An impatient driver in Belterra, TX, attempted to run a red light, causing his vehicle and someone else’s to be likely totaled.
Austin resident and Redditor /u/Wonko-D-Sane shared dashcam footage from Belterra, TX from earlier last weekend (Oct 18, 2024) to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing an impatient driver turn recklessly as their attempt to run a red arrow turned into getting into an accident, likely totaling both vehicles involved as a result.
Check out /u/Wonko-D-Sane’s dashcam footage below.
[oc] An idiot decides to ruin someone’s day by running left turn red on 55mph road
byu/Wonko-D-Sane inIdiotsInCars
The accident happened at the intersection of U.S. 290 and Ledge Stone Dr. in Belterra, Austin, TX (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s dashcam footage shows, he’s stopped at the aforementioned intersection when he observes a driver in what looks like a Subaru Forester impatiently inching their way forward against a red light.
15-seconds later, with cross-traffic with the green light (the right of way) still going, the driver in the Forester attempts to turn left against red, but brakes hard in an attempt to avoid a driver in a truck approaching at speeds around 55 MPH (the speed limit in this area.)
The Forester driver brakes too late as the driver in the truck collides with the driver’s side front fender of the Forester.
The collision was so hard and violent that, in my opinion, it’s likely totaled both vehicles, although we didn’t get a good look at the truck’s front-end damage.
OP mentions the Forester eventually catches fire.
“Both sets of drivers were teenagers, I feel bad for the driver going through on the green, but from a selfish perspective, thank goodness he nailed the idiot otherwise the next hit would have been the box truck in the oncoming direction that would have launched the moron into the front of my car.”
“…the light runner’s vehicle did eventually catch fire, but crews were on the scene in under two minutes. (The EMS/Fire station is one block away)”
The red light runner being a teen driver played a role in the thought process behind this hare-brained move.
It’s cliche to say, but it’s not worth taking risks like this, especially when the payoff is getting to your destination half a minute earlier.
Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Now, both drivers are out of a vehicle for the time being and will have weeks of insurance, phone calls, and “paperwork” to wade through as their adjusters sort this all out.
