SDC Member Involved in Fatal Crash

[studeclunker]

quote:For what it is worth. We have a good friend, age 77... <snip> Normal for her is a busy farm gal/hand.

Busy Farm gal/HAND[?] At 77 years old[?][?][?][?] Now THAT'S impressive![:0] Hopefully Mr. Calhoun does as well...


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
Lotsa Larks!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[barnlark]

Thanks for the update, Leonard. I hope Jim is in just as good spirits as his body sounds like it's repairing right now. This has made quite an impact on us all, I think and we all wish him the best of luck and health.

[curt]

For what it is worth. We have a good friend, age 77, who was T boned. She had a broken back in several places and after a painful recovery is relatively pain free and back to normal. Normal for her is a busy farm gal/hand.

[55 prez]

Thank you for the update and under the circumstances this is probably the best news we can hope for. Keep them in your prayers.

[lstude]

This report is from Wes on the Studebaker/Erskine AACA forum.

Well, they operated on his knee and I spoke to him on the phone. It turns out that his ribs are fractured and parts of his back, so, they are going to put him into a cast and he will be off his feet for a while. But, he is of sound mind, etc. The other driver has been charged, with the death of the woman and injuring Jim.
_________________________
Wes'



Leonard Shepherd
http://leonardshepherd.com/

[55 prez]

Does anyone have an update on Jim Calhoun's condition?

[stan zoerner]

Good to see this thread try to turn into something positive.As it happens[8D],I have a set of those kind of belts that i was going to install on the door.Thought they would look kool.Now I am rethinking[^].My best prayers and thoughts to all.

[bondobilly]

Those 56J seat belts are much more dangerous than not wearing one. Ford offered them the same year that Studebaker did starting in 55, and there are different versions between Studebaker models, some where made for sedans and some made for the C and K bodies. Both Ford and Studebaker's belts are real aircraft seat belts, but by securing them to the door presents huge problems upon impact. Should the door open, which the belts are supposed to prevent the wearer would be subject to masive internal injuries as the right side of the belt will be tight and the doors mass will pull on it.

The other problem is that Studebaker did not provide a seperate plate to be installed inside the door to hold mounting tab as pictured above. The whole belt is held in position by 5 machine screws into the inner part of the door. The best method would have been to make a bracket and plate combo where bolts would go through the door and be re-enforced with nuts and lock washers.

This also addresses a post I made earlier about how to keep the sea back from flying foward.

[studeclunker]

I don't know weather to sing praises that Mrs. Calhoun wasn't in the car or not. Talk about conflicted. But thank God anyway. Hopefully Jim recovers soon. The car and it's belts or lack thereof are incidental, Jim isn't. Still, he and his family are probably really hurt with the loss of a member. May our gracious Lord bless and comfort them.


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
Lotsa Larks!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[55 prez]

I can hardly express the sorrow I have for the Calhoun family. They would travel anywhere for Studebaker people and did so for our Ozark Trails Chapter several times. We had them at a Mall Show in Joplin and our Orphan Car Show in Branson where they were great hits with the crowds. We are praying for the family and especially Jim that they may be restored to their health and fun loving vitality.
Jim Caldwell

[mbstude]

'56J seat belts.



Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[studegary]

quote:Originally posted by New Kid In Town

Very sorry to hear this, my condolenses to the families involved.

I also own a 62 Studebaker, and it doesn't have seat belts. I don't even know if they were an option in 62?
I just bought the car for my wife and I to tool around in and attend some car shows with my two children(ages 6 & 2) It's kind of ironic to read about this, as I just got some seatbelts earlier this week to install in our car.

Sad news for sure.

The earliest factory seat belts in Studebakers, that I can remember, was for the 1956 model. I installed belts in all of the Studebakers that I drove, including '53-'54 C/K models.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer

[barnlark]

Everyone.. Please read the original link to the article. It was a family friend that passed away. Jim's wife was NOT in the car and is fine. We hope Chris and their children can get Jim back soon and concentrate on just walking, let alone the emotional toll.

I would also caution against theories for this unfortunate accident and allow the actual witnesses and police to sort out the facts. A real police report is eventually public information for those interested in the complete facts. Right now the loss of life to their friend Anita Barnett is weighing heavily on all of our hearts.

JDP started a great post/thread elsewhere on the subject of seat belts, thank you.

[61hawk]

quote:Originally posted by studesnbldr

Greetings once again to everyone.

I attempted contacting St. Anthony's Central Hospital in Denver to check on Jim's condition, but due to "confidentiality" and the fact I am not a blood relative, they would not release any new information to me. Does anyone know their family in order to get an update on Jim and to also confirm if, indeed, it was Chris who was killed?

One of the links above stated it was a family friend that was killed.

I do, admittedly, find it hard to believe that such an incident resulting in at least one death only results in misdemeanor charges. Somehow there simply doesn't seem to be much fairness in that.

Why is that? Where do you see grounds for felony charges? Did the driver of the truck purposely cause the accident? Was he on drugs or drunk? Nope... this was an accident. There was talk of speed involved, but so far this comes from one friend of Jim's and we've seen no proof of excessive speed. How many moving vans towing a vehicle have you seen that will do 80-90 mph as stated? Having lived in that area and driven that strip of interstate I'd be surprised if one of these trucks could go that fast and secondly if they could, why they wouldn't be governed down by the leasing company for insurance purposes. Had they been west of Denver in the mountains I could see it happening on the downward side of a mountain section of the road.

Does SDC have any way of expressing thoughts, prayers & get well wishes directly to Jim as well as condolences on their loss??

Christof Kheim
---studesnbldr
christof@rockymountainstudebaker.net

[Hippie]

My prayers go out to everyone involved.

Analog man in a digital world.