Pascal's Orange Atom's Sad Demise

[JoP]

Having emailed Pascal about his recent accident, as the only other owner of a single colour Atom,  he's replied in detail and has asked me to post it on the Forum as follows below.  We all sympathise with you Pascal and hope that your recovery time is as short as possible.  I've done as you asked and corrected your (few) writing errors, but your English is far, far superior to my Belgian!

Pascal's email:-

Dear Jo,
 
Thanks for the email.  The accident was rather bad.  At the moment I'm in the hospital waiting until Wednesday when they'll perform some more surgery on my "best" leg.  Luckily my passenger is already home recovering from one broken leg.  I have both legs heavily broken (one more or less destroyed under the knee.  I have to say it is a great chassis and I wouldn't choose any another car to make that crash in again.
 
It was a freak accident.  The car had been with the Belgian importer after another crash at the Zolder track.  I spun the car there and a followin BMW-racing car hit  me full-frontal at a tuition day in March.  So I took it to the importer and had it completely repaired.  I took it back from importer Debussere Friday night and on my way home I stopped to show a friend, who's a very talented motor-racer, the car.  We decided to take a small ride and when I took off from his place in 2nd and shifted to 3rd the engine started on a life of its own, revving beyond the red line.
 
The car moved like a rocket and at first I couldn't get it out of gear.  Meanwhile we were at travelling at massive speed and 50 meters from a T-crossing. The rear Alcon brakes were no match for the overpowered wheels, so I could only decide on how best to crash it into a concrete wall.  Turning to the right would have been too dramatic for my passenger, and turning left for me, so I hit it front on to make sure the chassis could absorb as much energy as possible.
 
 
Afterwards people that testified to the police declared that lots of smoke came from the engine bay after we started, but what has really happened will have to be found out later.
 
Meanwhile some newspapers have posted that we were racing in the streets and it has been big news around here...  It's a pity because I always try to make people understand that streets aren't for racing; tracks are, and then again I'm not competent enough to race - that's why I spend my track time on tuition days.
 
Doctors don't know if I will fully recover and tell me I'll know more within half a year.

However I'm confident it will work out ok.
 
 Can you take my writing mistakes out of this text and post it onto the A.A.O.C.
 
Thanks for all the messages and emails from all the guys
 
Pascal

[whooops]

Im glad to hear you are recovering pascal.  I also apologize for the other post I made in the clubroom where I assumed that you were intentionally speeding.  That would definitely be scary having the car take off on its own.  Though I had a haunted '65 mustang that used to do that.   

Take care

[dp35]

Thoughts and prayers to Pascal.  It takes a brave man to share that experience. 

Sounds like the throttle stuck. 

[Steve Gibson]

I like your positive attitude after the crash, Pascal. Admirable stuff.

When you get to read this I hope you're already on the way to a solid recovery.

We are speculating, but it could well be a stuck throttle. I had that problem on an Atom 1 a few years back but managed to dip the clutch and coast to a stop. I was doing about 40 on the A40, in west London, when the top of the arm of the gas pedal jammed against some bodywork.

It's frightening when it happens because it feels like the car has been possessed by an invisible force!

[Bruce Fielding]

Best wishes for the best denoument, Pascal.

I can vouch for stuck throttles being scary. A Ford Explorer I used to own tried to kill me a couple of times with a stuck throttle. Not fun at all!

[whooops]

My 65' mustang had broken engine mounts.  So when I accelerated, the engine would twist from the torque and pull on the accelerator cable.  It took a long time to figure that out.  I had to shut the car off when driving several times to avoid accidents. 

[benyeats]

Wishing you a swift recovery, hope you get back to full strength soon

Ben

[rfmarz]

I, too, wish you a speedy recovery Pascal. I had a throttle stick open in my BMW 740il- at night on a back road. I discovered- in a hurry- that the headlights go out on a BMW when the ignition is turned off. What fun at 100 mph. Keep in touch to let us know about your recovery!

[Driver]

Never had a stuck throttle, does a snapped power steering belt at the worst possible time on Grandfathers 2.5 ton Cadillac count?

My best to you and your friend on your recovery.

[1965Cobra427]

Best wishes to you Pascal for a full and speedy recovery. I'm glad to hear that your passenger did so well, too understanding the extra pressure that this can place on you. When my car took an offroad excursion through a barbed wire fence, I thought only of the driver's well being. Thankfully he and you have survived with the help of the terrific Atom construction.

As with the others here, I await news of your successful recovery.

--Randy

[Positron]

Best wishes for a swift recovery. 

[wisp]

Seeing what had become of Pascal's Atom made me very sad.

However it is excellent to hear that know one was fatally injured. Broken bones mend, scars heal, I know from experience.


Pascal,

All the best to you and your passenger for a good recovery.

[tarsman013]

best wishes for a speedy recovery
 

[CalScot]

I second and third all the best wishes on a speedy recovery.

I have had a fractured skull, broken pelvis, both arms and both legs broken more than once, all my ribs cracked, collapsed lung and a bunch of other nasty's from accidents. Survival is a gift, enjoy it and get another Atom. Lifes too short to curl up and hide

Best of luck.

[356speedster]

Yep - Pascal, all the best, I hope they can mend the bones.

I remember a sticky throttle incidend in my old 2.0 G60 Golf.  Accelerating down a dual carriageway I gave the car full throttle in 3rd, then as I got towards 6K, went for 4th only for the car to bounce off the limiter during the gearchange.  Without my feet on the throttle in 4th the car took off again.  I immediately realised what had gone wrong and selected 5th to slightly dull the acceleration... however, 250bhp in a Mk2 Golf is a lot of grunt and pretty quickly the car was doing over 120mph.  I had no choice but to dip the clutch and turn off the engine, leaving the ignition on so I could steer and coast & brake to a stop.

The trottle has got jammed wide open and after I pinged it back, it never did it again.  Very odd and also very scary.  If I was on a road like Pascal was, I'm sure I wouldn't have been so lucky.

Peace.