When Stephen King was struck by a vehicle and almost killed while walking near his home, it was like his worst fears had come true. King has, after all, a history of featuring killer vehicles in his work. From Christine to Maximum Overdrive to From a Buick 8, it’s no secret he’s often imagined what would happen if everyday vehicles came to life. Still, King’s stories are fictional. So, why did he purchase the van that nearly killed him?
On June 19, 1999, Stephen King was hit by a vehicle while out on one of his usual walks. His body was thrown through the air and he landed in a ditch, seriously injured but not dead. The driver of the vehicle, Bryan Smith, said he swerved off the road because he was distracted by one of his dogs trying to get into a cooler. King spent three weeks in the hospital, and underwent five operations.
Interestingly, as he recovered, King made an effort to purchase the van from Smith. He told the Chicago Tribune, “I’m going to take a sledgehammer and beat it!” Whether or not he actually went through with this threat, it’s clear King had some anger and emotional trauma that he seemed to direct toward the van itself. Could it be that King purchased the van to help calm his superstitious fear of cars? If his fictional work is any indication, he’s sometimes personified cars and imagined what would happen if they had thoughts of their own and wanted to hurt people. It could be that part of the reason he purchased the van that nearly killed him was to ensure it never drove again.
How Stephen King’s Purchase Of The Van Relates To His Work
Reportedly, King purchased the van from Bryan Smith so fans wouldn’t try to get their hands on it for a souvenir. It cost him $1500. Although this makes logical sense, at least for celebrities like Stephen King, it may only be part of the picture. It’s definitely possible that at least part of him blamed the accident not only on the driver, but also on the van itself—a 1985 Dodge Caravan.
King’s novel, Christine, about a 1958 Plymouth Fury that is possessed by supernatural forces, was published in 1983. Three years later, in 1986, Maximum Overdrive came out. Maximum Overdrive is a movie about machines coming to life to kill people, particularly cars and trucks. Interestingly, Maximum Overdrive is the only movie adaptation of his work that he has directed himself. Although he’s since sworn never to direct again, the fact that he chose to be so involved in a movie about killer vehicles is telling.
Of course, even after Maximum Overdrive was torn apart by critics and audiences alike, Stephen King’s interest in supernatural vehicles continued. After his accident, he wrote From a Buick 8, another story about a supernatural car. King continues to be fascinated with vehicles, such as in Mr. Mercedes, and imagines them with minds of their own. So, while the easy answer to why Stephen King bought the van that nearly killed him is to keep it out of the hands of unscrupulous fans, he may also have done it to calm his superstitious fears, ensuring that a particular 1985 Dodge Caravan could never kill again.
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