03 27 00

crash

I heard someone die today.

After being at work for not more than ten minutes, we heard screeching tires outside and a sickening thud. Not a crash, just a deep thud. We looked at each other and ran for the windows.

Our office is located near a very busy, accident-prone intersection. It's not uncommon to see fender-benders and more serious accidents there. When we looked outside, we saw people running around. Bushes and small trees blocked our view of the intersection, so I stepped outside for a moment to see if I could see anything more. That's when I heard the screaming.

After coming back inside, I phoned the State Highway Patrol. They already knew of the accident, so I went back outside to stroll up the driveway. The intersection was a seething mass of people running. What drew my attention, however, were the cars. At least three were mangled beyond any recognition. The screaming was louder. It was a man, crying out like his heart had been broken.

I went back inside.

Over the next two hours, we saw five EMS units from several neighboring communities, two firetrucks, two fire rescue vehicles, and platoons of police officers. The intersection was closed. The scene was gradually cleared, and the intersection was opened again.

On the radio, we heard the toll. Four vehicles involved. Eight injuries, two critical. One fatality. I shivered. I had driven through that very intersection not ten minutes before the accident.

I've seen a lot of accidents driving. When you spend a lot of time on the road, you'll see a lot of accidents. I've seen the aftermath of fatal accidents. I've seen accidents happening before my eyes. I've been involved in accidents. But that thud I heard will be with me for a while.

For the rest of the day, I cringed whenever I heard tires squealing. When I drove home, my senses were completely on alert, but I was painfully aware of how quickly something can go wrong when driving 50 miles per hours. Going through intersections, I felt like I had eyeballs on all sides of my head.

I'm watching the news right now, but they haven't mentioned anything about the accident. Strange. The radio did mention that the staties hadn't completed their investigation, so perhaps the news stations are waiting for offical word before reporting. It's a morbid curiosity... I want to know what happened. What went wrong. How I can prevent it from happening to me.

Looking Back

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