Life happens too quickly when you don't pay attention
I had to run to my knee Doctor this morning for my 3 month check-up on my replaced right knee. The trip to Murray, 18 miles away. was uneventful until I tried to park my F-150 into a parking space designed for a golf cart. After several tries, I managed to get it into the space where I didn't have to climb out of a window to exit it. The Physician's Assistant (she's much better on the eyes than the surgeon) gave me a thumbs up but said I need to bear down on my knee exercises when my back surgeon starts me onto physical therapy, hopefully on Thursday.
As I left Murray on Hwy 641, I finished listening to Dan Bongino's podcast from Monday, pretty much zoned out to anything happening around me in the 65mph speed zone. As I approached a major intersection that has warning lights to let you know the light will be changing (about 200 yards away), I realized something was amiss as I saw what looked like dust. My mind told me as wet as it has been, there was no way it could be dust. It was then that I realized the stop lights were not working at all. All of a sudden, as I stopped because there were people running from stopped cars, I saw a mangled SUV and debris all over both lanes ahead of me. An 18 wheeler truck was flipped over about 75 yards up the road at about a 120 degree angle back toward the direction it had come from. The truck was on the right shoulder and the traffic lanes were covered in dried grass and gravel as well as mud. I pulled my truck onto a raised median area to my left and jumped (as well as I can with a new knee and back brace) out, heading across the road toward the truck cab. A couple of other drivers were quicker than me and assisted the driver as he crawled out of the wreckage. As I looked back toward the SUV, people were pulling the doors open and all I could see were airbags. From the looks of the wreckage, I didn't care to see anymore. It had been hit so hard it took out the box that controls the traffic signals and then spun back almost onto the road. Folks were starting to get the pieces of the tractor out of the road and I figured I was not a true witness and would just be in the way, so I headed toward Benton. I went 3-4 miles before I saw the first blue lights of a Sheriff Dept car. It was then followed by several more LEOs plus 3 ambulances. The number of ambulances really concerned me because I knew they were destined for the wreckage of the SUV.
As I got back almost to my shop, I realized I was bleeding all over my cupholders and console. When I went to jump out at the accident scene, I was not aware I had stuck my elbow into the cupholder in the console and peeled the skin above and below my elbow into a bloody mess( young folks can't appreciate how wonderful old skin is). Thanks to Clint who dropped by the shop and had a care kit with a large bandage in it.
After I've had a couple of hours to think about what I had seen (and not seen thankfully) the only thing I can get from it is how quickly our lives can change in ways that will forever change everything. I haven't heard what the condition of the SUV occupants are. I saw the driver walking around but he could have injuries that will show up. A split second of inattention or a bad judgement call has now created serious implications and possibly life-changing injuries that could impact those for years to come.
I have no idea who was at fault. There will be time to access blame and let the lawyers get richer off the misery of others. My concern now is having seen how quickly a catastrophic event can happen with one second of inattention or a day dream, I need to make my belated New Year's resolution to take time to pay attention to the world around me to both prevent mishaps but also to see how lucky I am that I wasn't a few seconds ahead of my pace. My prayers go out to those involved.
