Page "George S. Patton" Paragraph 85

On December 9, 1945, Patton was severely injured in a road accident.

The day before Patton was scheduled to leave Europe for a permanent trip back to the U. S., he and his chief of staff, Major General Hobart R. " Hap " Gay, were on a day trip to hunt pheasants in the country outside Mannheim, Germany.

The trip was designed to cheer Patton.

Their 1938 Cadillac Model 75 ( a full size Cadillac Series 70 V-8 car ) was driven by Private First Class Horace L. Woodring ( 1926 – 2003 ), who had not been the driver who drove Patton through the war.

Patton sat in the back seat on the right side, with Gay on his left, as per custom.

At 11: 45 near Neckarstadt ( Mannheim-Käfertal ), shortly after Patton's car had stopped for a train and accelerated after its passing, a 2½ ton GMC truck driven by Technical Sergeant Robert L. Thompson ( 1925 – 1994 ) made a left turn in front of Patton's Cadillac at an uncontrolled intersection, and without anyone seeing the truck make a turn signal.

Patton's car hit the front of the truck at a relatively low speed, estimated at 30 mph.