Well Sooo much has happened again in my life. Isn’t that the way it goes? Slow then hurried. Nothing going on then everything going on at once? Whose life isn’t like that?
So I wanted to say something about when Angel and I went to pick up Hubby and Pilot from their quick go to Gallup, New Mexico to pick up the now fixed broken down bus. I was going to let Hubby drive because he almost always drives. 99% of the time he drives when I am in the car. But this time Angel wanted to keep her seat and so I thought that maybe Hubby would be tired after driving for nearly 10 hours and so I would volunteer. Pilot hated that ‘cuz he wanted the front seat but I convinced him to let Angel stay there and I would drive home.
So we left the shop. I was going to take I2-15 South to go home, but decided at the last minute that I would take I15 instead. I had to make a few lane changes and was watching where I needed to go and all of the sudden I hear this loud crash and then skidding and out in front of us was a pickup truck going sideways in a spin and then a skid from the left side of the freeway to the right side emergency lane. Or as my Hubby says, he started in lane 1, then was in lane 2 clipped the backend of the Ford PU he was trying to pass and spun 2 times and parked in the emergency lane where his car began to leak radiator fluid and his right front tire went flat. The other truck kept control and pulled over out of travel way in front of us.
We pulled over to see if they needed any assistance. I called 911 and Hubby checked for medical. They were both alright, no immediate injuries. Thank heavens. Pilot was able to tell me where we were, exit # and name of freeway. What? You are saying, how come you didn’t know? Well, I have been known to have memory problems and this is just another manifestation that it is there. But all is well. I could have figured it out on my own, but it was faster to rely on his help and actually let him help.
None of us were freaked out, but then it wasn’t that bad. It delayed these guys by at least 30 minutes, us too, but we could have left when we found out they were fine. But we stayed. It turned out fine though. We weren’t in a hurry and we love to help so we stayed.
Hubby said it was pretty funny when the HWY Patrol showed up, the Officer asked who was involved, because all three men we talking together. One guy said as he pointed to the other driver, “he hit me.” The other guy said, “I hit him,” as he pointed to the other driver. Hubby said, “This guy in the Nissan truck started in lane 1, then was in lane 2 clipped the backend of the Ford PU he was trying to pass and spun 2 times and parked in the emergency lane where his car began to leak radiator fluid and his right front tire went flat. The Ford truck kept control and pulled over out of travel up there front of us.” The Officer said as he looked at my Hubby, “I need your statement.” Then gave Hubby a statement form to fill out. I laughed, Hubby was in his element. He is so good with descriptions of things like this.
Hubby stayed and talked with the Paramedics, fire crew members and the officers. He was having a good time. I wish he could be back at the Hospital or somewhere with Fire/Medical. Maybe someday.I was truly surprised that I was not nervous or upset. I was driving straight towards the spinning truck. We must have been far enough back that I was not seeing an eminent collusion wit h us. I have been in the situation a couple of times where cars have been hit and were hurtling towards the car I was driving or passenger in and I was truly scared that they would be hitting us. But this time I was not worried. I still let Hubby drive home. The kids felt more secure I am thinking, but I think he felt better being in charge as well. Not that he doesn’t trust me, I just think he likes being our protector and he wanted the control of making sure we got home safely. Does that make sense? I hope it does.
This was a good time to teach the kids that even if you are a good driver, mistakes can happen. The Nissan driver misjudged where the truck in front of him was as he was changing lanes. The Ford driver was just heading home after being away from his family working for six days. He wasn’t doing anything wrong and was hit and he was delayed.
Another thing we could teach our kids was that drinking can impair your decisions. The Nissan driver said he had had a couple of beers two hour prior to the accident. I do wonder what his blood alcohol count was. He might have been impaired when his misjudged the situation. So just by his admission of having a couple of drinks, I can teach my kids that drinking and driving don’t mix. Not that they haven’t had plenty of examples already, they have, but I just hope they learn from it.
We also taught them to stop and help, if appropriate. The men didn’t really need us this time. But we could have offered bottled water, we had bottles in the car. A phone, a blanket, a place to sit, someone to talk to. Sometimes just having someone near is helpful. We wanted to offer our witness to the accident so that the truth was definite and no one could try to lie.
Well after all that, we did arrive home safely. Answered a lot of questions from the kids, many of them pertaining to the accident and what if’s. And heard a lot of, “I’m never going to do’s”, it was really an experience. A good one, and no one luckily was seriously hurt. The Ford driver thought he might have a bit of whiplash, but hopefully nothing else.
I hope the driver of the Nissan did not have an alcohol reading. He was on his way to meet his wife to see their preemie baby at the hospital. I hope he still got to go there. But if he was drinking, then I hope he was rewarded with his consequences.
An ambulance and fire truck were sent to the scene. The paramedics said they were told there were serious injuries. By whom were they told, I wonder? Because I told them I did not believe there were any injuries and the 911/Hwy Patrol said to call back if I found out differently. I did not call back.
So when the Ambulance got there, the Paramedics pulled out their back board, the gurney and all their bags. Then they went to the back truck, found out all was fine, turned around and reloaded all their equipment. They did check out the drivers to make sure they were fine.
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