Post by ironhold on Apr 29, 2013 20:41:53 GMT
For those who don't recall, about a year or so back there was an incident wherein a cannon being fired by the Build Team rocked back under the recoil of the explosion, causing the projectile to not only overshoot the safety barriers, but hit - and bounce off - the sloped edge of the bomb range, causing it to fly a full kilometer and go into someone's house.
Fast forward to this past Friday.
KXXV report
KWTX report
For those who don't know, I deliver newspapers for a living.
I was in the office preparing for the morning's run of papers last Friday. I had just brought a small furniture dolly up to the front of the office, and turned around to go take a seat while I waited. The second my back was turned, I heard a horrific series of noises.
What had happened was that a driver was going westbound when he crossed the turn lane *and* three lanes of traffic, hit a reflector at the edge of our parking lot, and went airborne. The driver was going so fast that, rather than wind up in the creek next to the property, he hit the opposite bank of the creek (which was angled) and flew about a good 50 feet, landing sideways in a wooden office / storefront space; the speed of the vehicle and the force of the impact were such that the driver was most likely killed on impact. The sounds I heard were him hitting the reflector, him hitting the bank, and him going into the other building.
I darted out of the office and looked around, seeing not only the vehicle but the fact that the engine was on fire. I dialed 911, and fortunately a cop was close by; he got there before I could retrieve the fire extinguisher from the office and get over there. He took the fire extinguisher and told me to get back, which was a good thing as the minute I was back on my side of the creek the engine burst into flames and engulfed the building.
Thing is, the car most likely bounced at a shallow angle. I say this as about 10 - 15 feet above where the car bounced there were a series of ground wires linking a utility pole to the ground; if the angle had been even vaguely steep, the car would have caught the wires instead, likely resulting in both car and pole going into the creek. There are a number of large trees growing in said creek, and if even one of them had caught fire the office would have been in immediate danger.
So yeah - even with a shallow angle, if there's enough force behind something it can still fly a lengthy distance and with great force.
Fast forward to this past Friday.
KXXV report
KWTX report
For those who don't know, I deliver newspapers for a living.
I was in the office preparing for the morning's run of papers last Friday. I had just brought a small furniture dolly up to the front of the office, and turned around to go take a seat while I waited. The second my back was turned, I heard a horrific series of noises.
What had happened was that a driver was going westbound when he crossed the turn lane *and* three lanes of traffic, hit a reflector at the edge of our parking lot, and went airborne. The driver was going so fast that, rather than wind up in the creek next to the property, he hit the opposite bank of the creek (which was angled) and flew about a good 50 feet, landing sideways in a wooden office / storefront space; the speed of the vehicle and the force of the impact were such that the driver was most likely killed on impact. The sounds I heard were him hitting the reflector, him hitting the bank, and him going into the other building.
I darted out of the office and looked around, seeing not only the vehicle but the fact that the engine was on fire. I dialed 911, and fortunately a cop was close by; he got there before I could retrieve the fire extinguisher from the office and get over there. He took the fire extinguisher and told me to get back, which was a good thing as the minute I was back on my side of the creek the engine burst into flames and engulfed the building.
Thing is, the car most likely bounced at a shallow angle. I say this as about 10 - 15 feet above where the car bounced there were a series of ground wires linking a utility pole to the ground; if the angle had been even vaguely steep, the car would have caught the wires instead, likely resulting in both car and pole going into the creek. There are a number of large trees growing in said creek, and if even one of them had caught fire the office would have been in immediate danger.
So yeah - even with a shallow angle, if there's enough force behind something it can still fly a lengthy distance and with great force.
