Some mysterious object hit my gf's Honda Civic front bumper through the left side.
(We couldn't find the object, no other cars around) - anyhow it penetrated through the
bumper and clipped a plastic tank inside the bumper. This small tank contained coolant.

The tank itself is intact. The black tube that leads from the bottom of this tank upwards
shattered at the point that it joined to the plastic tank. The plastic tank is now
empty.

It was dark out and I could not see enough to be more specific. I'll return today and get
the problem resolved.

Questions:

Assuming there is coolant in the radiator itself will it be safe for the engine if I drive the
car far enough (less < 10 miles) to get it to a mechanic?? I'm concerned about overheating
and don't know if this tank is part of the engine coolant's circulation system or if its just an
extra reservoir. I thought I might just tape over the tubing which is now hanging loose for this
short one time trip. If people here think its unwise though I'll get the car towed anyway.

What is the name of the part at the bottom of the plastic tank where the plastic tube hooks in? At
the very least this (and the tubing) will have to be replaced as there is a break there.

 

It was probably a bullet, no joke.

 

A bullet in Ridgefield CT is pretty unlikely. Also I have some familiarity with bullet holes (target shooting, hunting) - a bullet would not have shattered the bumper and left a bowling ball sized hole. I'm thinking that she drove over something - someone else suggested it could have been an animal - but that animal would have had to hit the car side ways at a pretty good clip. I wasn't in the car at the time so I don't really know.

There is one funny update though. I returned by light of day to where we had left the car - it wasn't a coolant reservoir that got clipped it was the washer reservoir. However, some idiot at one of the places my gf takes her car filled it with coolant. So when its 10 o'clock at night, I can't see well enough inside the car but could see coolant on the ground I had come to the conclusion that it was a coolant reservoir.

A nice mistake to make though - less critical and much easier to fix.