No, it wasn’t on Autopilot.
For a moment, some people on Interstate 5 in Everett, Washington might have thought a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle was driving itself. The “ghost car” rolled off a trailer it was being hauled on, cut across several lanes of traffic, then caused an accident before it finally came to rest. The incident happened on August 18, with the person who was hauling the car picking up a citation for failure to secure a load, which includes a fine of up to $228.
After cutting across three lanes of damage, the Chevelle struck a car in the HOV lane. That car was outfitted with a dash cam, capturing the whole crazy incident for everyone to see. It’s actually one of those scenarios where without video footage it’s too much to believe.
After hitting the other vehicle and the concrete barrier, the Chevy rolled back into the middle of the road. Thankfully other drivers were by then aware of the danger, stopping before any more carnage was done to the muscle car.
Washington State Patrol said nobody was injured in the collision, which is quite fortunate. The Chevelle, on the other hand, has visible damage to at least the front end, driver’s front fender, hood, driver’s rear fender, trunk lid, and both wheels on the driver’s side. All that isn’t exactly going to buff out. Compared to the cost of the citation, the repair bill will be plenty large.
As you can see in the video, the matte black classic muscle car obviously wasn’t secured properly on its trailer. The vehicle also wasn’t left it gear or with the parking brake engaged, otherwise it wouldn’t have gone far at all. Admittedly, the situation could have been far worse.
With how much clean Chevrolet Chevelles sell for these days, one would think the owner hauling this classic American muscle car would have double-checked it was secure before hauling it on the trailer, especially on the interstate.
Photo and video credit: Tooper H. Axtman on Twitter