Another car gone. This time, Mrs TheBoy's beloved Rover.
Some of this next paragraph is taken from other witnesses.
Driving home from work on Thursday, quite sedately as it happens (there was my mistake!), I'm slowing down for the roundabout at the end of a decent stretch of dual carriageway. I'm on the inside lane, which is queuing, as it usually does at rush hour, with the outside lane moving reasonably well. I join the back of the queue, I'm over on the centre line as its just about to go to 3 lanes for the roundabout, with middle lane being straight on. My lane. According to the lady 2 cars back, the car following me looked like she was going to go up the inside lane to turn left (which makes sense, given her address), but for some reason doesn't see I'm stopped. Hits me on NSR fairly hard - enough for spin me through 90 degrees, clipping the car in front in the process, and across the outside lane into the central reservation. Inevitably, the car coming down the outside lane had nowhere to go, except into the side of me.
End result, the Rover is clearly written off - damage to every panel except passenger door, possibly NSF wing. The car in front of me that I clipped will get away with rear bumper hopefully - I wasn't even aware I'd hit that on way through, but her bumper has damage on it, and I have scars on my NSF corner. The car who hit me in the outside lane, that is going to need a front end, and the car that hit me up the rear is going to need a bit more of a front end, inc radiator. 1 car was driven away, the other 3 recovered.
Police breath tested everyone, AFAIK, everyone passed. My reading was 0.0 apparently. What a good boy.
Paramedics called, as the woman who hit me was clearly in shock, and turns out may have broken or severly dislocated a finger, other than that, no serious injuries. Thankfully. My aches and pains are subsiding, and my strange memory issues becoming far less frequent.
The Rover, however, will never recover. I bought it brand new back in 2000, and its been loved and cared for ever since, and you would never believed it had over 116k under its belt. Yes, it had let us down - a fuel pump failure, and the obligatory K series HGF - but has been a dependable, enjoyable, comfortable, reliable workhorse. And in its last breath, protected me.
I don't get that emotionally attached to cars. Yes, I tend to keep the good ones for a long time, but very really emotinal about them. But I really will truely miss the Rover. The longest I've ever owned a car, both time and mileage, and I would say, for the purpose it fulfilled, the best car I've ever had.
RIP my little Rover.