My Baby is Finally Home... After Being Shot at and Crashed

[Los]

Man! I'm glad your Ok, and your baby is back in her stall. Crazy world we live in now a days.

"Always expect the unexpected" be aware of your surroundings at all times...

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[DBX2]

I was set to testify against him but I was later informed he took a plea deal in Federal court. He was on probation for several Federal felonies involving drugs and guns and once he got caught after this incident and charged with attempted murder, firearms charges, possession of stolen firearms (there were several in his truck) he was looking at 60 years. I was told he won't see the light of day for the remainder of my likely life span.

Hallelujah! Justice still prevails and you and your Bronco are ok!!!

 

[Xjeepowner]

Unfortunately we hear way too often about repeat offenders committing horrible crimes when they should be in prison. For example the NYC police officer that was killed by a criminal that was arrested 21 times. We need to make sure when the opportunity to vote for judges and prosecutors we get rid of people like Alvin Bragg. I’m thankful you and your Bronco were okay but that piece of human debris should never have been able to attack you. God bless and be safe.

 

[buck_6G]

Apologize in advance for the photo diary and recap.

I got my 2022 Base MT new off the lot back in January of 2023. It was pure bliss and many wonderful memories were made while we bonded.

We took many trips and enjoyed the summer mostly topless as I pondered what mods or accessories to buy in order to make her my own. Weather Tech matts were added, RC neoprene seat covers, hood struts, side steps, 2 different shaded tops for when the top was off to protect the wife, who had finally begun to fall in love with Bronco life... life was good!

And then this happened.....

I was chased down by a road rager that I learned later, was apparently pissed off because I had an American flag spare tire cover (not being political, it is the reason he gave the police. just a fact). He shot at me several times before passing me and then spinning around coming at me head on. I tried to veer out of the way but connected with his Tacoma at a glancing blow sending him on his roof. Luckily I was on the line with 911 during the entire episode and the police arrived immediately to arrest him.

The Broncos frame was damaged severely as well as every single engine component forward of the block itself.

She was badly wounded and placed on a flat bed bound for the scrap yard.... but wait, there was a chance! She was not totaled after close examination by the insurance adjuster. The airbags had not deployed and amazingly a new frame only ran about $4500 on this machine. So off to the autobody shop she went... And as luck would have it, the auto union strike started right on time. Fast forward almost 7 months later and my baby finally came home!

The shop did an amazing job and even went out of their way to have not 1 but 2 Ford dealers sign of on and inspect the repairs to make sure my baby was good to go! During the 7 months without her, I had decided on a few modifications, nothing to crazy and mostly bolt on products, the first of which was new rims and tires and a mild audio upgrade consisting of swapping out the dash and rear pod speakers with Polk Audio 2 ways. The speaker swap actually made a HUGE difference! I scored these takeoffs for under $500 and put them on the day I got her back. And needless to say, the 7 month wait led to several other items being ordered and piled up in the garage.

I will update this thread as I begin other installs and give my opinion on the product quality/ installation difficulty. It is so good to have her home. Since I now have a horrific Carfax I am keeping her for the long haul and will continue to improve her one step at a time.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.

I'm sorry - he SHOT at you? He'd better be in prison for attempted murder.

Did you find out what happened to him?

Glad you got your Bronco rebuilt, and even dressed up in some nice new shoes. But Holy cow, it's good that you're alright

 

[Lcubed]

that's totally crazy!

i've been up and down that stretch of US-19 many times while driving between my sister's house and where my in-laws are doing the snow-bird thing

glad to see you and yours are together again

 

[Bdisco]

Damn I might have been tempted to do an entire wrap and park in front of his house. Something like this:

 

[ExJeePowner]

Maybe I missed it, but why didn't the airbags deploy?

 

[JBlanco]

That really sucks. I saw your first few pictures, and when I heard that he drove ahead and got arrested, I had to scroll down quickly and verify what I was expecting: it's Florida. Some stuff could only happen there.

I did the same thing but I was expecting Miami not Tampa!

 

[Anvilair1973]

Glad you're okay..
I still cant process how flag cover offends someone this bad!!!

Maybe I missed it, but why didn't the airbags deploy?

Just physics I guess. Tough to explain, but when he came at me head on so I swerved to the side median which since my rear tires were now in the grass, sent me sideways a bit. As I fishtailed back onto the road with him still approaching I struck sort of the front of his truck but more the side causing his Taco to flip violently I believe 4 times and spinning me around. He was somewhere near 80mph, I was about 35mph. So the impact folded the front frame rails to the side leading me to believe the impact was not hard enough in any one direction to trip the airbags.

I do not know if I would call any of this lucky, but in terms of the Bronco not being totaled, I guess it was.

Sometimes I wish they had deployed, it would have saved me a lot of waiting for the body shop and a diminished value claim. I am glad to have her back though because 2dr manuals are getting scarce.

 

[prospectfour]

What happened to the road rage guy? hopefully multiple felonies and locked away for a long time.

More likely to see him at a gas station the following weekend. I'm glad OP survived to tell the story.

 

[broncobase1]

Unbelievable. I wonder why this didn't make the national news? Glad you are okay. I got to be honest I love Base Broncos, even 2-door ones!

 

[mikeeshim]

I was set to testify against him but I was later informed he took a plea deal in Federal court. He was on probation for several Federal felonies involving drugs and guns and once he got caught after this incident and charged with attempted murder, firearms charges, possession of stolen firearms (there were several in his truck) he was looking at 60 years. I was told he won't see the light of day for the remainder of my likely life span.

Thankful for a few things.
60 years in a Florida pen is close to 60 years,
that you were not harmed physically,
and that you got your baby back.

Curious why a Freedom flag would set him off, probably an illegal migrant that's been living off the system for a long time.

 

[Anvilair1973]

Thankful for a few things.
60 years in a Florida pen is close to 60 years,
that you were not harmed physically,
and that you got your baby back.

Curious why a Freedom flag would set him off, probably an illegal migrant that's been living off the system for a long time.

Had something to do with a gang thing but I left
that out to avoid any political controversy

 

[BroncoAdventure]

Thankful for a few things.
60 years in a Florida pen is close to 60 years,
that you were not harmed physically,
and that you got your baby back.

Curious why a Freedom flag would set him off, probably an illegal migrant that's been living off the system for a long time.

No, it was a white all American guy. This was was shared nationwide on news outlets.

 

[BroncoAdventure]

Had something to do with a gang thing but I left
that out to avoid any political controversy

It's not controversy if you're stating facts. This is your story. Glad you are fine and I'm sorry that this happened.

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