Storms and low-riding Corvettes don’t always mix.
Just ask the driver of this C5 Corvette, who talked to a reporter from WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee last week about his misadventures following a major storm that swept through the area.
“I saw the water up under that viaduct,” Eugene Stephenson explained, “but I didn’t think it was that deep.”
He was just trying to get home to Whitehaven but didn’t make it past South Memphis before he stalled out in two feet of standing water under an overpass on Bellevue.
“It came halfway up the car,” Stephenson said.
That’s when the Corvette’s motor shut down, and he had to push the car to safety.
He told the reporter he was waiting on a tow truck when she came by.
Looking back on the situation, he told her, “It was pretty bad. It was pretty bad.”
He shouldn’t feel like the Lone Ranger, though. The reporter says tow truck companies told her they had gotten quite a few calls after torrential rains poured down on the city.
You’d like to think that your Corvette and motorcycle are safe when they’re parked in your own driveway and garage, wouldn’t you?
But not always.
A black on black C4 convertible and a motorcycle unwittingly became the victims of a four-vehicle pileup in Moscow, Idaho last week.
Police believe a 24-year-old driving drunk instigated the chain-reaction crash that caused an estimated $25,000 in damage at 3 a.m. Thursday, July 18.
The chain of events began on Quail Run Drive when the man crashed his SUV into a pickup truck, causing it to strike the Corvette parked in a driveway across the street. The Corvette then rolled into the garage and damaged a motorcycle parked inside.
Neighbor Lianne Wappett told KLEW-TV that it was “just an unbelievable night.”
“We actually had the whole block was out here watching, and just couldn’t believe how much damage one person could cause,” Wappett said.
The driver walked away from the crash, but he was taken to Gritman Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries. No word on any charges he’s facing, but police are waiting on the results of a blood test to decide if he was drunk.
A thunderstorm hit the Phoenix, AZ area Sunday morning and dropped up to two inches of rain, causing the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood alert. Unfortunately, that warning came too late for one driver who became a hapless passenger after his silver C6 Corvette was swept off the road and down a wash for more than 100 yards by raging flood waters.
ABC15.com reports the seventy year old owner was spotted near his vehicle after it was washed off the road. The man was rescued by the Phoenix Fire Department and no injuries were reported.
In this video from ABC15.com, you can see just how far the Corvette traveled before it came to rest against the side of a tree in the wash.
Damage to the Corvette appears to be extensive as the rear bumper cover is missing and the Corvette is resting in water that is higher than the wheels wells on the passenger side.
Hard crash for Magnussen but No. 3 Compuware Corvette will be ready to race
BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO (July 20, 2013) – Corvette Racing is a nine-time winner at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in American Le Mans Series competition. But the track formerly known as Mosport proved Saturday it can be unforgiving to even the best in racing.
Jan Magnussen set the second-fastest lap in GT qualifying for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R before a significant crash with less than five minutes left in the session. Upon its return to the team’s paddock, the Corvette crew went straight to work to dismantle and repair the No. 3 entry, which has Magnussen and Antonio Garcia second in the ALMS GT championship. Sunday’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 1 p.m. ET.
The Dane’s best time was a 1:15.601 (117.094 mph) that he set on his fifth lap. With pole position in his sights, Magnussen was on a flyer before a small bump in the middle of the third corner caused the Corvette to unsettle and veer slightly wide at the exit. The left-rear tire went off the surface just enough to send Magnussen into a spin and hard into the outside tire barrier.
The car will start Sunday’s race from the rear of the grid and is expected to make the morning warmup at 9:10 a.m.
Tommy Milner qualified the No. 4 Compuware Corvette sixth in class at 1:16.083 (116.352 mph). Despite the position, Milner was only 0.621 seconds off pole position. The car struggled to find balance in the second practice session and qualifying but Milner believed the fix would be an easy adjustment for Sunday’s race. He and teammate Oliver Gavin – defending ALMS GT champions – will go for their second ALMS victory of the season.
“Tommy and Jan both had solid qualifying efforts,” said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager. “Jan’s crash was unfortunate. He was on a good lap, but we were reminded how quickly this track can come up and bite anyone. The entire Corvette Racing team is an experienced and resilient group and will work as long as it takes to get the car repaired and ready for Sunday. It’s that ‘never give up’ spirit that we all exude.”
JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“One of the things I love about this place is that there is a real consequence to making mistakes or pushing too hard. We were just a tenth back from pole and this was an attempt to get it. I still think (the pole time) was in the car but I just bounced in the middle of Turn 3 over a small bump and that put me a little bit off line at the exit. A wheel off into the grass and that was it. I was off into the tire wall. I feel sorry for the team. For sure you try to avoid these things but sometimes they happen. When you hit the tire wall at an angle, it tends to rip things off the car. It will be a bit of work for the guys but the car was awesome in qualifying and I believe the pole time was in it. That’s why I went for it. The car will be perfect for the race.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 COMPUWARE CORVETTE C6.R
“In the previous practice we struggled with the balance of the car and that carried over into qualifying. We’re not way off by any means. The GT field is so close that you have to have a great car, and we have that. It’s a bummer. This was my first qualifying run in awhile and had the issue with balance. We had a bit too much understeer and need to dial some of that out of the car. But we have a direction to go and we’re not lost by any means. We will make some small changes here and there and be ready for tomorrow. We should be in good shape for the race.”
The green flag for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Mosport will drop on Sunday, July 21 at 12:00 pm ET. The race will be carried live at 1pm on ESPN2 or streamed live on ESPN3 at 11:45 am ET.
A medical helicopter was used to transport a West Milford, New Jersey Corvette driver to the hospital after he crashed his yellow 2003 coupe into a tree last Thursday morning.
Anthony Venturella, 57, was believed to be on his way to work at 5:42 a.m. when the one-car crash occurred on Route 23 South near the Kinnelon border.
Lt. John Matarese said Venturella was headed south on the highway when the car left the road and went into the median.
Venturella was left in serious condition after the accident and had to be extricated from the Corvette and taken to a landing zone at Kinnelon High School, where Hackensack Air 1 picked him up and carried him to Saint Joseph’s Trauma and Medical Center in Paterson.
The car suffered extensive damage, including the outer skin of the passenger door being ripped off and coming to rest a few feet from the vehicle.
Click here to view a larger picture of this Corvette accident.
West Milford police are hoping someone who witnessed the accident will come forward and tell what they saw to help explain why the accident occurred. Witnesses who were heading in either direction are asked to call the police at 973-728-2802.
The accident remains under investigation by the West Milford Police Crash Investigation Unit.
After a major thunderstorm swept through Toronto on Monday afternoon and dumped the equivalent of one month’s worth of rain in four hours, reports of flash floods starting pouring in. We caught a tweet from @meltait who is a/the multimedia editor/video producer for the Winnipeg Free Press. She shared a pic of this yellow Corvette submerged under an overpass.
Even sadder than the Corvette under water is wondering if the person standing to the left of the car is the owner. We can only wonder what it would be like to be staring at your pride and enjoy as it sits submerged in the rising flood waters.
Wow. My friend Holly snapped this of submerged Corvette #stormTO Flash flooding hit the west-end & 427 real hard. pic.twitter.com/iNuxrwNOCL
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