On the way to the convention in Tampa.......

[LeicaTom]

August 7th 2010 about 6:02pm traveling west to I-4 (Near Lakeland, Florida)

My photo assistant Emilia Maria and I had a serious car accident on the Polk Parkway driving to the Fetishcon.

I am ok, busted up my knee and have got a brusied rib and have some small cuts and bruises, Emily was taken to the Bartow Hospital and I'm waiting to hear back from her that she's ok .

The seatbelts and airbags saved our lives........

Still trying to compose myself and find a quiet moment to reflect on all this, we both saw our lives flashing by us, this was a horrible experience .

Tom

PS: These were taken with my M8 and a Nikkor HC f2/50 ~ the M8 has a slight/rub bruise now on the top plate where it bumped something on the floorboards of the car....it's a reminder of this day a day that Emily and I won't be forgetting anytime soon :/

 

[helen.HH]

omg Tom...Its GREAT to hear YOU & Emilia have SURVIVED this Ordeal.
With LOVE & a HEALING Vibe from Me to You

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Tom,
Good to hear that the two of you are ok!

How did that happen? 😱

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[LeicaTom]

Thank you Helen and Uwe, I appreciate your concern and Emily and I thank you 🙂

Helen; Emily and I are ok, she has a concussion and brusied collar bone, I busted up my knee and the seatbelts burnt me across the chest, but we both were very very lucky that no other cars were close behind us or that we didn`t roll over when it happened......

Uwe; It was right after a typical Florida downpour, the road was soaked and the rear passenger tire blew out and the car went spinning into the guardrails, we spun and hit three times, we were very lucky by the third time we hit the right guardrail head on the car had slowed down a but and we didn't go flying over that guardrail (there was a 35 foot deep drainage ditch on the other side) I'm sure if we would have gone end over end over that last rail, I wouldn't be writing this to you right now......

The both of us are just so happy to be alive 😀

Thanks to the few friendly people here at RFF who have contacted me and have showed their concern, Emily and I are very Thankful 🙂

Tom

 

[aad]

I just saw this-I'm so glad you both made it through with only minor injuries.

Blow-outs are so rare now we often forget about the possibility.

I hope they keep Emily in for observation. Concussions are usually minor things, but I'm sure they'll check her out thoroughly.

 

[LeicaTom]

I just saw this-I'm so glad you both made it through with only minor injuries.

Blow-outs are so rare now we often forget about the possibility.

I hope they keep Emily in for observation. Concussions are usually minor things, but I'm sure they'll check her out thoroughly.

Yes, she's already home and ok, we are both tired and still achy, but just glad to be alive 🙂

The insurance company's looking into the tire damage to see what happened to the tire?

Tom

 

[MikeL]

Wow Tom, i'm sure glad everyone is okay. I spun out after hitting wet pavement (broken sprinkler) on an entrance to the freeway, and ended up facing the wrong way in the far lane. I also lucked out that traffic was very light that day. Have a good rest!

 

[gb hill]

Tom I don't know you but as an RFF brother I'm glad you & your friend are in no worse condition than you are in right now! No doubt looking at the car it had good tires! Possibly could of ran over something, had a nail in tire & on these hot days the road heat plus temp change caused by the rain could of seperated the tire! Only guessing! but I have already prayed for you & your friend Emily for comfort & healing from your wounds, peace in your hearts, & favor with the insurance company in the days to come. Also glad to read your M-8 survived the wreck🙂 Blessings to both of you in the NAME that's above every name! The Name that the Government or RFF don't like to hear! Matthew 1:25.

 

[sanmich]

Wow Tom, sounds a really frightening experience.
I'm glad to hear that you are both ok, and wish you a quick and full recovery.

 

[LeicaTom]

Wow Tom, i'm sure glad everyone is okay. I spun out after hitting wet pavement (broken sprinkler) on an entrance to the freeway, and ended up facing the wrong way in the far lane. I also lucked out that traffic was very light that day. Have a good rest!

Thanks Mike!

OMG! That could have been horrible, yes we too were lucky that nothing was following us close or that no tractor trailer trucks were behind us at speed....

I just am so happy that we didn't go end over end, while that's what was crossing my mind in the 4.5 seconds of the crash ~ I'm still a but frazzled and Emily is tired recovering from the concussion, we are just achy and sore, I think I'm going to go have a follow up check up at the VA hospital tomorrow.

Thanks once again to all my friends here and fellow RFF members who have stopped by here or have written me to show their concerns. ~ aad ~ gb ~ sanmich ~ 🙂

I'm going to take a nap....thanks again everyone!

Tom

PS: Emily and I DID get to work/shoot three (3) Retro Artistic Nude/Lingerie shoots on Friday night with Ludella Hahn, Nyssa Nevers and Leda Locke, using the M8, at the Fetishcon, so I will be posting work from it in my PiNuP's thread over in the M8 section soon ~ please stay tuned!

 

[LeicaTom]

*****UPDATE ON EMILY & I ~ She is ok and relaxing/recovering in Orlando ~ I'm taking it easy, just got back from the VA Hospital and the X-rays came back ok, I do have to take some meds to kill the pain in my lower back and neck, but all will be well in a week or so, I'm taking a vacation and relaxing, learning a new photoshop, I start scheduling new shoots after Sept 1st ~ Ciao 4 Now!*****

Tom

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Tom & Emily,

Just take your time and recover.

Well, it seems that this was a case of $h!t happens.
In some 28 years driving, I only had a blown tyre on the motorway once - and yes, that's an experience I don't want to have again...

Cheers,
Uwe

 

[jaapv]

Good to read that the personal injuries were relatively slight. I admire your presence of mind to grab the camera and start shooting.

 

[Ducky]

Glad you are all OK.
I checked your modelmayhem site. What a unique idea, retro soft porn. You even used the term 'retro models', I assume they have retro wigs etc. to get the look. Your standards sounds strict. Vargas girls were always done well, must be tough to duplicate on film.

Always something interesting popping up on this site.

 

[Olsen]

Tom,

Good to hear that you both are OK.

Could'nt the cause be 'water planning'; just the tires loosing the grip in half an inch of water? This happened to me several times. I did not notice it once before I let go of the accelerator and the speedometer dropped to zero while the car races along in 120 km/h. When the tires finally touched dry land, the car went wild and became very difficult to control, but I managed to keep in streight, somehow. Parts of Northern Europe, like Northern Germany, Denmark and Southern Sweden are notorious regarding rain, wind and 'water planning'.

 

[LeicaTom]

Glad you are all OK.
I checked your modelmayhem site. What a unique idea, retro soft porn. You even used the term 'retro models', I assume they have retro wigs etc. to get the look. Your standards sounds strict. Vargas girls were always done well, must be tough to duplicate on film.

Always something interesting popping up on this site.

Well, I wouldn't call my stuff Retro Soft Porn, it's vintage "girlie" magazine work styles ala early Playboy magazine.

NO WIGS USED!!!! ~ It's all the girls ral hair styled by professional artists, and yes it's hard to get this look on film or digital. 🙂

Thanks

Tom