Crash

Monday was an odd day.

While working I saw the remnants of an accident on a road I often take. I saw the man getting out of his pick-up, whose front end was banged in, talking on the phone. I could see deep scratches on the driver side of the other car I assume was involved. Hmmm, I thought.

A little further down the street, a truck had parked in the turn lane of the road getting ready to unload a cherry picker for a construction site. I didn't see the driver in the cab, nor working around the trailer. I snuck a quick glance at the construction site to see three or four men who had another man down on all fours. One man had the fella in a reverse head lock. The man on all fours had blood all over his head.

About 45 minutes later, I'm at a stop light in my work truck. I look in my rearview mirror to see a woman coming up on me at speed and not slowing down. Her head was back and eyes closed. I looked in front of me to see if I could move to one side or the other, the car in front of me and the turn radius I need prevented any action of moving, so I stepped on the brake a little more firmly in order to avoid running into the car in front of me when she hit me. I checked the mirror again to see that she was taking a hard right and heading for the curb. I can tell she is going to get her driver side rammed by steel from the lift gate. I knew there would be no way she wouldn't get hurt.

BAM! I could feel her car go underneath and hear that sickening sound of the metallic crunch. The truck lurched only a few inches ahead. I turned on my flashers, put on my emergency brake, and ran out to see if she was OK. I knew she had to be injured. The hood of her car had been crumpled by the four inch wide hunk of steel hanging down from the passenger side of my truck right up to the driver side window which had the round shatter right in front of the steering wheel. I ran up to the car and yelled through the closed window, "ARE YOU OK?!"

"I think so," she said as she cried and opened the door. I told her to be careful getting out and kept repeatedly asking if she was OK. She was lucky. No bumps, bruises, or scratches. I'm pretty sure her car was totaled. She had been yawning while taking her daughter to school. She had recently purchased the car.

The rest of the evening I had cars oncoming crossing the yellow as well as so many other near hits throughout this day and the next.

Moral of the story: Don't yawn and drive, and don't try to take on a whole construction crew on your own.