Watch: 1,300-hp Mercury Comet crash teaches owner lessons

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AutotopiaLA, a YouTube channel well on its way to half-a-million subscriptions, was tangled up in a major collision last December on the streets of California. Involved was a Mercury Comet, one which allegedly cranked out 1,300 horsepower and took over two decades to build.

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Watch: 1,300-hp Mercury Comet crash teaches owner lessons Back to video

Before diving into the details, it’s important to note that reports state no one was seriously injured in the crash and those in the Comet have generally recovered from the wreck.

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In the video, the AutotopiaLA presenter walks us through the incident, one for which he definitely got a front row seat. Coming up on stopped traffic, the driver (whose name is apparently very close to that of a popular box of chocolates) begins to indicates the car’s brakes have stopped functioning.

Wild stomping of the brake pedal and snatching of the B&M ratchet shifter ensures, all to no avail. It is estimated the Comet plowed into the back of a stopped Honda Odyssey minivan at roughly 45 mph (72 km/h). It’s unclear if a hung throttle played a role, though it certainly could have.

Below are some screen-captures from the video at the point of impact, but be warned, they are a little graphic. Reader discretion is advised.

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The passenger explains the majority of his injuries were sustained when his face got rudely introduced to the Comet’s dashboard, apparently leaving teeth marks and dents in the hard metal surface. Four new teeth and 30 stitches were at least some of the reconstructive work required. The driver is said to have blown out his elbow thanks to straight-arming the steering wheel at point of impact.

Note that, until now, we haven’t used the word “accident” in this story. That’s because wrecks like this aren’t accidents at all. In these types of incidents, someone screwed up. Here, that someone is the owner of the Comet, who freely admitted prior to taking the car out on public streets that it has been 17 years since the braking system was installed; that’s an eternity both in terms of the age of parts and the improvement in available braking technology.

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Also, it was noted by both the driver and passenger prior to the crash that they could smell the brakes and that the throttle was sticking at about 2,200 rpms (at 3:30 in the video, if you’re looking for it).

Did this crowd learn anything? Well, the film’s epilogue is filled with advice about installing harnesses and using them — the latter a remark on the fact that both driver and passenger of this Comet only used the lap belts on this drive rather than the full protective gear that was fitted to the car. Platitudes were also made about modern brakes. The host is apparently still dealing with back pain while the driver has allegedly regained most of the use of his arm after a “lotta dollars in hospital bills.” Score one for Canadian healthcare.

Left largely unmentioned – other than a passing note in the comments – were whether there were any injuries to, or the recovery of, the minivan’s occupants, which is rather distasteful. Even if such notations were intentionally left out because of bizarre American legalities, they still deserved a shout-out. We wish them well and hope they are okay.