Mark Hofman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2001
- Messages
- 3,095
- Reaction score
- 5
Got sideswiped by a semi last Thursday while towing the boat down to Table Rock Lake in the middle of our batch of Gustav rain. The semi drifted over into my lane and the next thing I know I'm fighting for control of the truck and trailer. My dad, out from Colorado, shouted a warning to me but I wasn't looking to the side. I had my eyes focused on my lane and his shout initially had me searching in the rain for something in my lane. Then *BANG* and I'm trying to keep my rig from jack-knifing.
The worst part about it was that the guy actually sped up and wouldn't stop even when we tried to get him to pull over. Dad said he was either talking on the cell phone (headset) or was listening to his music on headphones. I ran him down, dad got the license plate of the trailer and the cab number on the tractor, then we pulled off the interstate to wait for the police to show up.
The passenger side of my truck has various scapes, dings and one big dent back by the now-broken tailight. The front passenger door doesn't open. The impact caused the boat trailer to swing around and hit the semi's van on it's back corner, cutting my rub rail and putting some nice deep scratches and one big dent in the gunwale. The cover is torn.
This sucks. You try to take care of your stuff and one moment of inattention wipes all your effort away. I don't even know how to get the boat damage repaired, and will lose the use of my truck for probably a week. Still, I have to count my blessings. None of us was hurt. Neither ran into anyone else or caused a bigger accident. The truck is a truck and the boat is a boat. I couldn't replace my dad.
There's a silver lining to all this, and Greg will get a kick out of it. We launched onto Table Rock Lake around six that evening, and I caught my very first walleye - a 23" fish that weighed between 3 and 4 pounds. His name was Fred. Thursday night his name gets changed to 'supper.'
Thanks for letting me unload a bit.
Oh, and since I've sort of dropped off the earth for the past several months, just wanted to let folks know some good news. I was accepted into grad school and will be going for an MBA while working part-time for my current employer. Life takes some funny turns at times.
The worst part about it was that the guy actually sped up and wouldn't stop even when we tried to get him to pull over. Dad said he was either talking on the cell phone (headset) or was listening to his music on headphones. I ran him down, dad got the license plate of the trailer and the cab number on the tractor, then we pulled off the interstate to wait for the police to show up.
The passenger side of my truck has various scapes, dings and one big dent back by the now-broken tailight. The front passenger door doesn't open. The impact caused the boat trailer to swing around and hit the semi's van on it's back corner, cutting my rub rail and putting some nice deep scratches and one big dent in the gunwale. The cover is torn.
This sucks. You try to take care of your stuff and one moment of inattention wipes all your effort away. I don't even know how to get the boat damage repaired, and will lose the use of my truck for probably a week. Still, I have to count my blessings. None of us was hurt. Neither ran into anyone else or caused a bigger accident. The truck is a truck and the boat is a boat. I couldn't replace my dad.
There's a silver lining to all this, and Greg will get a kick out of it. We launched onto Table Rock Lake around six that evening, and I caught my very first walleye - a 23" fish that weighed between 3 and 4 pounds. His name was Fred. Thursday night his name gets changed to 'supper.'
Thanks for letting me unload a bit.
Oh, and since I've sort of dropped off the earth for the past several months, just wanted to let folks know some good news. I was accepted into grad school and will be going for an MBA while working part-time for my current employer. Life takes some funny turns at times.
