[DeTomaso] [EXTERNAL] Re: Who in LA has the back story on this Pantera?

Charles Engles cengles at cox.net
Sun Jun 14 14:47:39 EDT 2020


Dear Terry and Asa,

             I would propose this explanation for the discrepancy of the accident between Mike's report and Art's.

             I would suggest that it is likely some degree of cerebral concussion occurred.  I think it is likely that it would have been moderate to severe.   In that case, Art's memory of the accident is faulty.   As Art remembers it, he fell asleep and that may truly be as well as he remembers it.    The severity of cerebral concussions and the rapidity of recovery from them are extremely inaccurate in fiction, television and movies.

                        Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles


-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com] On Behalf Of Himes, Terry (US 397C) via DeTomaso
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2020 1:27 PM
To: Asa Jay Laughton; P - Mail List
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] [EXTERNAL] Re: Who in LA has the back story on this Pantera?

Is it really possible to fall asleep at 170mph?  Or just what you tell the Ins Co?  Just curious. 
At 170 my adrenaline would be sky high. I'm thinkin'



"A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
 stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
 
Terry W. Himes 
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Deep Space Exploration – Mission Operations
 
Dawn Spacecraft Team
Europa Lander Science Support Team
TGO Sequence Lead 
MEX Sequence Lead
Odyssey Sequence Team
Spitzer Space Telescope Data Team
 
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell:     (818) 653-8213
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov

 

On 6/14/20, 11:23 AM, "DeTomaso on behalf of Asa Jay Laughton via DeTomaso" <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:

    I met Art back in about 2008 in Ely as I recall.  It was after the 
    accident and before or shortly after he'd bought a new Pantera.  He was 
    scheduled to run the SSCC but didn't have a car, so he came in to Ely to 
    wish the team luck, gave me his room at the Hotel Nevada, and left.

    At the time, I'm pretty sure he was telling me he couldn't remember 
    everything, and thought he'd fallen asleep at the wheel at high speed.  
     From Mike's description, it appears what I originally heard no longer 
    matches up.  This is much more detailed than I think I've ever heard before.

    Asa Jay

    Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
    Spokane County ARES-RACES-ACS EC/RO
    ******************************
    https://w7tsc.org
    https://www.teampanteraracing.com

    On 6/13/2020 17:09, Mike Drew wrote:
    > AJ,
    >
    > Close.
    >
    > Art was wide awake in broad daylight, zorching through the Nevada desert near the Utah border, trying to go as fast as possible. Hand-held GPS units were brand new and he was already well into the 170s in his car which was the LAST Pre-L model, #4268. (See pics in the registry).
    >
    > Art didn’t believe in aero, and got a bit of a rush from front-end lift. At the fun rally several people tried to convince him of the need for some sort of air dam but he laughed off the idea. He said he liked the lightness of the steering above 150!
    >
    > Some short time later he was zooming along, just enjoying himself. He pulled into a convenience store at a crossroads, then set out heading for Utah. There was a pretty stiff crosswind from the left.
    >
    > He came upon a slight rise in the road, unnoticeable at normal speed but a Big Deal at over 170 mph. Air got under the car and lifted it up and it moved sideways about four feet, putting the right wheels into the dirt shoulder. He tried to correct and the car snapped sideways and flipped onto its roof, skidding along across the road to and off the left side. It then caught dirt and flipped into the air, landing on one rear corner with the nose straight up. It flipped again and landed on the other rear corner, neatly bending the car into a V shape from the doors back, then kept flipping and rolling innumerable times.
    >
    > He eventually landed on the roof which completely collapsed. He said if he had been wearing harnesses he would have been killed, but because he was only wearing stock belts, he slipped out of the shoulder harness during the wreck and got bent sideways over the center console, then got smashed between the underside of the roof and the console. I think the car ultimately ended up sitting right side up, although several corners of the suspension had been ripped off and flung through the desert.
    >
    > Meanwhile, a family had seen him leave the convenience store, and followed a few minutes later. Up the road, they started spotting clothes and personal effects scattered all over the road.  They slowed down to navigate past all the junk when one spotted wreckage WAY out in the desert. They stopped to investigate and naturally assumed that whoever was inside was dead beyond any doubt. But Art moaned.  So they leapt into action and a helicopter was dispatched from Utah. First responders cut him out of the car and he was in shockingly good condition, all things considered. He had broken ribs and a punctured lung from the console, and a few scratches. He flew to the hospital, they patched him up and he was released only a few short days later.
    >
    > He subsequently bought another Pantera, a red L-Model, and reportedly drove that one much more sedately!
    >
    > He is a retired Long Beach firefighter, and a hell of a nice guy! Sadly I haven’t seen or heard from him in many years now.
    >
    > So that’s the story of 4268.  I don’t know about the one in the junkyard though.  Before my time!
    >
    > Mike
    >
    > Sent from my iPad
    >
    >> On Jun 13, 2020, at 15:44, Asa Jay Laughton via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:
    >>
    >>    I don't think it's Art's.A  I don't believe all the paint would be gone
    >>    by now and that front tire, unless replaced after the wreck is way old.
    >>
    >>    Art rolled his Pantera at high speed one night after he (believes) he
    >>    fell asleep. This was some 10 years ago?
    >>
    >>    Someone will link to photos shortly I'm sure.
    >>
    >>    AsaA  Jay
    >>
    >>    Asa Jay Laughton, W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, retired
    >>
    >>    Sent using Jedi Mind Tricks
    >>
    >>    On Jun 13, 2020, at 15:21, Charles Engles <[1]cengles at cox.net> wrote:
    >>
    >> Dear Forest,
    >>               I seem to recall the name, but given the condition of the wreckage
    >> , it begs the questions of who is Art and what happened?
    >>                         Curious,  Chuck Engles
    >> -----Original Message-----
    >> From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com] On Behalf Of Fo
    >> rest Goodhart
    >> Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2020 4:37 PM
    >> To: P - Mail List; Rob DuMoulin
    >> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Who in LA has the back story on this Pantera?
    >> I would guess that was Art Stevens car.
    >>     On Saturday, June 13, 2020, 01:56:20 PM PDT, Rob DuMoulin <rob at dumoulins.net
    >>> wrote:
    >>    Totaled? Yup.
    >>   [1][2]https://www.automobilemag.com/news/wrecked-exotic-cars-de-tomaso-pan
    >>   tera-exotic-car-wrecking-yard-los-angeles-photos-gallery/
    >> References
    >>   1. [3]https://www.automobilemag.com/news/wrecked-exotic-cars-de-tomaso-pantera
    >> -exotic-car-wrecking-yard-los-angeles-photos-gallery/
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    >> References
    >>
    >>    1. mailto:cengles at cox.net
    >>    2. https://www.automobilemag.com/news/wrecked-exotic-cars-de-tomaso-pan
    >>    3. https://www.automobilemag.com/news/wrecked-exotic-cars-de-tomaso-pantera-exotic-car-wrecking-yard-los-angeles-photos-gallery
    >>    4. http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
    >>    5. http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
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