somebody's son

So, here's what happened Sunday night (really, it was a little after 2am on Monday morning). Chris and Margaret brought me to and took me home from the Mile High Music Festival. We all had such an amazing time! On the way home, Chris slept in the passengers seat and Margaret and I talked all the way back to Colorado Springs. Once we got into town, there are several ways to get to my house... and I remember thinking to myself that Margaret is taking a different way than I would have.

We pull up to a stoplight in the far right lane (traveling Eastbound), next to a car in the middle lane, and there was another car behind that one. As soon as the light changed, we noticed that the first car in the middle lane was all over the road, Margaret and I talked about it and she kept her distance. Then we pull up to another light and stopped, when that light turned, the car in the middle lane went really slow, then he gunned it. He took off waaaay over the 45 mile speed limit! I commented on how he was turning his left blinker on (no where to turn at this point) and he was wasn't staying in any one lane. About that time we both gasped when we saw his car hit the left curb (median) and disappear out of our sight. (There is also a slight bend to the right in the road right here.)

About 5 seconds later we got to the point where we lost sight of him. We notice about three sprinklers gushing water straight into the air (10 feet high), then we notice two large evergreen trees that appear to have been chopped down at the trunk laying in the other lane (Westbound), and then we saw the accident. His car was upside down in the Westbound lane with the headlights pointing West. We both screamed and woke Chris up. At this point I distinctly remember thinking to myself how lucky he is that there was a nurse (Margaret) and a SF Medic (Chris) in the car. I told them to help him and I would call 911.

I made the 911 call and Chris ran over to the car, ripped the door off and started shouting at him to squeeze his hand, asking if he could hear us, etc. Nothing. He was breathing, but not responding. At this point some man came running down the street (not sure where he came from, maybe he heard it in his house?) and the car behind the guy back at the first light stopped and a couple came running out. The couple from the other car said they didn't even notice his car crash, but saw that we stopped, so they did too. They told us that he had been driving erratically for about 8 miles and happened to be traveling the same way as him and had just kept their distance.

Finally a police car arrives, so I get off the phone with 911. I had been so calm up to this point, but as soon as I hung up I started shaking uncontrollably. I was in complete shock. The police radioed to other units to shut down the Westbound lane. Then the paramedics and firefighters arrived. They told us to stand on the Eastbound side sidewalk and then the police took all of our statements, one at a time. During my statement, I remember the policeman asking me if I saw anyone run from the vehicle after the crash. He asked me this several times in different ways. I told him I was positive that no one left the vehicle... the car was in such bad shape, I don't think anyone could've walked away from it at all.

The paramedics and firefighters finally free the man from the car and put him on a stretcher and finally take him away to the hospital. I watched, from the sidewalk, the policeman going through his personal belongings... probably trying to get information on who he is. About this point I remembered as a child, my mom always telling me to pray when I saw an ambulance with its lights on... pray for the people they are trying to help, and for the paramedics that they do their job well. So I blurted out loud, "God be with you, God help you" as they loaded him onto ambulance.

Margaret was washing the man's blood off of Chris' hands. Chris told us he had his eyes open, he wasn't wearing a seat belt, and he smelled like booze. Chris said he thought the man would probably live, he was openly frustrated with how he put us all in danger. I was upset too, but seeing everything made me think of my two boys and that this young man (early-mid 20's) was somebody's son too. That family will have to live with the consequences of his bad choice tonight too. It was all too sad.

The policeman told us we could leave and to answer our phone if he calls us later, if he needs more information. Margaret took me the short 2 miles back to my house. (The accident happened a short distance from a busy intersection right outside my neighborhood.) They dropped me off to my empty house and I thought now what?? There is no way I'm going to get any sleep. And I didn't... I kept replaying everything, wondering if he survived, thinking of one of the bumpers by my feet when I was on the phone with 911 (still standing near the median in the Eastbound lane) the bumper had temporary tags... the car was brand new... I kept thinking to myself how Margaret took a different way back to my house, than I would have.

The next morning, on the way to pick up the boys, I went by the scene of the accident and took the above pictures (I was traveling Westbound, where his car ended up.) You can kind of see the dark spot on the road, where the car landed and all the car fluids leaked. There was still some glass on the road, and they had chopped the trees into smaller pieces and left it in the median.

I've been checking the police blotter online since the accident, but nothing has been posted. I finally called the police department today and told them I was first on the scene and made the 911 call and was wondering if the man survived. She looked it up on the computer and said that there has been no updates to the original report, so that he did indeed survive.

I don't know how first responders do this job everyday. This crash scene was so horrific, it has left an indelible mark on me. Without a doubt, I will tell this story to my boys when it's time to talk to them about drinking and driving, and I will pray they never make such a bad decision. Now that the shock has worn off a bit, I feel really blessed and thankful. Blessed that he didn't hit us... God puts us all in situations for a reason, I'm going to walk away from this one smarter and happy for each (uneventful) day.

I just pray that the young man will do the same... and NEVER drink and drive again.