Pleasant Valley Road
It's not like I haven't seen one before. I have seen a few in my lifetime. I've seen a Jeep Wrangler flip over another car and I've seen tiny Tiburon's bounce off medians but somehow this morning's accident was different.
No one hit the back of the car and it didn't appear the car was following too closely behind one in front. Yet for some reason it was moving over into the shoulder. Obviously a car moving oddly caught my eye and I slowed down. It wasn't in my lane, we were going opposite ways and I knew I was in no danger.
Each detail is so vivid. As the car pulled over into the shoulder it sped up. Why was it speeding up? Didn't the driver see the ditch, didn't the driver see the stones built up against the driveway? Did they fall asleep, did they mean to push down on the pedal?
I don't think it was smoke. I think it was dust from the car colliding with stone and picking up grit from the road. And then it was glass, shattered glass and pieces of the headlights. The hood crunched up like a candy wrapper and the front bumper falling away from the frame. The back wheels lifting off the ground and the airbag inflating inside. I saw all these things and I heard the crash. There wasn't a squeal, no whiny tires, no screams were audible though I am sure many of us did. As a witness it felt as though the wind was knocked out of me. My hand instinctively went up to cover my mouth while I sucked in trying to catch my breath. The car in front of me happened to be an undercover police car and the lights were flashing. I stopped. I pulled over. The other lane stopped. Other cars pulled over. The police car made a three point turn and pulled up behind the scene. He opened the driver door. The driver's body laid against the inflated bag. A dust or white powder came out from the inside of the car.
Traffic began crawling. I didn't hear sirens until I was in the parking lot at work. I have no idea what happened once I drove away. Will I be reading about this person in the paper tomorrow? What will the outcome be?
Somehow this accident, was it an accident?, has changed the path of my day completely and maybe even on a bigger scope my life. I wonder if everyone else saw what I saw. I wonder what they are thinking right now. I wonder if they are writing about it or telling someone, are they crying, is their stomach doing somersaults?
I'm sorry for this person. For this person who maybe lost control of their car. Or maybe was having a bad morning and decided to run themselves off the road. I'm sorry for the people who live in the house with the stone built up around their driveway. I'm sorry for the police officer who was driving undercover probably looking to catch someone speeding and instead happened to be the vehicle in front of me when the accident happened.
Why is this upsetting me so much? Is it because I was only 8 feet from the vehicle? Is it because I can't explain what happened? Is it because I too have felt like running my car off the road and into a wall? My only fear being I would survive the accident?
Right now I'll offer a prayer. Then I will publish this entry and get to work. And wonder.
No one hit the back of the car and it didn't appear the car was following too closely behind one in front. Yet for some reason it was moving over into the shoulder. Obviously a car moving oddly caught my eye and I slowed down. It wasn't in my lane, we were going opposite ways and I knew I was in no danger.
Each detail is so vivid. As the car pulled over into the shoulder it sped up. Why was it speeding up? Didn't the driver see the ditch, didn't the driver see the stones built up against the driveway? Did they fall asleep, did they mean to push down on the pedal?
I don't think it was smoke. I think it was dust from the car colliding with stone and picking up grit from the road. And then it was glass, shattered glass and pieces of the headlights. The hood crunched up like a candy wrapper and the front bumper falling away from the frame. The back wheels lifting off the ground and the airbag inflating inside. I saw all these things and I heard the crash. There wasn't a squeal, no whiny tires, no screams were audible though I am sure many of us did. As a witness it felt as though the wind was knocked out of me. My hand instinctively went up to cover my mouth while I sucked in trying to catch my breath. The car in front of me happened to be an undercover police car and the lights were flashing. I stopped. I pulled over. The other lane stopped. Other cars pulled over. The police car made a three point turn and pulled up behind the scene. He opened the driver door. The driver's body laid against the inflated bag. A dust or white powder came out from the inside of the car.
Traffic began crawling. I didn't hear sirens until I was in the parking lot at work. I have no idea what happened once I drove away. Will I be reading about this person in the paper tomorrow? What will the outcome be?
Somehow this accident, was it an accident?, has changed the path of my day completely and maybe even on a bigger scope my life. I wonder if everyone else saw what I saw. I wonder what they are thinking right now. I wonder if they are writing about it or telling someone, are they crying, is their stomach doing somersaults?
I'm sorry for this person. For this person who maybe lost control of their car. Or maybe was having a bad morning and decided to run themselves off the road. I'm sorry for the people who live in the house with the stone built up around their driveway. I'm sorry for the police officer who was driving undercover probably looking to catch someone speeding and instead happened to be the vehicle in front of me when the accident happened.
Why is this upsetting me so much? Is it because I was only 8 feet from the vehicle? Is it because I can't explain what happened? Is it because I too have felt like running my car off the road and into a wall? My only fear being I would survive the accident?
Right now I'll offer a prayer. Then I will publish this entry and get to work. And wonder.
By Christy On Tuesday, April 29, 2008 At 8:05 AM
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