A used Subaru Impreza saves a family
Ron Richman, an attorney in San Francisco, recently received a phone call from the eldest of his two sons, Sam, a lawyer in Los Angeles. The father heard something in his son’s voice that wasn’t right.
The younger Richman, 29, had been driving about 35 miles per hour on Santa Monica Blvd., just another late afternoon in the automotive maze of Southern California.
With a friend as a passenger, Richman’s 2014 Subaru Impreza hatchback was hit from behind by a driver witnesses estimated was traveling about 80 mph. The duo’s car then hit a city bus whose astute driver had swerved to avoid a head-on crash.
Richman suffered a concussion, bruised lungs and kidneys, deep bruises from his seatbelt, a sprained ankle and a concussion. Sam’s friend, whose name is not being used via request, suffered two crushed fingers, a sprained left hand, bruises and a black eye. Both of the car’s occupants walked away from the accident and are recovering. A police report, insurance company negotiations and the status of the reckless driver remain pending.
“He (Sam) is as rock-solid as you’re going to find anybody,” said Ron
Richman, who lives with his wife Kathleen in Foster City and is the family spokesperson. “So when he called and his voice is shaky and he says ‘please come down’ that’s what we did. We literally packed the car and 15-20 minutes later we were on the road to Los Angeles. We saw them at about 11:30 p.m. that night and so we knew they were ok.”
The Richman family diligently researched cars before buying the Subaru Impreza. It was originally purchased for Sam’s younger brother, Ben, then a junior at UC Davis. It became Sam’s car about 1 1/2 years ago.
“We thought the Subaru hatchback would be good for mobility and overall use to carry stuff and we did research the best we could for crash safety records,” Ron Richman said. “We thought the Subaru was at the top of the ratings. We bought the Impreza because it had a bit of a sporty design, which he liked. But it was also precisely for the crash safety record.”
From images forwarded by the Richman family, the Impreza is no longer a car but a chunk of wreckage. All of its airbags deployed in the accident. Sam
told his parents what he remembers was the few seconds when the thought his car was about to hit the bus headon and thinking he was going to die.
“The little I know about cars and how they’re designed and when I first saw the car, my thought was ‘what a horrific accident,’” Ron Richman said. “My second thought was, ‘this car did exactly what it was designed to do.’ I know a little about crumple zones and you could see the car absorbed the impact. You had two people who were able to walk away from that accident.”
The accident occurred above the highway 101 freeway. The impact could have launched the vehicle over an embankment and an estimated 100 feet down onto the freeway.
A few days after the accident and while on crutches, Sam viewed his former car for the first time since the near tragedy.
“It was the realization for him how bad the accident was,” Ron Richman said. “In his mind, he was going through everything. What was very upsetting as parents is that he told us he never saw the car that hit him. The next thing he knew he was going into a bus. When he saw the magnitude of what had happened, it did bring everything back. It was a very sobering moment for him.”
Ron Richman shared his family›s experience, reiterating talking about the accident helped.
“When you get a call like that, you’re a parent and you›re always a parent,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how old your child is. When you hear in your son›s voice he›s in distress, it’s very difficult when you can’t get to him immediately.” James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, publishes a free weekly automotive podcast and newsletter. Both have sign-ups available on the website: www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@ jamesraia.com.