ESPN draft analyst has arm amputated after horrific Bronco crash

[broncobase1]

I would have liked to see how the 'cage' held up right after the crash. I'm guessing that they cut the A and B pillars to extract him.

It obviously did pretty well! It was a head on collision with a semi. It sucks to lose an arm but he is lucky to be alive. Good thing he doesn't driving a Prius.

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[Bart]

Rescue ops tear them apart a lot but off set semi head on is brutal. Either got a sudden flat or was on phone is my guess.

I'd say there's a 99% chance he was distracted. Most likely his phone.

 

[dpAtlanta]

I'd say there's a 99% chance he was distracted. Most likely his phone.

Steering input from the EDR from 5 seconds prior to impact would be helpful to determine if it was a slow drift, or a sudden turn of the steering wheel.
Unfortunately, Bosch does not record steering input on the Bronco.

 

[Steve_In_29]

It obviously did pretty well! It was a head on collision with a semi. It sucks to lose an arm but he is lucky to be alive. Good thing he doesn't driving a Prius.

Picture shows it was NOT a "head on" collision.

Looks to have been a glancing blow on driver's front corner

 

[maliu]

Looks like he crossed into oncoming traffic. Wonder how his lane assist didn't beep at him.

Because maybe he turned it off?

 

[SuperDave150]

It obviously did pretty well! It was a head on collision with a semi. It sucks to lose an arm but he is lucky to be alive. Good thing he doesn't driving a Prius.

Agreed.

Looks like a Sasquatch, therefore it doesn’t have crash bars (the stubby beams behind the tires). I submit that, if it had crash bars, some of the energy would have been deflected and he might still have that arm.

Now for all the people who don’t think the crash bars are worth the tire interference, look at the difference in crash test performance in F150’s the year they added crash bars. The difference was huge (in certain scenarios of course).

 

[Steve_In_29]

Agreed.

Looks like a Sasquatch, therefore it doesn’t have crash bars (the stubby beams behind the tires). I submit that, if it had crash bars, some of the energy would have been deflected and he might still have that arm.

Now for all the people who don’t think the crash bars are worth the tire interference, look at the difference in crash test performance in F150’s the year they added crash bars. The difference was huge (in certain scenarios of course).

Yet Ford had to get the Bronco to meet the crash safety standards even without the bars. That LITTLE tube of thin metal poking out in front of tire is NOTHING compared to the impact at speed with a tractor-trailer.

 

[timhood]

Yet Ford had to get the Bronco to meet the crash safety standards even without the bars. That LITTLE tube of thin metal poking out in front of tire is NOTHING compared to the impact at speed with a tractor-trailer.

The crash bars aren’t about absorbing crash energy. They are a iut deflecting the tires away from cabin intrusion. Regarding the comment you replied to, I don’t think that would have made a difference for his arm.

 

[EasternSierra]

Yet Ford had to get the Bronco to meet the crash safety standards even without the bars. That LITTLE tube of thin metal poking out in front of tire is NOTHING compared to the impact at speed with a tractor-trailer.

Did they actually crash-test a Sasquatch? I can't find any evidence they did for any model year.

Ford may have figured that they would only test a lower trim, so they could leave the crash bars out for Sasquatch models.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Did they actually crash-test a Sasquatch? I can't find any evidence they did for any model year.

Ford may have figured that they would only test a lower trim, so they could leave the crash bars out for Sasquatch models.

Pretty sure they have to test ALL models.

However as I stated, that TINY bit of thin metal tube wasn't going to affect the outcome of a crash in any case.

 

[SuperDave150]

The crash bars aren’t about absorbing crash energy. They are a iut deflecting the tires away from cabin intrusion. Regarding the comment you replied to, I don’t think that would have made a difference for his arm.

Whatever you say. Personally I’m leaving mine on. I want every bit of protection I can get. The before and after F150 crash tests prove the mettle of those little pieces of metal.

 

[SuperDave150]

No they don’t have to test every model. Not even every year. Nor does a vehicle have to “pass” to still be sold.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/ford/bronco-4-door-suv/2025

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2025/FORD/BRONCO%204DR/SUV/4WD

 

[SuperDave150]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/ford-f-150-crash-test-reveals-major-safety-gap-between-body-variants

”The reason for the disparity between these two models has to do with protective steel tubular bars which are welded to the frame and positioned in the front wheel wells exclusively on 2015 Ford F-150 SuperCrew models. Those help the SuperCrew model survive the small-overlap test.”

 

[Steve_In_29]

Whatever you say. Personally I’m leaving mine on. I want every bit of protection I can get. The before and after F150 crash tests prove the mettle of those little pieces of metal.

The metal tubes removed for the Sas Pkg are as effective at saving a person from a crash with a semi truck as the 4 leaf clover or lucky penny in your pocket.

 

[timhood]

Whatever you say. Personally I’m leaving mine on. I want every bit of protection I can get. The before and after F150 crash tests prove the mettle of those little pieces of metal.

Don't misinterpret what I said. What I said was those crash bars wouldn't have saved his arm. Their job is to defect the tires from intruding into the cabin. That means they are useful, and if you don't have Sasquatch-sized tires, you absolutely should keep them on. They will save your legs from a compound fracture in a severe-enough accident.

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