's horrible to see. I'm no expert, but my hunch is that seat belts weren't worn in this case in the Benz at least. I'm sorry for all those involved. RIP

 

[MBeige]

I believe the airbags will only deploy if the belts are used. In this case the airbag deployed, so the belt was used. It may have been the instant deceleration that killed them especially at that speed. RIP.

 

[Batou]

rip. it's sad to see any benz die, it's even more sad to see their occupants go as well.

 

[n5160u]

I believe the airbags will only deploy if the belts are used. In this case the airbag deployed, so the belt was used. It may have been the instant deceleration that killed them especially at that speed. RIP.

Airbags will deploy regardless of seatbelt usage. Newer cars with dual stage airbags will deploy airbags with more force if seatbelts are NOT used.
In high energy accidents even if all the safety systems work as they should, the internal organs cannot be fully supported or restrained and internal injuries from the decelleration forces will occur. In an accident as severe as this, I have known of incidents where the heart is pulled from its supporting tissue by the impact forces so suddenly that the resulting tear in the aorta is instantly fatal in a way that even having emergency medical care present at the scene would not have been able to change the final outcome.

This is only the second Benz I have ever seen where the passenger cell deformed to such a degree that the windshield post and its supporting structure collasped to the degree seen in this accident. The other one was a fatal crash too. Although I am confident that Mercedes builds the safests cars out there I am also aware that the laws of physics cannot be ignored.

In a world where the idiots talking on cell phones while driving outnumber the drunks on the road, I try to give myself the best chance of survival by driving carefully and by driving a Benz. That said, my most recent injury at the hands of another was from being knocked off my feet in a grocery store by a woman pushing a loaded shopping cart while talking on a cell phone.

 

[Bee]

Airbags will deploy regardless of seatbelt usage. Newer cars with dual stage airbags will deploy airbags with more force if seatbelts are NOT used.
In high energy accidents even if all the safety systems work as they should, the internal organs cannot be fully supported or restrained and internal injuries from the decelleration forces will occur. In an accident as severe as this, I have known of incidents where the heart is pulled from its supporting tissue by the impact forces so suddenly that the resulting tear in the aorta is instantly fatal in a way that even having emergency medical care present at the scene would not have been able to change the final outcome.

This is only the second Benz I have ever seen where the passenger cell deformed to such a degree that the windshield post and its supporting structure collasped to the degree seen in this accident. The other one was a fatal crash too. Although I am confident that Mercedes builds the safests cars out there I am also aware that the laws of physics cannot be ignored.

In a world where the idiots talking on cell phones while driving outnumber the drunks on the road, I try to give myself the best chance of survival by driving carefully and by driving a Benz. That said, my most recent injury at the hands of another was from being knocked off my feet in a grocery store by a woman pushing a loaded shopping cart while talking on a cell phone.

Good post

 

[DslBnz]

It seems quite apparent to me that the SEC took the brunt of the hit. It clearly absorbed the most energy and the person driving the Chevy was definitely speeding while not paying attention to the seniors drifting into oncoming lane.

Can't beat physics. With that kind of force, it would likely have been an instant kill for the Mercedes drivers.

My father was hit by a Fox at a full 70 mph and pushed into a Ford Explorer. This was in a 1989 300SE. All four doors were fine. The passenger side C-pillar buckled inward and the rear section absorbed the impact.

RIP.

 

[mcbear]

A bit more info that I had not posted originally but has come up in the thread [the investigating trooper faxed me the accident report a while back after our initial conversation when he realized why I was asking questions].

Chevy driver did slow down some [along with the rest of traffic] but witnesses said that everyone thought the Benz was going to stay in the grass until the last second when it popped up very quickly onto oncoming traffic.

Also, both women were wearing seatbelts and yes, it was pure physics against moving organs that did the damage. The only question that remained on the accident was WHY the Benz drifted into the median in the first place. There was no cell usage, no drinking. no traffic interference or known medical issue [although that could have been masked by the accident]. It was the start of the Easter holiday weekend so traffic was busy but not "congested" yet.