When Trucks and Trees Collide

My DH is an early riser.  Each morning he quietly gets up at 4:00AM and get ready for work.  By 5:00 he is out the door and on his way to work.  From the time I lay my head down on the pillow the night before and sometime midday the next I never hear a word from him (I'm a heavy sleeper and he's a busy guy). 

At 5:15 AM this past Thursday he broke with our usual routine to call me.  Not used to getting calls in the early early hours of the morning, it tooks me what seemed like forever to find my phone.  DH says "Sorry to wake you up but I just got in an accident but I'm okay."  He goes on to tell me what happened.   It boiled down to this...he got into a fight with a tree and the tree won. 

This was the first morning after a gnarly arctic front had blown in the night before, bringing very little moisture with it.  The roads were dry for the most part but he went ahead and reduced his speed to work just to be safe..HA!  As he crested a hill the back end of the truck broke loose, sending him to the shoulder where he hill a small culvert.  From there it was the tree's turn.   It ran down the ENTIRE length of the truck on the passenger side.  Both airbags deployed.  The passenger window shattered.  And bolts on the front wheels snapped.  Here's a picture of the culprit.  That tree couldn't have been more than 6 to 8 inches in diameter. 

We are pretty sure the truck will be totalled.  Airbag replacement alone can cost a couple thousand to replace.  DH is sad.  He loves his truck and doesn't want to see it go.  But on the bright back when the  fuel prices skyrocketed, the price on used trucks dropped dramatically.  So there are some great deals to be made out there.

So our lesson for today is Texas and ice don't mix.

P.S.  I'm thinking about making up a t-shirt for DH that says "I fought the tree and the tree won"...hehehe.