Thursday night on my way home from a station photo shoot at the downtown library, at about 10:45 pm, I killed my beloved 2nd generation Mazda RX-7.

No worries, I’m fine, save for one scratch on each of my hands.

I was driving in the right lane of southbound I-215, when the strap of the flip-flop I was wearing somehow got wrapped around the shaft of my gas pedal (the shaft that connects the pedal itself to the firewall of the car). My foot got wedged on one side of the pedal and my flip flop on the other (it’s kind of hard to explain), forcing the throttle all the way open so I was, in effect, flooring it.

I tried to get my foot out, or at least tried to stop forcing the gas pedal down, but it was totally tied up. It had only been a few seconds but I remember I was fast approaching 95+ mph (the last number I remember). I had been glancing down trying to see how to untangle myself when I looked up to see that I was very close to the car in front of me. I swerved right to avoid hitting it but was then headed directly toward the concrete barrier. I swerved back left to avoid hitting the freeway wall but at that speed (probably 100+ by then), I totally lost control of the car.

I spun 180 degrees in a wide arc, across probably three lanes of traffic, barely clipping the rear end of a car in the third lane with the passenger front side of my car as I slid by. So I was then facing the other direction in the third lane over, with a slew of oncoming cars coming toward me head-on. In the middle of the spin around, I had wrenched my foot free and was frantically trying to brake and steer and regain control. The momentum of the arc and 180 spin at such a high speed continued to move my car southbound with traffic, only now I was going totally backwards. Several cars swerved to avoid hitting me head-on as I slid back across the three lanes of traffic at what seemed like a very fast speed. My engine had quit running by then, so I was just skidding now, probably for about 40 or 50 feet, all backwards.

I kept sliding backward quickly and hit the right-side concrete barrier (the one I had earlier swerved to avoid) with the back driver’s side corner of my car. The jarring impact of that sent my entire middle console, instrument panel, heating/ac control, and radio into my lap and all over the passenger seat. I was thrown back and up a little, against my seat and slightly against my roof. Of course, I was wearing my seatbelt.

The car I had just barely clipped sped off and most cars kept zooming by. I was at an angle so the front end of my car was blocking half the right lane of the freeway, so I turned on my blinkers and kept my headlights on. I tried to get out, but the impact on the rear corner of the car (where my antenna is, er, WAS) had forced the rear fender forward, making it impossible to open the door. I crawled over and got out of the passenger side. Several cars had stopped by then and I called 911 and dealt with all that crap.

I tried to start the car to move it out of the lane of traffic, and it started beautifully. The engine sounded great, and I hadn’t really hit anything in the front that hard. But as soon as it started, it revved to a very high RPM, like the throttle was still all the way down, past redline and stayed there. I shut off the key so I wouldn’t damage the engine. I ended up having to start it four times to move it a few inches each time so the tow truck could get to it, and I think I probably totally destroyed the seals, compression, and, in effect, blew the engine by making it rev so high for that many seconds. I still don’t know why the engine wouldn’t just idle. The jar of the back impact must have been so strong to knock the throttle or something else under the hood open and out of place. After all, it was strong enough to make the interior of my car shoot forward.

Longer story short (too late!), the Utah Highway Patrol was very nice. Despite the flip-flip extenuating circumstances, I got a ticket for improper lane travel. The officer was very apologetic, but said he had to do it. I’m just grateful there were no other cars involved and I was not hurt, especially since it could have been significantly more serious, crossing so many lanes of traffic backwards/head-on and all. I am still very sore the neck/back area from being thrown back and from whiplash.

I am just bummed out about my baby. For those of you who don’t know, I’m fully obsessed with RX-7s. Whenever I took the 2nd generation to the dealer for service, all the mechanics would come out to look at it because it was “the best-condition second generation RX-7″ they’d ever seen. It was also the only black ‘88 GXL in Utah.

So much for selling my first-generation RX-7, at least until I decide if I’m buying a new car.

There’s a 3rd generation for sale nearby that I’d love to own, or I could look into a new RX-8 or even that Porsche 928 I’ve always wanted.

Then again, maybe I should consider this a sign that it’s time to move to a city with competent mass transit…