My sister stumbled upon this poor soul of a totaled 2006 Santa Fe and relayed its location to me. From the looks of it, the vehicle left the road at a high rate of speed (probably 50+ mph) and hit the embankment, causing the massive crushing of the front end. At that point, the driver airbag deployed. But because the car was going so fast, there was enough forward momentum to cause the vehicle to roll as it continued forward. We believe it may have rolled completely or wound up on the roof. Every panel was damaged although it was especially bad on the driver's side. All glass on the driver side was broken and even the windscreen was blown out! :blink: Only one pane of glass on the whole car was intact and that was on the cargo area passenger side.

If there is any consolation from this, it is a testament to how safe the Santa Fe truly is. The footwell was completely intact and the driver's seat was still bolted to the floor. It hadn't moved an inch. The steering column had collapsed as designed; I could tell because the turn signal stalk was touching the gauge binnacle. I do not know if the driver survived nor do I know the cause of the crash. If I dig anything up, I'll let you all know.

Quite an impact!
(IMG:http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/lovemysantafe/IMG_0461.jpg)

If you look closely, the alloy rim is cracked clean down the middle.
(IMG:http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/lovemysantafe/IMG_0462.jpg)

Yes, that's the windshield draped over the cargo cover.
(IMG:http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/lovemysantafe/IMG_0463.jpg)

Wow that is amazing.Sad for both the driver and the Santy. Atleast we know they are very safe.


Did you ever find anymore info?

I found a couple stories about people getting into wrecks with Santa Fes including one guy who crashed his while trying to run a police officer over with it (he was drunk). But I couldn't find anything on this.

I suppose it shall remain a mystery.