Leaf crushed by tree, driver trapped

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r1234567

Well-known member
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The driver is still in serious condition. I so hope he will be ok. What a freak accident!

http://on.11alive.com/1hkqiJj" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
"At the scene, he presented with cuts and bruises. He looked like he had no major signs of trauma. But we don't know that until they look closer at the hospital for internal injuries," Rutledge said.

Arora was rushed to Gwinnett Medical Center with serious injuries. He spent part of the afternoon in surgery. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in critical condition.
 
The pictures are a little misleading. It looks like they already took off the roof of the car to get him out and just let the tree rest inside afterwards. Also weird how he had little to no damage on the scene, but is now in critical condition at the hospital?! Did the ambulance hit something?!
 
2k1Toaster said:
Also weird how he had little to no damage on the scene, but is now in critical condition at the hospital?! Did the ambulance hit something?!
Click to expand...

The firefighter spokesman said that while the driver did not appear to have major injuries at the scene, he said they won't really know for sure until he was seen at the emergency room:

At the scene, he presented with cuts and bruises. He looked like he had no major signs of trauma. But we don't know that until they look closer at the hospital for internal injuries," (Gwinett County Fire Captain) Rutledge said.
Click to expand...

Most likely (and unsurprisingly) the driver suffered considerable internal injuries that would not be apparent without an x-ray or MRI.
 
Oh wow. Imagine if Nissan used a more dangerous chemistry and the pack caught on fire, burning the man alive while he was trapped. Not that that would even have happened, but there are benefits beyond price to only have 80 miles of range!
 
I don't see how this could have started a battery fire in any EV... It is not as if the battery was breached or in any way compromised... I'll take the extra range and degradation reduction, thank you.

pkulak said:
Oh wow. Imagine if Nissan used a more dangerous chemistry and the pack caught on fire, burning the man alive while he was trapped. Not that that would even have happened, but there are benefits beyond price to only have 80 miles of range!
Click to expand...
 
pkulak said:
Oh wow. Imagine if Nissan used a more dangerous chemistry and the pack caught on fire, burning the man alive while he was trapped. Not that that would even have happened, but there are benefits beyond price to only have 80 miles of range!
Click to expand...
really?
this has to be one of the most absurd statements I've seen in a long time
 
TomT said:
I don't see how this could have started a battery fire in any EV... It is not as if the battery was breached or in any way compromised... I'll take the extra range and degradation reduction, thank you.
Click to expand...

Seems reasonable that a multi-tonne tree could have made it into the pack. You only need one puncture anywhere along the entire bottom of the car.

Not that I wouldn't straight up trade my Leaf for a MS any day as well, of course. But many people have been trapped in burning gas cars over the years. And when it happens in an EV, its gonna be a media **** storm.
 
apvbguy said:
pkulak said:
Oh wow. Imagine if Nissan used a more dangerous chemistry and the pack caught on fire, burning the man alive while he was trapped. Not that that would even have happened, but there are benefits beyond price to only have 80 miles of range!
Click to expand...
really?
this has to be one of the most absurd statements I've seen in a long time
Click to expand...
Seems like a pretty reasonable statement. Tesla uses a much more volatile battery chemistry. Such a battery could cath on fire if the battery were sufficiently damaged. Luckily, in the Tesla fires so far, the drivers were able to get out of the vehicle. But an accident like this could have a worse outcome if the battery caught on fire. The new titanium shield on the Model S should make damage to the battery very unlikely.
 
dm33 said:
apvbguy said:
pkulak said:
Oh wow. Imagine if Nissan used a more dangerous chemistry and the pack caught on fire, burning the man alive while he was trapped. Not that that would even have happened, but there are benefits beyond price to only have 80 miles of range!
Click to expand...
really?
this has to be one of the most absurd statements I've seen in a long time
Click to expand...
Seems like a pretty reasonable statement. Tesla uses a much more volatile battery chemistry. Such a battery could cath on fire if the battery were sufficiently damaged. Luckily, in the Tesla fires so far, the drivers were able to get out of the vehicle. But an accident like this could have a worse outcome if the battery caught on fire. The new titanium shield on the Model S should make damage to the battery very unlikely.
Click to expand...

I thought the Tesla shield was underplating only. Meaning a tree from above, could still do it. Now we will just have to drive tanks.
 
2k1Toaster said:
I thought the Tesla shield was underplating only. Meaning a tree from above, could still do it. Now we will just have to drive tanks.
Click to expand...
Nissans battery chemistry is very unlikely to catch fire. Lower energy density. It's a trade off. A LEAF was even burned to a crisp in a forest fire and the battery did NOT catch on fire.
 
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/06/01/dnt-tree-falls-on-car-georgia.wsb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would think if the tree came down and punctured the pack from the top enough to cause a fire, there really isn't going to be much of the person sitting on top of the pack left...

Glad it looks like this guy got super lucky and will pull through.
 
Story on CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/06/01/dnt-tree-falls-on-car-georgia.wsb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Yes looks even worse since the "jaws of life" and such were used to take the car apart. But wow!
 
kevinleaf said:
Yes looks even worse since the "jaws of life" and such were used to take the car apart. But wow!
Click to expand...

From the CNN video, it appears the tree originally came down around where the dashboard/steering wheel are. The left rear door didn't even appear to be damaged; the firefighters removed it to make getting the victim out much easier.

Had the tree come down closer to the middle of the car, the driver might not have survived.
 
That LEAF appears to be an "S," so a MY13 or 14 with a steel frame. How much better or worse would an aluminum '12 or '11 LEAF have fared versus the tree?
 
Berlino said:
That LEAF appears to be an "S," so a MY13 or 14 with a steel frame. How much better or worse would an aluminum '12 or '11 LEAF have fared versus the tree?
Click to expand...
The hood and doors are aluminum on 2011-12 LEAFs. I know that the quarter panels, roof, tailgate, A-pillars, and presume that the frame, are steel.
 

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