Mountainman2
Member
How would you go about saving your guns if you are in a bad wreck. I know almost tow truck drivers are honest but just to make sure what you do if you were hurt bad and had to go to a hospital?
Auto wrecks and guns
- Thread starter Mountainman2
- Start date
Some of that will depend on state laws and individual hospital policies.
I had an accident years ago and had my pistol on me when taken to the hospital. Granted this was a small rural hospital in Missouri. I notified the hospital right away that I was armed and had a valid carry permit. Hospital security came right away and secured my pistol while I was there. After the doctors released me, security escorted me to the door and then handed my pistol back to me with a zip tie through the action right as I was getting into a vehicle to leave. There were no issues at all the whole time.
Again state laws will differ as will individual hospital policies. I definitely would not expect the hospital security to react the same in a hospital in Kansas City or St Louis as the security in the rural hospital did.
I had an accident years ago and had my pistol on me when taken to the hospital. Granted this was a small rural hospital in Missouri. I notified the hospital right away that I was armed and had a valid carry permit. Hospital security came right away and secured my pistol while I was there. After the doctors released me, security escorted me to the door and then handed my pistol back to me with a zip tie through the action right as I was getting into a vehicle to leave. There were no issues at all the whole time.
Again state laws will differ as will individual hospital policies. I definitely would not expect the hospital security to react the same in a hospital in Kansas City or St Louis as the security in the rural hospital did.
Mountainman2
Member
Mountainman2
Member
I meant going to the range for a day of shooting or returning home. Who should you trust to take care of them?
The hospital i work at requires us to come to your room with a plano gun box and secure the firearm in a lock box in our office. You get it back when you leave.
If your state has CCW make sure you advise immediately when the PD pulls up. Last bad crash i was in i was carrying as well as a witness. I told the trooper before he exited his car but the witness forgot to advise and was talked to sternly by the trooper for not advising. I also had a long gun in the truck cause i was returning from a hunting trip. I would think the PD would take the gun and not the tow truck driver. In fact, I would demand it.
If your state has CCW make sure you advise immediately when the PD pulls up. Last bad crash i was in i was carrying as well as a witness. I told the trooper before he exited his car but the witness forgot to advise and was talked to sternly by the trooper for not advising. I also had a long gun in the truck cause i was returning from a hunting trip. I would think the PD would take the gun and not the tow truck driver. In fact, I would demand it.
My business partner’s former 25 year career was as accident investigator for a mid sized town’s PD. He was called out to every accident and was responsible for securing possessions including firearms for accident victims who were transported by ambulance to the hospital. He stayed on the scene until the vehicle(’s) were on the rollback, site cleaned and roadway reopened.
.455_Hunter
Member
I was in an accident this past fall (rear-ended on a 8 lane highway) that necessitated an ambulance ride and ER visit in a high-crime Denver suburb. I gave my primary carry, reload, and BUG to the Colorado State Patrol Trooper at the scene. He unloaded them and placed everything in a gallon ziplock. I secured the bag from the ER security desk when my family picked me up that evening. It was really a non-event with regards to my weapons. How it would have gone with a "war wagon" roll-out (carbine or braced pistol, large quantity of 20+ round mags), like some folks advocate, is anybody's guess.
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kmw1954
Member
My concern is more of firearms such as Rifle cases and Range Bags carried inside the vehicle as those are much more valuable than any hand gun I may have with. Unless again I was going to the pistol range and had my pistol box which may contain 10 or so pistols.
Probably just call a family member to retrieve goods at scene or at salvage yard. If you are in bad condition, too bad to speak to get somebody there then the bag and guns are the least of your worries. Guns and gear are just materials at the end of the day. Authorities will fill in the gaps if such an occasion arises.
bullpup-addict
Member
A couple of years ago Canceled Cary magazine had a article on what to do if you are in an accident while armed and have to be hospitalized. From what I remember it stated to give your firearm to a police officer and ask for a receipt in front of witnesses and do your best to remember names of officers and EMS and tow truck attendants. try to record as much as you can with your phone or have someone else do it with your phone.
Reloadron
Contributing Member
Several years ago I took my motorcycle out on a beautiful NE Ohio day. We seldom see 70+ on Oct 9th. I went down, bike went down on top of me. Crushed ankle and 5 busted up ribs. I was carrying my .45 ACP. I told the first police officers on the scene and they were more concerned with me and getting the bike off of me. They told the EMT squad I had a gun on my hip. The squad carefully removed my gun which went to the ER with me. Same as mentioned above, hospital ER had their hospital police get my gun. A few days later my son came up and they happily handed him my gun at my request as he left the facility. Never a problem one. The police and hospital staff were great. and the gun was never an issue. Thinking back I was never even asked to show my license. This was prior to Ohio going with constitutional carry.
Ron
When I was a Highway Patrolman, I used to gather up all of that stuff and keep it at home. Of course I lived in a town with a population of 300. We had no other storage option.
There was a guy who fell sleep and drifted into the median and vaulted down onto the pavement of an underpass. It bent his car into a 90 degree angle and broke his back. There was one Colt Govt Model 1917 that was perfect in the car. I had it for over a year and was sure enamored by it. I began to hope maybe the owner would never call for his gun.
One evening over a year after the accident, the dispatcher called and said there was a guy and his son at the local truck stop that had called to see if he could get his gun back.
I advised give me 20 minutes to get to town and I would meet them with the gun.
Damn that was a sad trip.
Another time a retired couple pulling an air-stream trailer were in a wind storm got blown off the road and rolled the car and trailer.. Both were injured.
While we were waiting for an ambulance and wrecker the lady grabbed my pants leg to get my attention.
She whispered there was an envelope in a drawer in the kitchen of the trailer with $10,000.00 cash in it. Would I take care of it? When the trailer was back on it's wheels, I retrieved the envelope.
I can tell you this $390.00 a month Patrolman, I turned that envelope over to the hospital staff in a hurry, that's for sure.
There was a guy who fell sleep and drifted into the median and vaulted down onto the pavement of an underpass. It bent his car into a 90 degree angle and broke his back. There was one Colt Govt Model 1917 that was perfect in the car. I had it for over a year and was sure enamored by it. I began to hope maybe the owner would never call for his gun.
One evening over a year after the accident, the dispatcher called and said there was a guy and his son at the local truck stop that had called to see if he could get his gun back.
I advised give me 20 minutes to get to town and I would meet them with the gun.
Damn that was a sad trip.
Another time a retired couple pulling an air-stream trailer were in a wind storm got blown off the road and rolled the car and trailer.. Both were injured.
While we were waiting for an ambulance and wrecker the lady grabbed my pants leg to get my attention.
She whispered there was an envelope in a drawer in the kitchen of the trailer with $10,000.00 cash in it. Would I take care of it? When the trailer was back on it's wheels, I retrieved the envelope.
I can tell you this $390.00 a month Patrolman, I turned that envelope over to the hospital staff in a hurry, that's for sure.
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Jim Watson
Member
A friend and his wife were killed when a truck ran a stop sign and broadsided their MG.
He was in the habit of keeping an "urban arsenal" in the boot, which popped open and scattered guns all over the roadside.
Were they all recovered and returned to the family? No way of knowing for sure. His Thompson was returned to the Sheriff's Department.
He was in the habit of keeping an "urban arsenal" in the boot, which popped open and scattered guns all over the roadside.
Were they all recovered and returned to the family? No way of knowing for sure. His Thompson was returned to the Sheriff's Department.
230RN
2A was "political" when it was first adopted.
There are always pluses and minuses as to what and why you carry, but one plus for just packing my little J-frame and two reloads (one in pocket, one in pack) is that it doesn't look like I'm too "tactical."
One minus is, "Boy, I hope I don't get involved in a real shootout with just that little five-rounder."
But a plus is if I'm ever in an incapacitating event I hope they will just think "Oh he's just an old fart with his little rinky-dink pea shooter" instead of "Holy crap, this guy is wun uh them right wing extremist racist Trump-loving fascist gun nuts!"
But you play your chances however you see them.
Terry, 230RN
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
He crammed a Thompson in the boot of an MG????
Musta been a "B." No way I could fit one in my Midget......
Sorry to make light of your lost friend, but the thought of an "urban arsenal" in an MG is pretty ironic.
Jim Watson
Member
I don't know just how many guns were in there, but it would have been several. I understand that his Python came out bent.
The Thompson has an interesting story. He saw an ad for them for LE sales. So he schmoozed the Sheriff into buying one on a county PO but his money and then issuing it exclusively to him. Of course it had to go to the county when he was killed. I think the next Sheriff traded it in on something more modern.
The rest of the story; his shiftless brother pawned his guns for dope money. His shooting buddies bought them up as they were sold off when not redeemed. I have a Mk IV S70 .45 and I know who has his nickel plated Python, not the one bent in the crash. The guy who got most of them is himself since deceased and we don't know where his stuff went.
The Thompson has an interesting story. He saw an ad for them for LE sales. So he schmoozed the Sheriff into buying one on a county PO but his money and then issuing it exclusively to him. Of course it had to go to the county when he was killed. I think the next Sheriff traded it in on something more modern.
The rest of the story; his shiftless brother pawned his guns for dope money. His shooting buddies bought them up as they were sold off when not redeemed. I have a Mk IV S70 .45 and I know who has his nickel plated Python, not the one bent in the crash. The guy who got most of them is himself since deceased and we don't know where his stuff went.
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NIGHTLORD40K
Member
Ahhhhh...short barreled FA, that makes more sense. I was trying to imagine any way to angle a full-stocked 16" civilian Tommygun through that tiny rear hatch.
Jim Watson
Member
Not a car wreck, but after the Incident that totaled my house and nearly me; club members salvaged my guns and cleaned them up as best they could. When I had recovered, I got them to a gunsmith who did a respectable job of refinishing them - they had smoke and water damage but none were hit by flame - and homeowners insurance actually paid him the $7000 out of contents coverage.
Speedo66
Member
When I worked in LE for a state agency in NYC, our book of rules stated if we were in an accident under no circumstances were we to render our firearm to anyone but another LEO.
No advice for if we were unconscious at the time. They seemed more interested in the firearm than the officer.
No advice for if we were unconscious at the time. They seemed more interested in the firearm than the officer.
CapnMac
Member
Despite the span of decades it has been since "shall issue" swept our nation, it remains an "unexplored country" legally and in practice.
There are a bunch of variables. If you are in a wreck and are not conscious, how does EMS cope with your holstered sidearm? Even worse, suppose the sidearm winds up loose in the vehicle?
Hospitals are generally GFZ, which can complicate things no end.
It's tricky ground, and there's probably no good path across it without at least a few muddy spots.
There are a bunch of variables. If you are in a wreck and are not conscious, how does EMS cope with your holstered sidearm? Even worse, suppose the sidearm winds up loose in the vehicle?
Hospitals are generally GFZ, which can complicate things no end.
It's tricky ground, and there's probably no good path across it without at least a few muddy spots.
I would call my wife. Have her come and get the guns.
My wife was in an accident. She called me before they took her to the hospital. I asked one of the officers to get the gun out of the glovebox. Turns out my wife had brought it in the house days before. I got the impression they were just going to hand it to me if it was there.
.308 Norma
Member
That's what I'd do, and seeing as how my wife carries too, I'd go get the guns if she was the one in the wreck. However, if we were both in the wreck, and both of us had to go to the hospital, I can only hope that one of us would be able to call someone we trust to come and get our guns.
That kind of reminds me of something that happened to some friends of ours 20 some odd years back. I won't go into the whole long story, but what happened was, one evening our friends managed to turn their truck and camper upside-down in a ravine while they were up deer hunting in the hills about 25 miles south of here. They were okay (just bumps and bruises), and they walked out to the nearest house and called an ambulance, AND me - to come and get their guns and other valuables out of the camper, which was upside-down in the creek.
My wife and I got to the house just as the ambulance and a Sheriff's Deputy arrived. The ambulance guys checked our friends over, then put them in the ambulance and headed for town (Pocatello) and the hospital - about 50 miles. My wife climbed in the ambulance and went along, while I rode with the Sheriff's Deputy back up the canyon to the crash site. The Deputy shined his spotlight down in the ravine while I climbed down there and slithered into the upside-down (and smashed) camper on my belly. I found both rifles, some binoculars, and a nice camera.
Anyway, long story short - our friends were okay, but their truck and camper were totaled. However, the truck's tires and wheels (which I'd been admiring for a long time) weren't damaged at all. So, for helping them out, our friends just gave me that set of tires and wheels. I put them on my own truck, and told my friends, "Geez guys - I HAVE a jack - you didn't need to turn your truck upside down just to get the tires and wheels off it so that you could give them to me!"
Old Dog
Member
This is not so much of a problem as some might think. In my state, first responders (to car wrecks, serious accidents, etc.) of course have the first priority of assessing the victim's state, then attending to his/her needs (remember the ABC's? airway, breathing, circulation? Bleeding, blood loss is an immediate attention-getter as are any crushing injuries (extremities, torso pinned, etc), once the immediate medical issues are attended to and the victim is readied for transport, our EMTs, paramedics, police officers, troopers and deputies may look to see if the victim has a firearm on them (this state has a high percentage of CPL holders) so the weapon is accounted for. If it doesn't get discovered until the victim gets to the ER, it will then. If a firearm is in the vehicle somewhere (center console, glove box, trunk), that's usually on the integrity of the tow company personnel -- who seem to be pretty honest about this up here, as they secure any potentially valuable items in the vehicles they take to their tow lots. I worked the road for a while, and never heard about any problems with accident victims losing, or having stolen, the firearms in their vehicles or on their person.
Frankly, if one is in a serious enough accident one is likely worried more about other things than their firearm(s) in the vehicle.
Frankly, if one is in a serious enough accident one is likely worried more about other things than their firearm(s) in the vehicle.
armoredman
Member
I get in an auto accident, go to the hospital unconscious, and my sidearm vanishes? If I survive, I'll worry about it, but not much - I have another one. Guns are replaceable. Since I am one of those REALLY annoying law abiding types, my thing would be having the person who crashed into me replacing everything stolen, broken or lost.
