A news report this morning described a terrible accident that happened yesterday. A woman lost control of her car, crossed the highway median and crashed head-on into a pick up truck. The driver of the truck was killed instantly.
Years ago, while working on a highway project, I needed to speak to the inspector about a problem. I stopped at the field office and was informed he was up at at the scene of a wreck. Part of his responsibilities were to make reports of such occurences, so he went to the scene to examine any traffic control problems or road conditions that might have contributed to the accident.
I found him standing on the shoulder of the access road. Emergency vehicles were still on site, but there were no ambulances, wreckers and only enough officers to control traffic. People were walking up and down the shoulder with plastic bags and latex gloves on their hands.
I asked what happened. He explained two college girls were killed. Their car crossed the median and collided head-on with another car. Both died instantly. Why they crossed the median was not evident, but it was later reported they were going back to school and had driven a long distance before the accident. It was assumed the driver fell asleep and lost control.
I asked what the people were doing with the plastic bags. He answered: "Picking up pieces". I then noticed one of the workers bend over, reach down and pick up a piece of bloody flesh. I told the inspector I'd find him in about an hour. He nodded and told me he'd be in the field office.
So, be careful today.
I've been fortunate in that in all the miles I've driven, seeing a catastrophic accident has not happened to me. Yet.
ReplyDeleteThe strangest accident I ever passed had a woman laying in the middle of the highway; apparantly unconcious. There were emergency crews all around, so I assume they knew what they were doing. There were no deaths reported the next day.
ReplyDeleteAnother wreck I passed was minivan that lost control and rolled. Luggage, personal items and papers were scattered for a few hundred feet in the higway. The top of the minivan was crushed and all the glass was gone. The article in the paper stated that all escaped with only minor injuries.
Worst wreck, although I didn't know it at the time, was a bob-tail moving truck laying on its side in the middle of the interstate. The driver and passenger were unconcious and life-flighted to a local hospital. When they lifted the truck back on the wheels, they found an infant under the truck.