Ever wondered what would happen were you to run over that shiny, new iPhone 3G with your rusty old car? A certain relative of mine found out yesterday exactly what would happen, and now I’ve got the pictures to satisfy your curiosity. Next time your 2nd generation iPhone locks up (again), and you get the white apple of death, remember this.

My relative (who will remain unidentified) gave me the iPhone last night, in a plastic bag. I did not take the case, which showed the tread marks of the tire that (accidentally) crushed the poor phone. If you ever wanted proof that a rubber case for an iPhone really does not provide much protection, you’ve got it. Of course, I doubt that most any case you’ll find at your local Apple store could have prevented this disaster. The bottom line is that you should never set your two week old iPhone 3G on the hood of your car before driving away.

Interestingly, the white, plastic backing was completely intact. There are faint lines on it on the outside, which correspond to where the battery lies – just under the plastic back shell. The battery also survived, apparently unharmed (that’s better than blowing up, I suppose, though a battery-induced fire would have made for even better pictures), as did the SIM card (not pictured).

I circled the “Do not remove” sticker that you’ll find inside the bowels of the iPhone – an ironic reminder that sometimes these things just can’t be helped, right? The glass cover was either shattered or extremely fragmented, depending upon which part of the front you’re looking at. At least one chip inside the phone broke in two as well. I don’t even see the camera lense; I assume it didn’t make it.

I’ll leave the rest of the carnage for you to pick out of the pics. Click on any pic to see a higher-resolution image. If you want to see any other views, too, let me know in the comments and I’ll upload more.