Drying in the color of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay"
Sting-"Fragile"
Thankfully, I haven't had to dial 911 much in my life. In fact, I only dialed it once: September 3, 1998, to call the paramedics after my father's suicide attempt, which sadly ended up being successful. Frankly, I didn't see myself dialing it again for a while. Andrea, Lily and I are all in good health and we live in a fairly quiet area where nothing remotely violent happens.
We do, however, live on the side of a very busy state route, PA Route 114. Cars and trucks fly by at a decent pace past our house due to it being a direct route between Mechanicsburg and the commercial strip of the Carlisle Pike.
There have been many accidents on this road, due to several intersections that are not controlled by traffic signals, most of them down at the intersection of 114 and Mulberry Dr. Personally, I would rather bet my life savings on the roulette wheel at Penn National Casino than try to drive across that intersection. The speed limit on 114 is 45, but that is casually winked at by the people who use it as a daily route (I admit I do it as well, usually going 50-55 MPH on that stretch). Cars that try to cross 114 from one side of Mulberry to the other should try reciting a Hail Mary or an Our Father as they attempt it, because it is truly a miracle the Lord himself should take credit for if you make it over.
We moved into our home in 2013, and we always were concerned about our proximity to such a busy road. We are always very careful when pulling out of our driveway and we implore all of our guests to do the same. For 4 years, thankfully, no automobile accidents have taken place in front of our house.
At approximately 8:35 pm last night, that all changed.
Andrea and Lily were upstairs in her room listening to some music. I had just come upstairs from doing a qualifying session in my Formula 1 video game. I was lying on the couch in our living room, watching some old F1 qualifying laps on YouTube. I am a huge racing fan and pre-season testing in preparation for the coming season began yesterday, so I was whetting my appetite for some racing action.
BOOM! Shudder, shudder, scrape, and the sound of air brakes jamming jolted me up from my position. The impact outside made our house shake.
I looked out the window and saw a cloud of dust and debris scattered on the road outside and in our front yard. On the other side of the road, a late model silver sedan was smashed up, the rear of the car crumpled up like a crushed beer can. Strewn along the road were piles of clothing, paper, a pair of sneakers, and pieces of glass, rear taillights, and parts of the bumper. The sound that will never leave my mind was the sounds of screaming that came afterward. The people in the front of the car burst out of their stricken vehicle and were on the ground hysterically screaming blood curdling sounds of distress, anger, and fear. A few neighbors ran out of their houses to the car to offer their assistance.
Andrea said "What the hell was that?"
I answered "A massive accident just happened right in front of the house!"
I went upstairs to check on Andrea and Lily, and called 911. I informed the dispatcher of the accident, and he told me that he had recieved several calls about the incident and first responders were on the way. Andrea put on our coats and headed outside to see what was going on.
Within minutes, EMT's, the fire department, and Silver Spring Township Police were on the scene. The firemen started using the Jaws of Life to open up the back doors of the car, as there were two people trapped in the rear. Andrea and I watched in shock and horror. With that impact, we were concerned that the accident had been fatal. When we saw what hit the rear of the car, a tractor trailer that was stopped a few hundred yards up the road, the worst was expected. When a truck that size hits a passenger vehicle, it is the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. I crossed myself and said several silent prayers as the first responders worked feverishly to free the entrapped people from the wreckage.
Several neighbors walked into our yard from the houses behind us, and we all conversed and shared our concern and hope that everyone would be OK. One thing that has stayed the same through the ages is neighbors coming together in times of crisis. God bless that, because it still gives me hope that we have not become a selfish culture and that we still care for others around us. Eventually, due to the diligent work of the first responders, the occupants of the back seat of the vehicle were freed and loaded into an ambulance.
Andrea and I went back into the house, but the accident scene was impossible to ignore, with the bright lights of the fire engines illuminating the scene for the investigators trying to piece together the events that led up to the crash. I kept staring out the window like a wide eyed cat while Andrea and I comforted Lily and assured her to the best of our knowledge that everyone was alive and being taken to hospital. I know emergency responders do not care for looky-loos, but when bright lights are blaring outside of your house and part of your property is taped of by police tape, I'm sorry but I am going to keep an eye on everything that is going on. Besides, what if the police are looking for witnesses?
The accident scene wrapped up a little after 11 PM last night, and I have been searching in vain for news on the condition of the accident victims on the internet. If anyone who reads this finds out anything, please let me know. My prayers are with the accident victims and I am hoping they are OK and will pull through. The approximate location of the incident was the 100 block of Hogestown Rd in Silver Spring Township. Other than a post made by Cumberland County Fire Wire's Facebook page (a page run by an amateur police scanner spotter) at the time of the incident, there has been no updates. We are aware that Life Lion was called in to help transport the victims.
This was one of those moments that makes you realize just how fragile we are and how much danger we are in every time we get behind the wheel. Driving on the real streets is not a game of Out Run or Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport, it is serious business. You share the road with many other drivers, some experienced, some inexperienced, some responsible, some irresponsible. You could be following all of the laws of the road and being so safe a driver that your grandmother would be proud, but all it takes is one bad decision by another driver to ruin your day in the blink of an eye.
A question: Would you feel safer on the road with your fellow drivers...
...or a race track?
For me, it is a no-brainer. The race track, for the simple reason that the drivers on the race track are all professionals. They are trained to drive a car as fast as they can. Most have them have been behind the wheel of a racing kart or a racing car since a young age. Fernando Alonso started karting at age 4! I would gladly trust him or any other racing driver behind the wheel. NASCAR legend Richard Petty has said countless times that he felt more at ease on a race track than on the highway with every day drivers. There are many licensed drivers who have no business being behind the wheel on our roads.
So, let my story be a reminder of how fragile our lives really are on the roads, and that you and your car are not indestructable. Be sure to be thankful for every breath that you draw while you are alive, and never forget that you could blink and your time on this mortal coil be ended.
Tempus Fugit, Memento Mori.
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