The body mounts of a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup failed today after a mechanical failure caused the driver to lose control of the truck. The end result is that photo you see above: the cab completely separated from the frame.
This afternoon in Pelham, New Hampshire, police responded to a report of a “vehicle rollover,” which, I guess, is sort of applicable in this situation. According to the Pelham Police Department’s press release, the 21 year-old driver “felt the steering wheel begin to shake just prior to losing control.”
A crash ensued, and when police arrived the truck’s cab “was completely separated from the frame.” Luckily, the occupant was able to just crawl out of the truck with only minor injuries, which—as the Pelham Police Department’s Facebook page puts it—makes her “very lucky.”
The police department says it’s still investigating the crash, which is good, because this whole situation leaves me with a lot of questions. How did the cab come off the frame? Aren’t body mounts meant to withstand enormous loads? Was rust a factor? What happened to the steering column? That’s supposed to attach to the steering rack, but it doesn’t appear in the photos.
Speaking of the photos, what’s going on in the one below? It looks like there’s a tow cable hooked to the cab and bed/maybe frame. Is the tow truck trying to pull the cab back onto the frame?
I’ve called the Pelham Police Department to get more answers. But regardless of what they say, this appears to be a seriously weird crash—one that has me worried about those hockey-puck body mounts (and the random bolts I used) on my old Jeep.