Bad accident.

[etat]

Earlier tonight I was out working in my shop.  The wife came out and told me she was going to the store, about 6 miles, to pick up a few things.  I don't keep a phone in my shop, or take my cell phone with me.  

I'd been there about 15 minutes when suddenly my mom burst through the door and told me to come quick.  I didn't ask questions, I just ran as best as I can to the truck following her.  

She was wearing a house coat, and when I got to the truck my dad was in his underwear.  Now I'm scared but I knew it wasn't the time to ask questions til we were moving.

My dad said Kim had called and had witnessed a bad wreck but she wasn't it in or hurt, she was just bad scared and shook up.  I worried that she was in an accident and wasn't telling him the full story so I wanted to get there fast.

It only took a few minutes and I saw her truck sitting in the road and already folks flagging traffic.  She was sitting on the side of the road crying, and in hysterics.  I've seen her that way before.  

I grabbed her gently as I could and told her to look me in the eyes and to settle down and breath slowly, she was almost hyperventilating. Then I got a little rougher and told her to settle down and I meant it.  I wasn't wanting to be mean, I was wanting her to breath.

She was parked at the top of a hill.  Said just as she topped it she saw a bunch of folks on the right side of the road and slowed down.  There was a guy walking on the opposite of the road facing oncoming traffic.  She said a guy in a truck shot around her to pass just as this guy stepped 'into the road'.  The guy was driving a big ole dodge 4 wheel drive and she said he was driving fast as he passed..  He hit the guy and dragged him about 30 or 40 feet before running completely over him.  The guy was killed instantly. We had to stay until she could give a statement.

My dad taught me at a early age when walking down the road and hear a car coming to get off the road, across the ditch if possible.  

This was an accident that shouldn't have happened.  If only the guy hadn't stepped in front of that truck.  If only the guy in the truck wasn't driving so fast.  If only...................


I'm thanking god that my wife wasn't actually in this accident.  It was bad enough on her just having to witness it.  I'm not gonna say I'm sorry because this is the way I feel.  But that doesn't mean I'm feeling good because I'm not.

[Tom]

Those kinds of incidents affect so many people.  They are such a waste of life.   You, your wife and family must all have to live it the same as those who were actively envolved. I wish you the best and will be thinking of you often.

Things really are different now.  When I was young, people refrained from being out after dark, especiallly riding bicycles and walking down the side of a busy road. We were expected to be at home.  Granddad would tell Charlie and me, "the only ones out after midnite are drunks and thieves".  

It's aggressive driving and passing everything in sight that ends up getting so many people killed.  I've had it happen to me.  Nobody wants to slow down and follow the car in front.  It never enters their mind that the car in front slowed down for a reason.  Perhaps this fellow, held at fault or not, will learn that running through life like a bull in a china shop does nothing but put everyone at risk.

[Fla._Deadheader]

  BOY HOWDY !!!  You bout scared the crap out of me !!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Am I EVER glad that your bride was not hurt. Sorry after reading the whole story, about the guy that was run over. The driver needs some jail time to think about what he did, and NOT to go home, just like his victim.

  Tell the Mrs. I am very sorry she had to witness that horrible incident.

[Murf]

Nasty stuff indeed.

We nearly had a bad one here the other morning.

Stupid people doing stupid things in a rush to get to a job they don't want to be at anyways, never made any sense to me at all.

Two cars going same way, the one behind decides to pass, just as their getting to a narrow bridge, real clever. Ever more clever, the person driving the lead car decides rather than running over a squirrel trying to cross the road they will swerve out of the way.

Luckily for the passing driver, the lead car also slammed on the brakes as they swerved so the lead car had enough space to get back over before hitting the bridge abutment at 60+mph. It was so close I had to go look at the abutment, I was sure there was going to ba paint scrapes, there wasn't but I'm thinking there was a full pair of Depends......

[rebocardo]

What a horrible thing to witness, thankfully she was not hurt. It sounds like the guy in the truck could have easily taken anyone out. This is exactly why I do not drive fast anymore. I do not want to cause that kind of pain and suffering to anyone, including myself.

The thing that stopped me and my friends from driving fast many years ago is trying to imagine what we would say to a father if we ran over his kid and killed him because we were speeding. Just no way to clean that up.

I would not want to be the guy in that Dodge truck and having to answer for what he did.

[SwampDonkey]

I also had a narrow one a few weeks back. CAme to a complete stop at the end of the bridge and let a car go by that had the right of way, passing from right to left of me. Then I pulls out to cross the road. This is a 50 km/hr zone (30 mi/hr for our neighbors to the south). Then outta the corner of my eye I see's this truck clipping right along and I swurved to the left to avoid him. I never heard no brakes screaching and he never looked back. I dunno if I missed him coming or if he pulled out quick from a side street. In those Dodge Rams those dang corner beams up front are quite big and its possible that I didn't see good around that right corner beam. Anyway, got away with that one.

phewwww!!

[Faron]

Charles, I hadn't read this post until now. I hope your wife is dealing well with the afteraffects of an awful event like this.  Several years ago, back when I was a volunteer fire chief, my neighbor and fellow firefighter saw a 3 year old boy killed by a car.  It occured less than 200 yards from the entrance to our farm.  Two children were playing unsupervised, and got across the highway from their house.  A young woman topped the hill, unable to see the kids, and the young boy darted in front of her.  There was not a thing she could do.  My neighbor was coming from the other direction, across a long flat creek bottom, and could see what was going to happen, but there was nothing he could do either. The child was killed instantly.  This was one of the toughest accident scenes we ever had to work, from a lot of standpoints.  The saddest part was a few days earlier, a motorist stopped and warned the mother that the kids were too close to the road, we found out later.  He was essentialy told to mind his own business.  :'(  I thought the parents should have been prosecuted for child neglect, but it never happened.  They moved from that location shortly after. I was greatly relieved that they did, as they had four or five other kids, and I feared it was only a matter of time before it happened again.

[etat]

Thanks for responding Faron. She's reallly scared to get out at night and drive now.

[inspectorwoody]

cktate

Glad to hear your wife wasn't involved etc. I couldn't imagine going through something like that....In a situation like that you seem to find yourslef fighting with yourself sometimes as to who to blame. It is a shame that things have to end that way for somebody...his family etc.

I'll be keeping you and your wife in my thoughts and wish her the best in putting this behind her...It will take time but from the sounds of your post the time will be shortened with a great individual by her side like yourself.

God Bless

Gadget