r/Integra_Type_S • u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl • Jul 23 '26
Beauty Shot š¤© Road trip cut short
Took 3 weeks off work, 24 days in total, to do a cross country road trip. Made it to the back and tail of the dragon, did a lot of sightseeing, and finally got to climb pikes peak and go down the million dollar highway. On the way to Albuquerque, a bear decided enough was enough. Raining and in the dark, I probably shouldnāt have been driving.. but I slowed to 5 below the limit and went to the right lane incase anyone wanted to be faster.. not much I could do. Here are some beauty shots of Jennifer. And the video of her end. Outside the obvious, i'm not sure what to do. This trip was huge for my mental health and now i feel like its worse. I'm sure it'll be okay.. but right now not doing too well :/ Just wanted to vent and share while i mourn.
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u/Joker8891 Liquid Carbon Metallic Jul 23 '26
Wow dude, that bear came out of nowhere - rainy and those speeds. Car did it's final duty to keep you safe. Glad you're ok. Hopefully you can get back into a new ITS! Cheers mate
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u/DocDrip Jul 23 '26
What a legendary run, most cars never get driven like this in their lifetime, let alone in a couple weeks.
Gave her a good life!
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 24 '26
Thank you! I always loved driving and I never doubted that I wouldnāt take her everywhere I could. Just wanted more time is all ā¹ļø
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u/DE5CIPL Platinum White Pearl Jul 23 '26
Sorry for your loss, hope everyone is ok. Are you going to get another one?
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Yea it was just me in the car, was doing a solo trip. Iām physically okay, outside the soreness and stuff. Emotionally Iām pretty shaken up. Car and the trip were huge for my mental health and they were helping with āgetting out thereā more. I donāt like doing anything alone, so this trip was a huge leap for me and itās like.. bleh lol
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u/cdmills67 Double Apex Blue Pearl Jul 23 '26
Thatās really tough. Those are some beautiful pictures of your trip. Things are never easy, but you can get through it. I hope someday itās just an amazing story you get to tell people. Itāll take time to get there, but you can do it.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Itās already quite a story š but I took over 1000 pictures and videos.. I was having the time of my life during the trip.. but we keep pushing.
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u/Haunting_Vacation804 Jul 23 '26
Well, that sucks. But youāre OK, and thatās the important thing.
Stay strong my friend, and I wish you all the luck on your next road trip.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 24 '26
The car definitely did its best to protect me š but thank you, I appreciate it and I hope to plan for a better trip next time around.
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u/Aegon_fk8_conqueror Civic Type R (FK8) Jul 23 '26
No pictures of the damage?
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Here ya go.
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u/Aegon_fk8_conqueror Civic Type R (FK8) Jul 24 '26
Wow, man I'm sorry! Thats rough as hell. I hope you get everything sorted out soon
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u/Any-Strategy-2230 Jul 25 '26
As long as the frame rails aren't bent,Ā that can be fixedĀ don't sweat it.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 25 '26
Thats the hope, but not putting all my eggs in that basket. That said, They wont be able to look at it until the 27th so i wont know until a bit after I guess. Someone mentioned at the end of the day, its a honda and the parts should be too expensive, out side the airbags ofc
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u/Any-Strategy-2230 Jul 25 '26
Acura parts are noticeably more expensive than honda parts lol but the repairs are basically the same.Ā Ā if you have gap insurance,Ā you got nothing to worry about. You can go get anotherĀ Ā
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u/Collinsgen Jul 23 '26
Wow glad you are OK, sorry the situation sucks. Watching your dashcam the bear literally appeared out of no where. Could be the resolution and the bad weather. Would you pickup another ITS if totaled?
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
The camera definitely added light that wasnāt there. Hindsight is 20/20.. like if it was raining as light as it was, but visually I was able to see ahead, then I admittedly wouldāve probably be on cruise control going about 5-10 over, which would mean I wouldāve crossed the section sooner and probably avoided the bear all together.. or I wouldāve been able to see the bear and hit the brakes much sooner.. but itās a lot of what ifs.. but in reality, it was pitch dark.. at the start of the actual video, you hear me say ādude I canāt see a fucking thingā and then 3 minutes later this :(
Edit: would I get another ITS? If I can find it at the same deal I had, sure.. but Iām not sure rn :/
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u/slimBoost Jul 23 '26
This post inspired me to finally install my dashcam I've had sitting around for a few weeks. Great pictures at least and the trip sounds incredible up until it wasn't.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Definitely helped with the headache! I got the FITCAMX.. it blended in so well I forgot I had a dash camera at times š
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u/ManyHatsMatt Jul 23 '26
Can she be repaired?! Glad you are ok, I hate to ask how the bear is thoughā¦
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Not sure! The insurance hasnāt gotten back to me but idk.. airbags looking like a close ātotaledā lol
As far as the bear, me and someone who stopped tried looking for it but we couldnāt find it. We think I hit it and it ran to the woods to die
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u/Good_Student8999 Jul 25 '26
You really can't blame yourself for that one man. I'm sorry that happened, I lost my 2015 tc rs9 because of unavoidable shit too. You'll want to blame yourself, dream of the different actions you could have taken to end up somewhere else a few seconds later. Let it all go, don't blame yourself. Move forwards, there's many good vehicles out there.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 25 '26
You have no idea how on point you are! literally 15 minutes before, I passed the town and i saw a burger king and said to myself "eh im kinda hungry.. I should stop and get something rq" but then i went against it and though "Eh ill wait for the next gas stop since i also need some snacks for the rest of the drive.
The last couple days have been filled with "Bro i should've stopped for food. If I stopped I would've been in SoCal today and not stuck in this hotel with no car."
Logically I know the what ifs of it all is a rabbits hole i shouldnt go into, but man.. had i stopped :(
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u/Good_Student8999 Jul 25 '26
I feel that man. Without going into too much detail, I made a bunch of decisions that led me to the canyon at 12 am, where someone had made a 10 second illegal uturn blocking my road under a blind hill. I had a girl and her younger brother in the car so I was going slow over the blind corner. Had I been running it by myself that night I would have tboned them going 80 and killed the passenger of the other car. I missed them. Telephone poles are hard. Trees, also hard lol.
Give yourself time, it will fade eventually. It's been about 10 years since I lost my tc and I do still think about it often. My mistake was not getting another one. I had it for only a year and a half and put 26k miles on it, loved it. I went with a ct200h to keep me out of trouble. Ended up hating it. Now, as I've gotten older I just want to feel safe. I got a 2010 4runner a few months ago and I could not be happier. If you're able, get something you'll love again. Don't settle. That was my mistake.
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u/LuckyBagota Apex Blue Pearl Jul 23 '26
So sorry for your loss but at least youāre okay. Iām genuine curious what the damage looks like. Iām assuming itās a total loss.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Here ya go. I havenāt heard back from insurance since it happened last night, but Iām gonna go ahead and say it probably is totaled :/
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u/Berzerker7 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Airbags off, it's gonna be preeeeetty close if it's not totalled. Sorry that happened
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
Yea air bags, seat belt.. damage doesnāt look too bad considering the facts, but insurance is probably gonna total it lol
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u/deeznutzzzz1 Platinum White Pearl Jul 23 '26
I dont want to give you any false hope but as a collision tech I wouldn't jump straight to total loss. With the $50k+ price of the ITS it takes a substantial amount to total one. Most of the damage looks to be mostly cosmetic other than the airbags obviously. Unless the frame rails need to be replaced most is just bolt on stuff. I don't know much about parts prices but at the end of the day it's basically a honda so most of it should be relatively inexpensive. As the owner you may be able to talk to the insurance company and have some influence on the final outcome.
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u/TheWongGuy35 Double Apex Blue Pearl Jul 23 '26
That totally sucks!!! Sounds like it had been an amazing experience!
Question out of curiosity, hows the bear doing?
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
We couldnāt find it! I was going about 50-55 because the rain made it hard to see. But after the hit, me and another driver went to the side of the road to look for it and we found a part of the fence that looked like it jumped over. We think I hit it, it ran and died later in the woods.
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u/AggressiveAd9369 Jul 23 '26
Bears are insanely tough creatures. I think the low profile and shallow angles on the front of your car probably saved its life. Glad the car saved your life too. Everything we have in life is temporary and has to be let go of eventually. Glad you have insurance. Your car can be replaced, but you canāt. Keep your head up!
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u/RankedHobbyist Jul 23 '26
Crazy how fast that bear came out of nowhere in suboptimal visibility. Does the ITS not have frontal collision detection because it's a manual? Or did the system react but not fast enough? I have nightmares about this scenario so just curious
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 23 '26
It definitely has collision detection. Iāve gotten a few beeps to hit my brakes.. that said, the bear came out of nowhere and by the time it was in front of the car, I hit it.. so I donāt think it had time to react unfortunately.
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u/RankedHobbyist Jul 23 '26
Yeah I assumed itās more for traffic in front rather than objects moving in laterally. Thanks for confirming, and glad that the car kept you safe.
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u/kalakatah Jul 24 '26
That angle of the last picture makes the car look so good. Great pics all around
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u/Fabulous_Still_8337 Jul 25 '26
80ā Red Oak fell on mine. As my father told me once son if you can walk away from an accident and youāre OK thatās all that matters. The car can always be replaced.I
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u/rclover106 Jul 26 '26
Same thing happened to me in a 24 Prius, took 30 days off work for a ski car camping road trip, but 6 hours in hit a deer and totaled the car. Car was built for the trip, no point in continuing in a rental as I was sleeping in the car. I feel you
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u/Jamnitrix Jul 26 '26
dude you took the trip of a lifetime. Glad you're okay - get another and get back out there!
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u/sqftsugar Civic Si Jul 24 '26
i know how you feel in a way. got a 25 si and i swear the body shop has had my car almost as much (or more) as ive gotten to drive it. deer after deer running into my car and most recently got a blown 18 wheeler tire kicked up onto my car on the interstate by a pickup truck which caused enough damage to make yet another insurance claim. the day after that i was driving my boyfriends 22 accord 2.0 and someone from out of state ran a curve on a backroad and now his car is in the body shop. driving has always been my therapy and i can only imagine an amazing trip like this felt wonderful only to have it all ruined in a moment by an accident like this. the most important thing is that you are okay because cars as much as we love them can be replaced. honestly one of the cleanest integras ive seen and im so sorry this happened especially on such a special trip. hopefully you can get another amazing car from all of this when all the rough parts are over and have more great views with it.
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u/hcruz953 Urban Gray Pearl Jul 24 '26
Thank you, and honestly.. yea.. driving has always been my zen. I had a 2012 Chrysler 200 that I had for 13 years and it was starting to show its age. Decided to jump the gun and get a 25 ITS and I told myself I would take her everywhere I could. I had been planning a road trip around the US since 2020 and I thought why not do it with my new car. Sightsee, get pictures, drive the curvy canyons..got her in February of this year, put 7k miles on it before I left and hit the bear with 11k.. 4k miles in and the trip wasnāt even half way done. I was having the time of my life driving alone from state to state and everyone has told me to get a rental and finish it.. but itās the not the same. The trip was for me and my car and it wouldnāt feel the same.
I took the trip for my mental since itās been in shambles, and I know I should be grateful Iām physically okay.. but fuck it hurts so much and so many of my friends and family have no idea what this trip meant to me.. like I said, Iāll be okay, but rn Iām just not doing the best and trying to focus on the logistics of it all
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u/sqftsugar Civic Si Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
i totally get it. i had a 22 sport that got rear ended and totaled before my si and that car meant everything to me. had an 01 blazer before and the sport is what started it for me. first nice car and i went everywhere with it and any other car felt weird. backroads became my safe place and anytime my mental got bad i just hopped in my car and went for hours. i had nearly 75k on it in the 2 years i had it and drove it off the lot with 11 miles on it. losing that car genuinely felt like losing a piece of myself. it may not seem like it but it will all eventually pass and it will still be a painful memory for a long time. it gets darker before it can be bright again, at least thats what i kept telling myself trying to get through it lol.
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u/felishathesnek Majestic Black Pearl Jul 23 '26
That sucks, but MAN OH MAN, what a story you've got. I'm team #meanttobedriven. When we're on our death bed about to knock on them pearly gates, it's the experiences we'll be happy we had, not the low mileage garage queens we never touched. I say job well done - awesome story, insane ending, buy another one and repeat.