Plymouth Valiant

Maryfaith

• I have a car story with the valiant that involves Andy and me. I think that I was taking a break from Lynchburg College for a semester. Andy and I were coming back from Bernardsville in this car. It was wintertime but there wasn't yet any snow on the road. Andy was in the front passenger seat and I was driving and his bicycle was in the trunk of the car. We we going down a windy hill when it started raining out. At one point we pulled over to allow a big firetruck to pass us and it flew down the hill. At the same time, the temperature dropped and the road froze. All of the cars including us, started sliding on the road. On my right was a big grassy hillside. The car behind me bounced off of the Plymouth Valiant and continued on. I pulled the car right off the road and it nosed first into the hillside on the right!

Andy and I had seat belts on and we sat in the front seat afraid to move while other vehicles went by us.

Eventually a police car appeared and I climbed out of the car to let the cop know that we were alright. I said that we were. Andy got out too and it was then that we noticed that the gas tank of the car was mangled and the gas was dripping out from it into the street. The trunk was smushed in and I remember thinking that Andy's bike was probably totaled too.

The policeman then shared with us that when the road froze, the firetruck ended up bouncing off of 10 different cars. And that Andy and I were the only people who did not end up going to the emergency room. Just looking at the gas tank dripping into the street made me feel woozy. I can't remember how we got home after this. Obviously, the car was totaled.

Perhaps one of my brothers has insight regarding what happened next?

Ted

• My only strong memory of this car is that you could listen to the radio without having the ignition on. It didn't just work that way, you had to turn on the flashers first. If you did that, they radio would play with each pulse of the flashers. If you stepped on the brake pedal while this was happening, the radio would play continuously. Go figure.