Someone almost got killed Sunday morning. [witnessed]

[mdrejhon 8]

After completing a long Saturday of tax-related work, I rewarded myself with a skydiving trip on Sunday morning and set out by car...

I was driving the 401 freeway almost all the way to Skydive Gananoque. My eyes happened to glance to the left to see a tumbling, distintegrating, bouncing car. Like in the movies. Apparently it hit the ditch at full freeway speed just a fraction of a second before I glanced, putting it into a high speed tumble (at least 3 rolls) with small pieces breaking off the car as I watched from less than 100 meters away! (from the opposite side of the freeway)

The first 1 second was a double take of stunned astoundment, and then the next 1 second was "ohmigod, someone may die" and I swerved to the shoulder, braked hard and leapt out of the car. 10 feet away, I remembered I forgot my cellphone, ran back into the car to grab it (just in case I needed to dial 911; a very difficult procedure for a deaf guy like me but...). Then I ran across the freeway to the opposite side (the accident happened on the opposite side). Running across a full freeway to the lanes going in the other direction on the opposite side is crazy, but it was a Sunday morning so there were not many cars speeding by. To hell with skydiving, a life comes first...

I was one of the first to stop, but as I raced across the 50-feet-wide separator, I witnessed 4 cars stop almost simultaneously before I reached the site. When I arrived, about 4 trucks and 8 cars pulled over on the same side as the accident site (I was the only one who stopped on the opposite side of the freeway).

To my relief, within seconds I saw a bleeding man exiting the upsidedown mangled debris that used to be a car, and he walked on his legs -- clearly conscious and able to walk, but shocked and stunned. People managed to reach the man seconds before I did, and three people were on their cellphones (likely calling 911). Thank goodness - I would not have been able to do 911 as quickly as they have because of my deafness and my need to use the use the 911 text telephone (TTY) service via my BlackBerry (which I had custom TTY service installed on), which is slower. I was prepared to call 911, but my first concern was someone might die and it would take me 3 minutes just to complete a 911 call. The man was walking around aimlessly in a stunned fashion, looked like a japanese businessman wearing a suit. An attache case sat about 30 feet away, thrown from the car, along with other miscellaneous pieces of debris that had broken off the car. The car was totalled, upsidedown, and the engine compartment was a gaping mess.

Damn... I've never witnessed a high speed accident like this. I watched the tumble roll 360 degrees multiple time at high speed. He was damn lucky he survived that, those consumer cars don't have roll cages like those Indy or Formula cars. It looks like only his car was involved as there were no other cars that got damaged. (could have been as simple as a rabbit crossing the freeway, could be a mad driver swerving in front of him. Or it may have been his fault but I won't know and don't want to speculate, innocent unless guilty, and the life saved is a priority regardless)

I didn't think about anything, I headed to the freeway shoulder 2 seconds after seeing the rolling car. Around here, people stop when they see accidents like that. More than a dozen did -- it was that shocking and potentially traumatizing to witness.

It could have been worse. What if people did not stop? What if people did not call 911? What if he was already dead? Dismembered body parts, crushed face, etc - I don't know how I would have handled that. Of course, that was not necessary, but it made me do a lot of thinking about "what ifs". I thought about what I would do. Would I just stand and watch him die? Would I do CPR? Would I apply a torniquet? (I imagined that and if he was still alive but with a missing arm or leg, "TORNIQUET" nearly instantly screamed in my mind because he would be minutes away from death from blood loss). Even with my inadequate medical knowledge and lowly high-school CPR education, I think I would have tried my best sacrificing my skydiving Tshirt and/or belt for a torniquet to seal a severed stump, but CPR would have scared the hell out of me -- what if he had internal injuries and just the mere applying of CPR killed him? Being responsible for death scares me. The "what ifs" scare me a little. Thinking about it in retrospect, I believe I would have done what I could to stabilize the situation as much as I trusted myself to THEN called 911, because the 3 minutes spent just initating a text-telephone 911 call (as a deaf individual myself) would have been better spent saving a life first. At least I would like to think so. Would I have been traumatized? Probably, I've never had to deal with severed limbs (except in an occasional videogame)

I left after about 10 minutes after I ascertained I was of no further help (I asked two people if they needed my help), emergency attention was on their way, the man was walking around for 10 minutes clearly conscious (with blood only coming from his hand, and was not bleeding fast enough to drip blood). And others witnessed the tumbling from a better vantage than mine, and I was the person who parked furthest away (200 meters away where I finally braked all the way to a stop at the opposite side of the freeway). It was amazing to see how many stopped (the final tally seemed to be nearly a dozen cars and four trucks that were at least eighteen-wheelers), which formed a big wall of vehicles on the shoulder obscuring the accident site - the ditch was adjacnet to the shoulder. It looked like I was one of the first to stop, because obviously, I happened to glance that tumbling, distintegrating car a fraction of a second after it started rolling. I don't know what it caused to roll, but it looks like it hit the ditch at that instant.

An observation I note is that this unexpected situation took a full second to "figure" in my mind before I made the decision to pull over (which took an additional second before it was the obvious decision). In skydiving, lots of people say that it often takes 1 to 2 seconds to figure out something is not right (seeing an unexpected mal) before making a decision to save their lives (EP's). If you're expecting something, reaction times are pretty fast, but when something life-threatening you've never seen before hits you. There's that fraction of second of "that's not right" and fraction of second of "a life is in danger" realization, followed by quick decision what to do, followed by the execution of action. It looks like it took me about 2 seconds after I first put my eyeballs to the tumbling car, before I was heading towards the car shoulder. I had no time to think about anything else, it was automatic...

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

I witnessed a car flipping...about 3 or 4 rotations. I was walking up a road (to a friends house) and the car swirved to take a turn..waaaay too fast. the driver needless to say, missed the turn and started to flip TOWARDS me (I mean I saw the under carriage of the car coming towards ME). It was like slow motion, really freaked me out because I had never witnessed something like that before...shit flying out of the car...pieces breaking off and to land with a thump and a cloud of dust and dirt rising around and above it....I really think I was in a state of shock...I did try to help and when emergency crews and police arrived gave a statement and left...for the rest of the day, I was so sick to my stomach and had a full blown migraine....shit if I had been just a few yards up the road, I would have been taken out by the car. YIKES...

Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[gofast_ER 0]

the worst accident I have ever witnessed was on my way home from perris. From what I remember a small car...possibly a geo hit the center divider on the 91 F. It rolled over and did a 360 upsidedown. The 150 clipped it as it was trying to swerve out of the way. It did a full barrel roll RIGHT in front of me. I must have missed it by inches. I did not stop though because this being california and all people probably traveld from miles around just to stop by. I figured I would just be getting in the way. Good thing I hadent left perris 2 or 3 seconds later...I probably would have been part of that accident.

I may not agree with what you have to say but i'll defend to the death your right to say it.

[Jumpah 0]

Wow, thats a horrid thing to see on a Sunday morning.

Releated question that this made me think of...: Has anyone ever dialed 911 on a mobile phone and *then* had to type 1 to confirm that you really wanted to dial emergency? I had this happen on a Samsung phone (N80 I think) with SprintPCS service a few years ago, and wonder how common this is.

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

Releated question that this made me think of...: Has anyone ever dialed 911 on a mobile phone and *then* had to type 1 to confirm that you really wanted to dial emergency? I had this happen on a Samsung phone (N80 I think) with SprintPCS service a few years ago, and wonder how common this is.

I've been called back by a 911 operator when I accidentally hit the 9 key (which was set to auto-dial 911). I'm guessing accidental calls from mobile phones are a big issue that sucks up resources. That's probably a solution that minimzes accidental calls yet still makes it relatively simple to call in a genuine emergency.

Mark - sounds like a scary thing to watch. Glad the guy appears to be okay.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[littlejohn 0]

that sux

death before dishonor

[Scoop 0]

Biggest point. Well done to you, I bet most people would drive past. You earnt some good karma that day

[billvon 2,395]

A few years back Amy and I were driving back from LA on the 5, when a car passed us doing at least 100mph, weaving in and out of traffic. "He's going to end up dead," I remarked to Amy.

A few minutes later we saw a cloud of dust in the distance. When we got to the cloud, we saw the car sitting upright with its roof caved in in a ditch by the side of the road. It had rolled at least once, and its airbags had fired.

We stopped and went over to see what we could do. "Anyone need a doctor?" I asked as we climbed over the fence. A lot of confusion ensused since everyone automatically assumed that I, rather than Amy, was the doctor. (After all, she's a girl.)

The guy driving had gotten out of the car and was complaining of back pain, but was ambulatory and oriented, and wouldn't sit still because his girlfriend was still trapped in the car. The floor had buckled and trapped her foot, and her neck hurt as well. Amy got in and did a basic exam on her; she seemed OK (other than her foot and neck.) Amy would get shooed out occasionally by someone in the crowd; boyfriend would then come over and say "how come you're giving the doctor a hard time?"

Finally the EMT's showed up and tried to shoo Amy out again. Amy told him what she'd found, then we left figuring we'd just be in the way after that point.

I figured the driver was probably hating life for a while after that, but if the worst that came from it was some back pain and a broken foot, it's a pretty cheap lesson.

[Nightingale 0]

Thank you for stopping!

When my family and I were heading to Colorado on a ski trip, we saw a terrible accident. An older man was driving, and completely missed the bend in the highway. The car kept going straight, off the edge of the highway, down the embankment, flipping over two or three times, and finally landing on its wheels.

We were the only ones around, and both myself and my mom have some emergency skills (she was a medical technologist, and I was a lifeguard), so we stopped to help. My dad and my brother became useful by calling 911 on the cell phones and getting some real help out there. We were about an hour north of Barstow, so the nearest help was at least that far away.

The man was sitting up in his seat, talking. He had a bit of a cut on his forehead, and maybe a minor concussion, but other than that, was fine. His wife, however, had not been wearing her belt. She'd taken it off to get comfortable while she was napping on the long drive. She was thrown through the windshield, landed about thirty feet from the car, with major head trauma. Blood everywhere. She was conscious and speaking, but barely.

We managed to get some of the bleeding stopped and then, because her other injuries were on the side that was in contact with the ground, we couldn't do much more than keep her calm. My dad kept the gentleman in his vehicle and wouldn't let him move til emergency personnel got there. My brother waited up on the shoulder of the highway to flag down the ambulance.

They treated the gentleman for his head wound and talked him into coming into the ER for a checkup just to make sure there was no other head trauma. His wife, however, had to be airlifted out and flown immediately to the hospital. She was not in good shape.

My dad left a business card with the gentleman, but we never did hear whether or not his wife made it.

Two people, in the same car accident. The one with a seatbelt walked away. The one without had to get flown out, and the prognosis was not good. I've never driven without a seat belt after that.

We were the only ones that stopped at that accident, and we were all scared and felt pretty helpless. Most of my emergency training consisted of pulling people out of water and CPR, and giving orders to get other people out of the way or actually doing something useful. My mom knew more than I did, but not a whole lot beyond the first aid for professional rescuers class that I'd taken. After she was airlifted and the ambulance left, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold a pen to fill out the info that the police wanted. It seems like as soon as the emergency was over, all the adrenaline hit at once.

Thank you so much for stopping at the accident you saw. Not everybody would. Many people think they either don't have the skills to help or that someone else will. You used your head and kept your cool in a freaky, unpredictable situation where you wouldn't know what you would find when you got to that car. Good job!

[skydiverbrian 0]

A cell phone and a Blackberry in your hands... where are the pictures?

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[panzwami 0]

I had a similar experience a couple years ago. I was on my way home from late mass (again on a Sunday...), right after a decent rainstorm, and came upon an accident that had occured not more than ten seconds earlier. It was over the crest of a hill so I didn't actually see it happen, but I was the second car to get there.

It was pretty clear what had happened. A new Mustang GT traveling the other direction had crossed over the grass median sideways, onto my side (which would have been the wrong side for him). A girl in a Jeep (on my side of the road) came up over the hill just as he came over the median, and hit him at 90 degrees, with her front end hitting squarely on the passenger side door of the Mustang. The passenger door was compacted all the way to the center console. There were actually two people in the car, but I could only see the driver (age 19), as the passenger (also age 19) was completely covered by wreckage. I ran up to the driver side, but it was instantly clear that the driver was very, very dead. He and the passenger (his girlfriend) had both been killed instantly.

There was one car (a guy and his girlfriend) that had gotten to the scene before I did. I could hear that the girlfriend was screaming into her cell phone for 911 to send an ambulance. The guy, on the other hand, was trying to do anything but stick around. Another few seconds, he finally managed to get his girlfriend in his car and take off down the road. More on that in a second...

At this point, there was nothing I could do for the people in the Mustang, so I ran over to the Jeep. The driver was still in the driver's seat, crying hysterically. Her face had a few cuts from flying glass, but when I asked her if she was ok, she said she was fine except for her foot, which had been trapped in the footwell by the impact. I tried to pry the driver's door open, but it was jammed in. I figured it made more sense for the EMT's to get her out of the car, so I stood there and held her hand for the next few minutes.

I could hear the sirens in the distance getting louder, but I wasn't really paying attention as two fire trucks and an ambulance drove up. The next thing I know I hear "Matt, what are you doing here?" I turned around to see my sister, who is a volunteer EMT, jumping off one of the trucks. Intially she thought I had been involved in the accident, but when I told her I wasn't, she went right back into EMT mode and basically told me to get my ass out of the way so they could work. At that point I figured there wasn't much else I could do, so I checked in with one of the officers on scene, and went on my way.

They ended up closing that road for most of the night to do a complete reconstruction and investigation. One of the officers on the scene was a high school friend, so I was able to get the full story. This is what happened:

The driver of the Mustang had recently gotten the car new, and had put in a series of engine mods (including nitrous). When the accident occured, he was racing his car against his friend's brand new Mitsubishi Evolution. It was dark, and the road was slick and somewhat curvy. For whatever reason, he lost control of his car and spun across the median. When he reached the other side of the road, the Jeep hit him broadside. The police determined that he was going between 100 and 110 (on a 35 mph road). Game over.

The other car in the race (the Evolution) was the one car that got to the scene before I did. He had seen what happened, pulled a U-turn, and come back to the scene. His girlfriend was the one who called 911, but the Evo driver wanted to get the hell out of dodge for obvious reasons. The police were never able to put together enough of a case to actually charge him with anything, but the rumors still got out.

I think the worst part of the whole thing is how it ended up for the girl in the Jeep. It's tragic that two teenagers were killed, but they put themselves in that situation. The Jeep driver was just going home from the store. When they took her to the hospital, they told her she had just bruised her heel, and sent her home. Three weeks later, when she still couldn't walk at all, she went back. This time, they told her that A) they were wrong the first time and missed the shattered heel that she really had, and B) the fragments had already begun to fuse together so there was nothing they could do. Kinda bad news for a professional bartender.

So now it's over two years later, and she still can't work or even stand for more than an hour or so. She sued the hospital for malpractice and has a pretty solid case, but the damage is permanent. Tough price for just going to the store...

[sundevil777 93]

These kind of stories remind me why I really don't want to have a high performance car. They are just too much fun to drive, and I admit that I find it hard to resist driving such cars aggressively.

Of course not all crashes are due to this, but I think it is wise to eliminate that cause by choosing a vehicle that doesn't tempt me.

Much better to get our thrills in the air than on the road.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[mark135 0]

As a truck driver i roll up on a lot of accidents.
The last one was a single car, dry pavement, roll over in the median. snow on the ground.

I ran into the median as the person was out of the vehicle lying down on his side, back towards me. coat was pulled up high. rather than roll him over for a neck pulse I tried to get a wrist pulse till someone tapped me on the shoulder and said "dont bother" as I looked up I noticed the victims head lying about 3 feet away staring at me.

He was wearing a seatbelt or so I read later in the newspaper report online. but the whole seat had ripped out of the car.

As it was a very clean cut I have always assumed the seatbelt is what cut his head off.

Not a good day.

_______________


"It seemed like a good idea at the time"

[Guest]

Quote

Not everybody would. Many people think they either don't have the skills to help or that someone else will.

That's a big part of it, that and being afraid of inflicting additional injuries, or being sued. I don't put much faith in so-called "good sam" laws, as they vary from state to state. I don't know what the law is in my state, and I don't really want to find out.

In Virginia, I was right behind a sedan that got t-boned at an intersection by someone running a red light. I stayed until the law showed up, but I got called by the perp's insurance company. It's happened elsewhere too.

I'm not saying I wouldn't stop to help. I would, and then I'd get the hell out of there and leave it to the pros, and NOT leave any identification behind. I want to help, but I also don't want to risk getting dragged into court over something I had nothing to do with. F*** that.

mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Nightingale 0]

If you want to drive a high performance car, take some high performance driving classes. They'll teach you how to be aware of the road and good driving techniques that help you not make mistakes and help you compensate for the mistakes of others. Professional drivers are probably safer at 100mph than most people are at 50mph.