One our members of the Chelsea Amateur Radio Club witnessed a car accident that took place at the roundabout at Werkner Rd. and M-52 in Chelsea, Michigan. The member captured the event on his 4k dashcam and has uploaded an edited version of it to YouTube for authorities to view if they so choose.
The silver car driver was trapped in the vehicle and required professional assistance to exit the vehicle. Upon exit, she was able to walk toward the ambulance gurney with the aid of two firemen.
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS TO INVESTIGATING AUTHORITIES:
Time of Incident: October 3, 2022, 8:19 AM as recorded on the Blackvue dashcam
Location: Roundabout at Werkner and M-52 roads, Chelsea, Michigan
The original Blackvue cashcam file, front and rear facing cameras, is available if requested.
Witness Assessment:
What follows is Wes Cardone’s own statement regarding the vehicle incident. Wes Cardone was an eye-witness to the incident.
Consider the environment: At roughly 8AM this time of year, the sun poses a significant visibility issue for southbound drivers entering the circle from M-52. Wesley Cardone routinely passes through this point in the early morning hours and has developed a technique whereby he raises his left hand to block the sun, which increases the visibility looking at traffic entering the circle from Werkner in the east.
Additionally, consider that all cars entering the circle from the north on M-52 have the additional visibility impairment of their car’s A-pillar. This issue is of particular significance for the Werkner road roundabout because Werkner road does not meet with the circle at 90 degrees. Werkner Road angles into the circle at maybe 70 degrees which places cars in that location more squarely in an M-52 car’s A-pillar obstruction.
This was a two-car incident which may not be readily observable in the video to the casual observer. Upon intense inspection of the video, it appears that a black car was stopped or nearly motionless within the roundabout circle at the moment of impact. This may not be readily apparent at the beginning of the incident but becomes apparent when the black vehicle suddenly begins motion upon the impact with the silver vehicle.
A driver entering the circle from the north on M-52 will be primarily concerned with what conditions prevail to the east and will be less likely to be aware of that which lies to the west. This likely necessitated a sudden reaction from the silver car.
Carefully note in the video (with reference to the silver car), that it was the passenger side of the vehicle which launched into the air when one would have expected it to be the driver’s door. A possible explanation is an over-reaction from the silver car driver swinging to the left such that the passenger front tire struck the roundabout curb first. Also, notice that the silver vehicle was about to roll over (Z-axis rotational motion) onto its roof when something caused the vehicle to switch rotational directions and remain on its side. Since the passenger rear tire was now airborne, this supplemental force must have come from the driver’s rear tire striking the curb.
It is unknown what may have caused the X-axis rotation whereby the silver car’s rear end launched into the air. This likely may have been due to a large friction force with the front end digging into the roundabout gravel creating a torque acting on the lever arm of the car. The forward velocity of the car as a whole was sufficient such that the car continued to slide in its side for a few feet.
The appearance to the witness (Wesley Cardone) was that the car was going to continue in the forward southerly direction envolving his car. Fortunately, this was not even close to happening.
Wes Cardone called 911 while inspecting the wrecked silver car for associated personal injury. Looking into the car from the windshield, Wes could not see any occupancy. Wes shouted through the glass asking if there was anyone inside. I mean, obviously somebody was inside but you would still like some sort of confirmation. A woman’s hand appeared waving but nothing beyond an arm was seen. Wes then inspected the vehicle for explicit damage that might pose a personal risk such as a fire. None was found. He then moved his car to a safe location and returned wearing his reflective Chelsea Amateur Radio Club safety vest to identify himself to authorities as a witness.
