The entire incident was caught on dashcam, showing just how close the dashcam owner was to getting hit himself.
Presumed Lincoln, NE resident and Redditor /u/ddmeightball posted personal dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the shocking moment an elderly driver runs a red light right and T-bones a vehicle next to OP, causing injuries to himself and the other party.
/u/ddmeightball’s thread and video is posted below.
[OC] Elderly driver ran a red light nearly t-boning me. Hit the driver next to me going close to 40mph.
byu/ddmeightball inIdiotsInCars
As mentioned, this accident happened at the busy intersection of N 48th St. and O St. in Lincoln, NE (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s video shows, he’s stopped on N 48th St, ready to cross O St when he gets the green light.
“Was driving home after my wife and I picked up a loaner vehicle from my parents. I was sitting at the light waiting to go while my wife was two cars behind me.”
OP mentions in other comments that he’s an extra careful and, as the video shows, he gives it several beats before actually driving forward.
Despite waiting several seconds, an elderly driver in a new Chevrolet Trax runs the several seconds old red light.
Thankfully, OP sees the offending Trax in his peripheral vision approaching, and he slams on his brakes in time, the Trax coming within inches of his front bumper.
“If I had been a second or two quicker going at the green light, I’d have been T-boned. My wife thought I was the one who got hit…”
Similar cannot be said for the car next to OP as, without a clear view of the approaching Trax, they continue forward, the Trax T-boning them at speed.
“Unfortunately, the guy in the red car next to me got hit instead. He ended up with a concussion and a lot of damage to his driver’s side. “
“The elderly driver of the orange *Chevy Trax SUV had a concussion along with a broken wrist. His adult daughter in the passenger seat was taken to the ER with possible broken ribs.
Apparently they had just registered the new SUV last week.”
Filled with adrenaline at the near miss, OP drives forward, pulls into the shopping center across the street and waited to see if everyone was OK as well as for emergency services to arrive.
” If I had audio recording enabled, you’d have heard me yelling “Holy f***ing s***” repeatedly as I tried to calm down and park to see if everyone was ok and to provide my dash cam footage to police and the car owners.”
It’s worth noting the elderly driver’s mood changed as soon as he found out there’s dashcam footage of the incident.
“He (the elderly driver) just kept repeating “I don’t remember what happened” to the police and the paramedics. His whole demeanor changed when I told him and the police that I had dash cam footage. Went from sweet, injured grandpa to an old cantankerous S*B.”
You’d think it’d be somewhat easier to drive in a flat, grid-like city like Lincoln, but often, such is not the case.
With easy to navigate streets, drivers get complacent, go into autopilot, and often let their bad habits seep into their driving.
That’s why, as this incident shows, it’s more important than ever to pay attention and drive defensively, especially at these easily laid out but highly trafficked intersections.
