Soon after this initial interview, Shawn Davis, with the owner Russ Stover behind the wheel, decides to head out for a short drive in the Comet. Since it was just a casual drive, both of them chose to put on just their lap belts and not the harness, which in hindsight again, would have been a much safer option.

Upon arriving at their first red light, Mr. Davis notices that Mr. Stover had to tap the accelerator several times to unstick it, as the engine had been idling at about 2,200 RPMs. A problem he mentions is quite typical with older cars. Soon after driving further down the road, Shawn Davis notes to his companion that he can smell the brakes, i.e., the burning smell from brakes overheating. Mr. Stover replies that this is the case because he had to ride the brakes because of the throttle sticking issue to prevent the car from going too fast.

At this point in the video, Shawn Davis mentions that all the above things should have come across as warning signs. However, he has been in similar situations before, and as nothing has happened in those situations, he decides to not worry about them too much.

But as we can see in the video, this is when the crash takes place. The pair take off from a red light with a bit of speed, around 45-50 mph. Seeing a red light ahead, Russ Stover applies the brake, but he realizes they have failed. So he tries to swerve to avoid hitting the stopped cars but fails to do so and hits a minivan straight in the back.

1,300 HP Mercury Comet Crash: The Aftermath

Though the crash was severe and resulted in serious injuries to the people and extensive damage to all the vehicles involved, the good news is that all the involved parties have now fully recovered. Shawn Davis and Russ Stover are in perfect health, with the former back to producing great content on YouTube.

But what about the rare Mercury Comet? Is it dead? Mr. Davis says that though Mr. Stover has put the project on hold, he wishes to take it up again soon. And hopefully, we will quickly see this 1,300 hp 1964 Mercury Comet restored to its former glory being showcased on AutotopiaLA’s channel.

The video ends with Mr. Davis sharing a few words of wisdom: his learnings from this accident. First, he stresses always putting on the safety harnesses and installing them in your classics if you don’t have them installed already. He also advises regularly getting the brakes of such cars tech-inspected. Furthermore, his most crucial suggestion is to install a manual handbrake in a custom-built car, even though the possibility of it ruining the look of your car’s center console. Who knows, maybe if this Comet had one, things would have ended differently