Wow. I don’t even know where to begin.
One of my best friends was involved in a very long, drawn-out divorce (and subsequent custody battle) with this woman. The court ruled in favor of her having primary custody, even though she lacked a job and a place of her own. As you can imagine, my friend was pretty broken up about it. He loves his son, and hated the fact that the court couldn’t see that the kid would have a better, more stable home life with him.
Last night…well, she was driving drunk. She missed where the road split off into a T, and instead just keep driving along…right off the road, and right onto a raised railroad track. The car apparently got stuck, and she was struck by an Amtrak train which left the station a few minutes before.
For good or ill, she is currently okay. The train conductor saw the car stuck on the tracks and had time to hit the brakes. By the time the Amtrak hit the car, it was only going about 10 mph…which was still fast enough to knock her car more than 95 feet from the point of impact. She had to be cut out of the car, and suffered only minor cuts and bruises.
Their son was with his dad last night, so he fortunately wasn’t involved in the crash. Now he’s going to have to learn exactly what happened to his mom, and the circumstances surrounding it.
It makes me angry that my friend tried to get custody of their child just a few months ago, only to be met with a stone-faced judge that ruled in favor of the mother. A mother that, in fact, has battled drug and alcohol addiction, has difficulty holding down even the most menial of jobs, and now will likely face charges related to the accident.
Here’s hoping my friend can gain full-time custody, and this woman seeks and gets the help she truly needs.
I’m just in shock right now. Sorry for rambling. I’ve never known anyone that got hit by a train and lived until now.