FTE Member Walks Away from Ford Excursion Rollover
Performance specifications and stunning designs are nothing but bragging rights. Passenger safety is paramount.
Truck owners and enthusiasts can appreciate Ford’s constant search for vehicular perfection. Ford has a goal to sell at least one million Ford F-Series trucks in 2017, which explains the very reason why the Blue Oval never stops improving. It simply can’t. Being the best-selling vehicle in America comes with a few responsibilities after all.
None of these responsibilities hold a higher priority than passenger safety. As Ford Truck Enthusiasts has reported before, the safety technology found across all generations of Blue Oval trucks and SUVs is responsible for saving countless lives.
And now, as we can see in this active FTE Forum thread, we can add the name of one of our very own forum members to that list.
Longtime FTE forum member Krazee Matt was recently involved in a heavy rollover accident while piloting his 2000 Ford Excursion, which he affectionately named “Stay Puft.” Needless to say, he’s experienced firsthand the many safety aspects of a Ford vehicle.
“Today, at 14:00, a life was cut too short. At the young age of a mere 17 years old, Stay Puft died.
Cruising down a backroad, enjoying the scenery, her pilot blasting some AC/DC, and an 8% grade comes up. No big deal, 50 in a 45, her engine slows to a clattering idle. The grade is surprisingly shorter than anticipated, so the driver begins to apply the brakes.
Only they didn’t engage. In a fury, her pilot pumped the brakes and stood on them – but to no avail. It became decision time, as all of this occurred in less than 8 seconds – try to make the curve and risk under steering into the concrete bridge support, or aim for the 70° incline dirt wall. Her pilot chose the dirt wall, as another vehicle had appeared around the corner in the oncoming lane, and a head-on collision would have killed someone.
Up, up to the stars she reached her nose, before listing to the passenger side and pirouetting back to the ground, landing square on the roof and the driver side A-pillar. Her momentum carried her over for one more complete revolution before she slid back down the grade into the street, her driver side scraping down the pavement.
The airbags did not go off, the seatbelt did not lock the inertia reel. Her occupant was knocked out temporarily and awoke to find himself halfway under the dash, with the roof almost a foot away from the steering wheel. Dazed, he extracted himself using the center console front cubby that everyone forgets about, and then the passenger door handle as a ceiling hand hold. The remnants of the windshield were kicked out, and the pilot half crawled, half fell out the opening. She had done her job and kept her owner safe, one last huzzah after years of hard use and abuse in a love/hate relationship.
And I’m ****ing crying because I LOVED MY ****ING EXCURSION GODAMMIT
I’ll be alright, discharged from the hospital about 45 minutes ago. Nothing permanent – one hell of a concussion, bruised and cracked ribs, abrasions on my head from the pavement and broken glass, and a raging ****ing fury of emotions.
Buy back to part out may be happening, there’s far too many stout parts on her to let them just go to waste when they could help another Excursion stay alive… Trans, injectors, and turbo are good for 500hp all day long, and she was a forged rod motor too.
Rest in piece my beautiful spool bus, you’ve kept my family safe and brought us on many adventures, and brought the kids home when they were born. You died keeping me safe and alive.”
Aside from a discerning taste in music, Krazee Matt is a heck of a writer — managing to share an engaging story about his near-death experience with poet-like skills. That being said, there are few items that stand out. For starters, his Excursionisn isn’t just that. His pride and joy was a highly modified, 500+ horsepower beast which was also lifted and sported many accessories. Whether this had something to do with the brake failure, we don’t know.
One thing is clear, the Excursion’s frontal crumple zones did what they were supposed to do, and so did the roof structure. As hwybee22 put it “Very sorry to hear this, as I know it was your baby and the fastest 7.3 (liter) I knew of. Hopefully, you’ll decide to rebuild another one.”
While most forum members showed their gratitude for Krazee Matt having only suffered minor injuries, most were distraught over the expensive upgrades being disposed along with the crushed vehicle.
“BBFarms: Sorry for your loss but glad you’re ok! I was just looking at your posts yesterday trying to find a build sheet, for your beautiful truck, since it was apparently the fastest 7.3 ever. Maybe when you get everything settled down you could PM me some specs. Until then, rest and recover. Good to see you made it!”
Perhaps this thread serves as a testament to several qualities of not just the Expedition, but Ford vehicles overall. It’s no coincidence that vehicles like the F-150 and Super Duty have both achieved a 5-star safety rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Join the conversation in Krazee Matt’s thread.
