We Walked Away, And That’s What’s Most Important!
Buckle up, because I’ve got a story for you. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article giving a 5,000-mile review on my ’24 TRD Sport. Sadly, shortly after that article, my kids and I had an experience in that same ’24 TRD Sport that I hope no one else will have to go through.
Safety is always a priority when buying a new or used vehicle. Of course, we hope never to have to test that safety first-hand. This is my story of what happened to our Tacoma on July 4th, 2024, and how I feel the 4th Gen Tacoma saved us from even more harm.
- The IIHS rating for the 2024 can be found here.
- A press release from IIHS gave it a top safety pick
Between IIHS and my personal experience, I can say the 4G excels in safety.
What Happened
It was a very hot 4th of July in Oregon, so we decided to go swimming. There is a swimming hole out in the countryside that’s close and always a great spot. When we pulled in, we were thankful to find one parking spot left! It was closest to the exit for an easy getaway when it was time to leave. We got out and started applying sunscreen and blowing up the floaties in the bed to take down to the river.
Just a few minutes later, we were all thankful to be alive.
At that moment, I heard what sounded like a grenade going off. The next thing I knew, I was knocked to the ground. My ears were ringing and I felt like I was in one of those dreams where I couldn’t move my legs. I looked over and saw my 10-year-old daughter on the ground. I was beyond relieved when I saw her bounce right back up.
However, I didn’t see my 12-year-old son. I yelled his name 3 times before I saw him jump out of the backseat of the truck. My heart raced and tears swelled in my eyes as I saw that for the most part, my son and my daughter were OK.
The Aftermath
The yellow line marks the trajectory of the driver that fell asleep. The purple mark is where I was parked (backed in).
Once I was able to get my babies safe and away from the accident, I asked someone to call 911. Thankfully, someone already had. I looked at the damage to the truck and was thankful I didn’t stay at the tailgate for 20 seconds longer, but I also knew that the Tacoma was totaled.
So, what happened?
A driver of a van fell asleep at the wheel. When she did that, she veered off the back road parallel to the parking lot where we were parked. Thankfully, she was also OK, and I was able to chat with her the next day to make sure she knew that my family and I did not have any hate toward her.
My son ended up with an injured ankle because the door shut on it when he was in the back. My daughter had some pretty nasty scrapes and bruises, and I walked out with a scraped-up knee and aches and pains (although that could be because I’m getting old as well).
End Result
After all was said and done, the investigator told me that the Tacoma acted as a shield and saved our lives. He mentioned several times how shocked he was the truck barely moved on impact (about 2 inches, which is what knocked my daughter and me down) despite being hit by a van going 55mph.
Had the truck moved much further, my daughter and I would have been crushed between the Tacoma and the truck parked next to us. I already loved my truck before this, but I’m thankful that it quite literally, saved our lives.
R.I.P. to my 2024 TRD Sport, we are forever grateful. I was able to pick up a new one recently, but this time, I got an Off-Road!
