I Saw a Car Accident Last Night

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Please forgive me if this is a bit stream-of-conscious – I’m still trying to sort things out.

I was, so help me, on my way to do something conventional. A bunch of former co-workers were having a get-together on the South Side, and I was on my way to join them and hang out in a bar after work.

I was driving along a stretch of two lane-blacktop at about 40 mpg (65 kph) at around 5:30 when suddenly the car two cars ahead of me swerved into oncoming traffic and hit a minivan pretty much head on. This stretch of road is between two sets of railroad tracks with a fairly steep slope going up to my left, and down on my right. Below the railroad tracks on my right, it goes down to a pretty decent-sized river. The minivan was driven up the slope off the road by the impact, and smoke started coming out of both vehicles. The woman in the car ahead of me stopped and put on her flashers, as did I, hoping that we wouldn’t start a chain reaction accident (we didn’t) and we went to see if there was anything we could do.

The upshot is in the minivan a woman, a baby and an older child was heart, and the man who apparently was driving the minivan and another child were pretty badly shaken up. Someone called for a blanket to use on the baby who was still strapped in his car seat and bleeding, and I pulled an afghan I knitted years ago out of my car. Later, it was used to wrap the woman up. I remember seeing her sink to the ground, then later, hearing her say, “I can’t feel my legs.”

The driver of the other car was sitting on the other side of the accident looking stunned. The woman ahead of me got to him first (I wasn’t sure what to do at first) and told me she thought he was drunk. Apparently he’d swerved once before this and she’d honked her horn at him. I don’t know if he was or not. I just know that I suddenly saw him swerve out and run into another car.

Why?!! There is nothing but steep hillside and railroad tracks to the left on that stretch of road for a good mile or so, and it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. I remember a moment of sheer, raw disbelief right before I saw and hear the impact. I didn’t want to think it could happen, but it did.

Police and paramedics were called, among other things by a Port Authority bus driver who was a few cars behind me. There was also a biker and his lady who were a bit behind me who looked they knew a lot more about what they were doing than I did, so I just hung back and waited to see what I could do. I did give my address and phone number to the police. I also dug out the first-aid kit and emergency kit I keep in the car, but they weren’t needed. The accident had effectively blocked traffic, and the potential injuries went well beyond bandages and antiseptic. There was nothing I could do but contribute a blanket and a few prayers.

I carried on out to where I was going – there wasn’t an easy place to turn around, and I don’t get out nearly enough and I wound up driving over the spot where it happened on my way home. It was the most sensible route. I’m trying to sort it out and let it go, but I had nightmares last night. The funny thing is, before this had happened, I’d found myself in the wrong lane and wound up crossing that river I mentioned. While I was doing so, I wound up getting hung up by a different accident. If I’d been in the correct lane (I wasn’t about to try bulling my way over in rush hour traffic), I would have been well past the accident when it happened and I probably would never even have known about it.

Thanks for letting me ramble. If anyone’s got any advice, I’d appreciate it.

CJ

2

{{hugs}}

It’s never easy to deal with car accidents. I’ve helped at a few and to this day I can still give very specific details.

It was very kind of you to stop and help. It blows my mind how many people will rubber-neck but keep going. It’s rather disgusting and disheartening really.

Even though the situation was beyond bandages and antiseptic, the fact you provided comfort and support and did what you could means quite a lot. It is often the little things people will remember.

I’m sorry you had nightmares about the accident. It may take some time to get things sorted mentally. Many medical personnel have similar experiences. It happens to me sometimes. It can be very tough.

If it would be helpful to chat about it, drop me a line and we can arrange a time to ring eachother.

In the meantime, have a nice hot bath and a cuppa. Try to take your mind off things.

{{hugs}}

3

You did what you could. Take peace in that. As someone who went through a particularly nasty car crash in January, I would’ve liked to have had someone like you there.

4

You are such a good person, Siege, and it sounds like you did the right thing. Thankfully, there were no fatalaties, especially with babies/young children involved… I don’t even want to think about it.

I don’t know if this will make you feel any better, but things could have been a lot worse. Are you familiar with Route 66 through the DC area? I once saw a pedestrian (WHY were you crossing Rt. 66, WHY?) … dissapear.

{{{Siege}}}

Hope you feel better.

5

Email if you need to. I was in an accident once and I was glad to have people offer to help. It sounds like you did just fine. Keep us posted on how you feel.

6

Set aside some “quiet time” for yourself. You need it, emotionally, as anyone would.

Comfort yourself with the thought that what you did was ethical & honorable.

:slight_smile:

7

Thanks, everyone. I included the people involved in my prayers. I am also, at some point, going to have to take the blanket out of my car and have a look at it, probably this evening.

So, once again I’ll have an interesting response when my boss asks how my weekend was. :rolleyes:

Thanks, my friends,
CJ

8

Good on you for being there.

I’m reminded of one rainy night last summer when Mr. S and I were about 6 hours into an 8-hour drive home. It was well after dark and we were on a two-lane state highway out in the country. Suddenly an oncoming car veered into our lane, threatening a head-on collision.

I thank the powers that be that Mr. S is such a good driver. He swerved to the right, and the car passed us, half in our lane, with inches to spare.

So that’s what it looks like right before you die in a car accident. Egad. It was over before we knew it was happening. Afterward, I clutched our puppy Dottie, who was on my lap, a bit tighter for the rest of the drive. We nearly kissed the ground when we got home. That night I said a few extra prayers of gratitude.

I hope those people come out OK.

9

Seeing such a thing can be so upsetting. Don’t underestimate its effect on you. Be gentle with yourself and if it keeps preying on your mind, seek a little counseling.

There is often nothing a bystander can do but offer comfort. I gave it once at an accident and felt so damned ineffective. The one “useful” thing I could do, once the ambulance got there, was call her roommates to let them know. They weren’t home, so I left my number. That ended up being useful because the victim had my number when she got out of the hospital. She called me to tell me she felt like I was an angel who had been sent to her. I could do nothing for her but talk to her, yet she said that. So yes, a calm voice and caring face can be that important.

10

The roads are so dangerous - I’m married to a Dallas firefighter/paramedic, and you have no idea of the pain and horror going on out there. Speed, ignorance and alcohol will land your ass in the afterlife every time. If you take an innocent driver/passenger with you because of your carelessness, you’ll end up in hell.

Folks, the most important advice I would offer about helping out when you see an accident: watch the fuck out for the traffic!! We’ve had a couple of incidents in Dallas where a Good Samaritan was killed by a drunk driver coming through. One of those drunk drivers was a Dallas Cowboy. Here’s hoping he’s forced to be quarterback in prison, if you catch my drift. Firefighters are at extreme risk when they block off those wrecks, by the way – husband’s told me stories about 18-wheelers sliding sideways into the engines.
The police mantra I’ve heard is: in most cases, call 911 from your cellphone, but don’t stop to help if it’s a high-traffic area. If you are on a highway, be especially careful! Firefighters/policeman, give us your thoughts (and stay safe).

Siege - I know it’s hard to erase the images, and a big hug to you.

11

I still remember the lady who stopped and helped me when I was hit by a drunk driver over 10 years ago. He’d rear-ended my little hatchback going about 40 over the limit, it pretty much accordioned the rear of the car and threw me into a telephone pole, crunching the front of the vehicle also. I was actually fine, but couldn’t open a door to get out and began to panic and scream like a B-movie queen. Visions of ruptured gas tanks and engine sparks running through my head had me hyperventilating, and as I was 5 months pregnant at the time I was about hysterical.
This little tiny slip of a woman started pounding on my window trying to help me, it’d slipt the track and wouldn’t roll down. She must have had an incredible adreniline surge from witnessing the accident, she couldn’t have weighed a hundred pounds but found the strength to wrench the window outward with just her fingertips from the inch it was cracked until the pressure was too much and it shattered. She then reached in and pulled my 5’9" preggers self out like she was She-rah or something. Ironically, I recieved a few bruises from going out the window sideways, and that was the total damage.
After we’d both started to breathe normally, we started laughing realizing that if the car was going to explode it would have done so fairly quickly so I wasn’t in much danger after all. She stayed with me until the police and even the ambulance arrived, gave a wonderful statement describing the drunk having cut her off exiting a bar a few miles up the road and even took my mom’s telephone number and called her to meet me at the hospital. I sent a thank you card the next day, and also a birth announcement a few months later.
I’ve never forgotten her and even though the safety designs of my little car worked like they were supposed to and I wasn’t harmed, she seemed like a real life-saver to me right then. You never know how much you can impact someone’s life in moments like those, as scary as it must have been, you totally did the right thing.