What’s the worst thing that could happen to your classic Chevy? Get keyed, stolen, or sold? While all those things would be a tragedy for many gearheads, one Camaro owner in Illinois is dealing with something even bigger. According to The Arlington Cardinal, the man, who’s name has not yet been released, rolled his precious first-gen on Sunday, seemingly totaling the car and injuring himself. Check out the aftermath of the crash in the video above.
The crash happened shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday in the 800 block of Estes Avenue in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
Police received a report that a 1967 Camaro SS had been involved in a rollover crash around 12:42 p.m., which resulted in the car resting on its roof with a downed tree resting on its undercarriage. When emergency personnel arrived, they found the driver trapped inside the car with gas leaking from the rear of the vehicle.
Firefighters had to remove the tree from the car before being able to access the driver, who was transported to an area hospital for his injuries. The whole process took nearly 15 minutes.
After looking at the car, it’s a wonder that anyone survived the accident. Police are still investigating the cause, but it looks like the car took quite the nasty tumble in the mid-day sun and with the lack of crumple zones and safety features modern cars are equipped with, the Camaro reacted accordingly- crumpling up into a compact ball of metal.
We love our classic cars around here, but this is an eerie reminder of their dangers. Then again, put any car through the ringer like this poor Camaro and it probably won’t end so pretty.
For more pictures of the accident aftermath, check out The Arlington Cardinal on Facebook. There you will find over 120 photos of the car resting on its roof and subsequent emergency vehicles that responded to the scene.