Toad's Wild Ride At Beatty Turn Off

[DeathValleyDazed]

This amazing photo was captured by a recent visitor to DEVA and the comments section is fun to read. What do you think happened? 

https://www.reddit.com/r/DeathValleyNP/c...ier_today/

[DAW89446]

Wouldn’t surprise me if he left his transmission in Drive all the way down from Daylight Pass, not using the transmission to keep his speed under control with engine braking and rode his brakes all the way down to where they were useless when he needed them most.

[ski3pin]

I concur with DAW89446. It's a sad way to ruin a vacation but it may morph into a never forgotten family story. Or, will become an anchor date as it "Oh, that happened before Bob wrecked the trailer."

[DVexile]

Yep, or he could have just had a brake failure from some other cause and then wisely kept the truck in low gear eventually using the desert past the intersection like a gravel run away truck ramp to finally get stopped. Not rolling the truck was a definite win and why he could apparently just walk away from what could have been far uglier. So hard to tell really if it was an inept driver or a decently skilled one dealt a bad hand! It certainly could have ended up much worse…

A few years ago I saw a more inexplicable one near the dunes. Where the 190 turns to the northwest as you approach the dunes from the east someone clearly just kept going straight in a compact car and hurtled straight into the desert at high speed. Again more than 100 yards off the road, all air bags deployed, broken glass and underbody beat to hell - but they didn’t roll at least. Must have been staring at the dunes or something and not looking ahead at all.

[trailhound]

Must have been staring at the dunes or something and not looking ahead at all.

I read somewhere that many wrecks in national parks are due to drivers gaping at the scenery instead of paying attention to the road.

[DAW89446]

Must have been staring at the dunes or something and not looking ahead at all.

I read somewhere that many wrecks in national parks are due to drivers gaping at the scenery instead of paying attention to the road.

Or driving too fast at night. Those pesky curves that suddenly pop out of nowhere ... 

[DAW89446]

Was looking at the photo again. The trailer looks (looked) considerably newer than the truck. Wonder if the driver is inexperienced in towing in these conditions?

[David_Bricker]

I've come down from the Cloride Cliff road on a motorcycle.  Coming out of Cloride Cliff, I hit a rock, and sheared the shift lever.  Unfortunately, that action kicked the transmission into neutral.  We pushed/towed the bike out to the pavement, and I coasted down the hill, using the brakes only when absolutely necessary.  The plan was to get as close to Stovepipe Wells as possible, which is where our van was parked.

Everything was going fine until I came to the intersection of Mud Canyon and Scottys Castle Rd (North Highway).  As I turned the corner, the broken and dangling shift lever caught the pavement.  I went one way; the bike went a different way.  There was no traffic so I didn't hit anything, but I did pick up a modest amount of road rash.

The funny part was I was being followed by two older ladies in a 1960s Buick (This was in 1970).  They came to a stop, stared at me, stared at my motorcycle, assumed this was how I normally came to a stop, and continued on their way.  No "are you OK", no words at all.

David Bricker / SYR - ITO

P.S. The 90 degree corner on Hwy 190 just east of the North highway junction is a continual scene of single vehicle accidents.  In the past ten years, I've come across three within 2 hours of my arrival.  Considering I'm only out there a few times a year, that's a pretty high count.

[Candace66]

Hmm, not sure what happened there.  I don't see smoke or scorch marks on the rims indicating the brakes caught fire or even started smoking.

Mention of brake fires reminds me of the converted bus that burned to the ground near the Stovepipe Wells store in 2012. 

IMGP7822 by Candace66, on Flickr

IMGP7816 by Candace66, on Flickr

[DAW89446]

That bus was certainly converted ...