Mr. Johan
Smash Hero
Link to original post: [drupal=3501] Be a responsible driver, for your sake and for others. [/drupal]
Yeah, yeah, we know of the rules of the road and that we need to watch ourselves when driving and to not do anything stupid, we've heard it a thousand times from family and friends. But you never really acknowledge this until you witness an accident.
I was coming off of work today from the community pool, and as I was a heading toward a sharp turn off the highway 500 feet away, I saw a yellow truck coming into the highway from there haphazardly. I thought he was over-correcting, and so I thought nothing of it. But then I made it past the turn, and the sight was terrifying.
The yellow truck had moved into oncoming traffic at an incredible speed, and hit an unsuspecting white vehicle not 100 yards away from him, head on. The speed limit at that point is 65 mph, so the collision was at a speed of AT LEAST 130 miles per hour. The truck almost flipped over on its back and rolled over to the side, and the white car came to a sudden stop.
There were about 25 eyewitnesses, including myself, and despite the terror involved, it was an excellent show of Good Samaritans to see that everyone stopped and tried what they could to help. Most of the people converged onto the car to see the result: the entire front end of the car was smashed in. The driver was laying on his side toward the passenger seat. He was barely breathing.
In a stroke of good fortune, a certified paramedic was driving by and was able to get to the driver. I looked into the backseat as the medic was climbing through to support the man's head. He had notebooks full of notes like that you would see for college classes. The medic needed to get the smashed windshield out of the car so he could have a possible route to get the man out of the car. Without thinking of protection, I, along with another person, grabbed either corner of the windshield and started to pick it off the frame. We had managed to get the windshield off quickly, and I went back to the passenger door frame to see if there was another way I could help, if I could perform CPR in some way to keep him alive.
The man made a rasping noise. He made a quick jerk. He moved no more. I was about 4 feet away from him.
The man responsible was still conscious; if I was close to him, I could have said he did not have a scrape on him. From what I was hearing and what I was told, the man was trying to get away from the scene, but some people had surrounded him to make sure he did not leave his truck. Then the police and ambulances arrived and took care of everything from there. This man is possibly looking at manslaughter charges, if he's lucky.
I wonder what would have happened if I had been there just a few seconds earlier; I remember taking a few seconds before I left work to make sure I had everything with me a second time, so that time frame was available. Would I have been able to get to this man in time to do something for him? Could I have saved him? Or could I have even been a part of that accident as well?
Before you consider doing something hap-hazardous on the road, please think about the risks involved beforehand. This young man had his life taken away from him instantly, and he didn't do a thing, all because another man was apparently impatient enough that he was willing to risk at least a chunk of his life in prison. Do you want either one of those outcomes to happen to you?
Please stay safe.
Yeah, yeah, we know of the rules of the road and that we need to watch ourselves when driving and to not do anything stupid, we've heard it a thousand times from family and friends. But you never really acknowledge this until you witness an accident.
I was coming off of work today from the community pool, and as I was a heading toward a sharp turn off the highway 500 feet away, I saw a yellow truck coming into the highway from there haphazardly. I thought he was over-correcting, and so I thought nothing of it. But then I made it past the turn, and the sight was terrifying.
The yellow truck had moved into oncoming traffic at an incredible speed, and hit an unsuspecting white vehicle not 100 yards away from him, head on. The speed limit at that point is 65 mph, so the collision was at a speed of AT LEAST 130 miles per hour. The truck almost flipped over on its back and rolled over to the side, and the white car came to a sudden stop.
There were about 25 eyewitnesses, including myself, and despite the terror involved, it was an excellent show of Good Samaritans to see that everyone stopped and tried what they could to help. Most of the people converged onto the car to see the result: the entire front end of the car was smashed in. The driver was laying on his side toward the passenger seat. He was barely breathing.
In a stroke of good fortune, a certified paramedic was driving by and was able to get to the driver. I looked into the backseat as the medic was climbing through to support the man's head. He had notebooks full of notes like that you would see for college classes. The medic needed to get the smashed windshield out of the car so he could have a possible route to get the man out of the car. Without thinking of protection, I, along with another person, grabbed either corner of the windshield and started to pick it off the frame. We had managed to get the windshield off quickly, and I went back to the passenger door frame to see if there was another way I could help, if I could perform CPR in some way to keep him alive.
The man made a rasping noise. He made a quick jerk. He moved no more. I was about 4 feet away from him.
The man responsible was still conscious; if I was close to him, I could have said he did not have a scrape on him. From what I was hearing and what I was told, the man was trying to get away from the scene, but some people had surrounded him to make sure he did not leave his truck. Then the police and ambulances arrived and took care of everything from there. This man is possibly looking at manslaughter charges, if he's lucky.
I wonder what would have happened if I had been there just a few seconds earlier; I remember taking a few seconds before I left work to make sure I had everything with me a second time, so that time frame was available. Would I have been able to get to this man in time to do something for him? Could I have saved him? Or could I have even been a part of that accident as well?
Before you consider doing something hap-hazardous on the road, please think about the risks involved beforehand. This young man had his life taken away from him instantly, and he didn't do a thing, all because another man was apparently impatient enough that he was willing to risk at least a chunk of his life in prison. Do you want either one of those outcomes to happen to you?
Please stay safe.
