RIP Luis Aldaz. For those of you unaware, he had just signed on to drive in ALMS.
03-27-2007, 05:45 PM
#12
AudiWorld Uber User
Thread Starter
Luis in happier days
<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/3127/goofy-luis.jpg"></center><p>Being a goofball, petting his alcantara steering wheel.
03-28-2007, 09:06 PM
#16
AudiWorld Uber User
Thread Starter
So I just got back from an afternoon of checking out the accident scene. Flowers have started to
collect at the site.
This is purely and completely conjecture, but I think I know what happened. The accident happened deep in the redwood forest on Pescadero road.The stretch in question was going downhill at a decent rate. Just before the fatal corner, there were a series of gentle S curves that offered a clear view from start to end. At the end of the S curves, was a semi-blind left hand turn with a decreasing radius at a steeper angle followed by a right hand hairpin also at a slightly greater angle than before. Lyndon conjectured and I agree that he shot straight through the S curves without following the yellow line - meaning straight shot. In doing so, he did not see the full nature of the left hander and following right because he was in the center of the road. As he rounded the left, the corner tightened - not a good thing for any 911 - some people indicate he may have removed ABS from his car. In any case, there are no skid marks, as he no doubt recognized that with a tail heavy car going downhill, braking any more was not really an option. To his left was the vertical face of a cliff, and to his right, a steep ravine with large redwoods. In front a hairpin loomed large. As the rear of the car started to slide out to the right, being the racer that he was, he probably released the brakes to avoid spinning, but the rear end was already coming out. No skid marks were found. Maybe he was even on the gas at that point to try and get the rear in a straight line for more braking. Instead we followed the ruts as his rear wheels went further and further onto the slick needle strewn shoulder while marks on the edge of the road showed his front end was still on the pavement. At the outer edge of the shoulder was an earth berm. First his rear wheels, then the rear of his bumper, and finally the belly pan encountered the berm. This caused the car to tilt on it's passenger side. Marks could been seen in the pavement even after rains where either the spoiler or the front tires (now on their side) scraped along the white paint at the edge of the road before also disappearing onto the shoulder. Finally the tree where the terrible impact occurred. Bark gone at the point of impact and glass slivers and dust everywhere in the remaining bark around and above attested to the force. Below in the ravine were shards of carbon fiber and safety glass. From the pictures of the car itself, the point of impact was right behind the driver's seat. But in the course of the slide into the tree, the roof was utterly destroyed as well. Pictures of the car later, show the rear of the car bent up at an odd angle, but otherwise looking intact. My best guess is that although Luis was untouched, the sheer suddeness of his stopping caused massive internal injuries.
It's a mistake any of us could have made, and the outcome was one of those perfect storm situations that resulted in tragedy. There are any number of potential contributing factors that I won't speculate upon. In the end, we lost a wonder human being who was making our world a better place to be in, and as a result, we are the poorer for it.
This is purely and completely conjecture, but I think I know what happened. The accident happened deep in the redwood forest on Pescadero road.The stretch in question was going downhill at a decent rate. Just before the fatal corner, there were a series of gentle S curves that offered a clear view from start to end. At the end of the S curves, was a semi-blind left hand turn with a decreasing radius at a steeper angle followed by a right hand hairpin also at a slightly greater angle than before. Lyndon conjectured and I agree that he shot straight through the S curves without following the yellow line - meaning straight shot. In doing so, he did not see the full nature of the left hander and following right because he was in the center of the road. As he rounded the left, the corner tightened - not a good thing for any 911 - some people indicate he may have removed ABS from his car. In any case, there are no skid marks, as he no doubt recognized that with a tail heavy car going downhill, braking any more was not really an option. To his left was the vertical face of a cliff, and to his right, a steep ravine with large redwoods. In front a hairpin loomed large. As the rear of the car started to slide out to the right, being the racer that he was, he probably released the brakes to avoid spinning, but the rear end was already coming out. No skid marks were found. Maybe he was even on the gas at that point to try and get the rear in a straight line for more braking. Instead we followed the ruts as his rear wheels went further and further onto the slick needle strewn shoulder while marks on the edge of the road showed his front end was still on the pavement. At the outer edge of the shoulder was an earth berm. First his rear wheels, then the rear of his bumper, and finally the belly pan encountered the berm. This caused the car to tilt on it's passenger side. Marks could been seen in the pavement even after rains where either the spoiler or the front tires (now on their side) scraped along the white paint at the edge of the road before also disappearing onto the shoulder. Finally the tree where the terrible impact occurred. Bark gone at the point of impact and glass slivers and dust everywhere in the remaining bark around and above attested to the force. Below in the ravine were shards of carbon fiber and safety glass. From the pictures of the car itself, the point of impact was right behind the driver's seat. But in the course of the slide into the tree, the roof was utterly destroyed as well. Pictures of the car later, show the rear of the car bent up at an odd angle, but otherwise looking intact. My best guess is that although Luis was untouched, the sheer suddeness of his stopping caused massive internal injuries.
It's a mistake any of us could have made, and the outcome was one of those perfect storm situations that resulted in tragedy. There are any number of potential contributing factors that I won't speculate upon. In the end, we lost a wonder human being who was making our world a better place to be in, and as a result, we are the poorer for it.
03-29-2007, 08:58 AM
#17
Elder Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 11,377
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Memorial for Luis this Saturday at the Santana Row meet
Very hard to for me to read that April, but thanks for the details. I'll go out there on Saturday, but it's going to be very eerie seeing the scene.
I'm sure I'll see you at SR April, but for any others that knew him, would be great if you came out:<ul><li><a href="http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144492">http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144492</a</li></ul>
I'm sure I'll see you at SR April, but for any others that knew him, would be great if you came out:<ul><li><a href="http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144492">http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144492</a</li></ul>
