I just witnessed a terrible thing. I was sitting at my desk about 1:00 am ready to catch up on my blog, and I heard a skid outside. Immediately I looked out the window and saw, then heard, a car crash into the side of our street. I'm on an upper floor of my building, and I watched the car burst into flames!
As I called 911, two cars stopped and a man jumped out of each one, running over to help the driver. The men were trying to get close, but it was an overwhelming fire within seconds. Loud explosions echoed as the windows blew out. One of the men ran back to his truck to get a fire extinguisher, and he blasted it at the flames. It didn't help at all.
There hasn't been an ambulance, but 2 firemen draped a sheet over the car. I think they'll have to wait until it cools down to examine it closer. A tire and pieces of fender are on our sidewalk, and another piece of the car is shiny in the middle of the road under the flashing lights.
It's been snowing for an hour or so, and the temperatures have dropped, so I'm sure the street is slippery, and there isn't much traffic at this time of night. It seems like someone was speeding to make the light before it turned red, lost control, and slid off, while going extremely fast. After the emergency cars arrived, a few people stopped to see what happened, and a number of our neighbors went outside, wrapped in blankets to witness the events, but nothing is happening now. Everyone is just watching and waiting to see what's next, shivering under the first snow flakes.
It is weird to realize I watched a person lose control of his life, for whatever reason, and in a split second it ended. There may have been another victim. But for sure there are some victims who are comfortably in bed right now, unaware of the heartache that is just minutes or hours ahead
from them.
In that split second, unexpectedly, that person discovered one of the great mysteries of life: what happens at the end.
I'm drifting in and out, accidently typing rows of dddddddddddddd while I think I'm concentrating on the case. My ambien is taking effect even after all this horrific drama.
P.S. It's morning now. Sometime between 3:AM and 8:AM the accident all got cleared away. No crime tape, nothing to indicate it even happened, except a blackened retaining was and burned road. Two people were killed instantly. Think of all the private dramas taking place around us. And we sleep right through them. This time I witnessed someone's nightmare.
That must be horrible. I hope you said a prayer for the driver.
ReplyDeleteBe careful with Ambien; I know of people who sleep-walk and even drive while on it, and have no memory of it at all.
I just visited your blog for the fist time. I feel a need to comment, but I don't know what to say. Your writing about this horrific tragedy is very thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteHow awful!!!!!!! Talk about a nightmare while you;re awake!
ReplyDeleteYour right about all of the personal dramas that occur around us. That's why I love looking at the lights of a city at night. I imagine the each lit home, office, or moving vehicle has a story that is being played out as I admire the illuminated landscape. In this small way, our stories touch.
ReplyDeleteHow horrifying to witness such an event!
ReplyDeleteWe were once first at the scene of an accident in Little Cottonwood canyon. Three young men went on a joy ride in daddy's BMW, got drunk, and were speeding down the canyon around its tight curves. They rolled the car into the ravine, but were all thrown out onto the highway. Luckily, help arrived quickly, but until it did, we watched as two of the boys lay dying in the road, their twisted bodies thrashing in pain. The third boy was hysterical and in shock. We tried to comfort and calm him, but he only wanted us to save his friends. It was a nightmare. Very sad.
It is certainly something you never forget.
This post reminds me of the movie Rear Window.
ReplyDeleteBeuatifully written.
I wish I could spell...beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI haven't even taken my Ambien yet.
That is horrible. I can't believe what a nightmare that would be. And the poor family who got that one a.m. phone call...so sad.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog, and I thoroughly enjoy reading it.
ReplyDeleteI am stunned at what happened on Sunday morning! We slept through it since we're on the back side of the building, but what a dramatic thing to happen literally at our doorstep. I appreciate your thoughts about it.
I can't believe you saw that! I would have been simply mortified and beside myself to witness such an event. What a sad day for someone's family and friends.
ReplyDelete