Two Seconds

Earlier today, I was witness to something that I  have not seen in several years.

I watched a man take his last breaths and die. 

But for two seconds, it could have been me, right there with him.

Lucky day for me, bad day for him.

***

I have to figure out a way to make this story interesting, without it being 2,000 words, so please bear with me through the twists and turns.

Whenever possible, I stay away from the interstate (I-20). I prefer to take the backroads and even wrote about that in  “Take The Backroads”  This morning, I had an unusually early appointment (which I had to re-schedule) and had some administrative tasks to complete before I left. Today would have been a nice ride up Hwy 1 into Lexington, but as the clock ticked, I realized that I couldn’t afford the extra 20 minutes it would take, so as the Marshall Tucker boys would say,  I had to “Take The Highway”

Exiting the interstate, there was a Ford F-150 in front of me at the traffic light at the top of the ramp.  When it changed from red to green, he started pulling forward and was immediately “T-Boned” by a sedan that traveling approximately 45mph. The driver of the sedan failed to stop for the red light and never hit the brakes (no skid marks).  If he was just a few feet farther away, in two seconds or less I would have been in front of him.

I had a front-row seat to the demonstration of a few immutable laws of physics and was the first caller of many to 911.

The F-150 did an admirable job of taking the impact. I owned a F-150 for several years and always felt safe in the truck. The car I drive now has me much lower to the ground. So while the driver of the truck took the majority of the hit below him, I shudder when I think about the possibilities.

I got out and was providing a size up for the 911 operator.  My 36 years in emergency services kicked in and I took inventory of and relayed the situation.  (Here is where I will leave out the details out of respect) There were several people who stopped to help and I stayed on the phone, updating the dispatcher and it was then I could tell that the pinned driver of the sedan was very severely injured and might not survive long enough for the fire dept to extricate him. Unfortunately, I was correct and I watched him take his last breaths as I said a silent prayer for his soul and his family.  I learned from the evening news that he was 72 years old.

I was interviewed by three different police officers and the county coroner, who I have known for years. I had to write out a witness statement and it was after I completed that and things started settling down that I realized how sometimes “the next thing you know could be the last thing you know” and how close Alicia came to being an insurance-rich widow this morning.

Life is short and dead is for a very long time.

I’ll end with…Pay attention! Put the phone down! (I have no idea if that played a factor this morning, but somewhere today, somebody, and probably more than one person, died in a car because of distracted driving).

Drive defensively and arrive alive.

Today, I was lucky, but there is no promise of tomorrow.

But if tomorrow comes, I’m taking the backroads.