I saw someone get killed this weekend.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 12:25pm

He was pulled over on the interstate, out of his car, standing talking to someone. TOO close to the road. I moved over to the left lane to get away from him when I passed him, commenting "why is that idiot so close to the lane of traffic?"

Not 3 seconds later, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a semi-truck hit him, throw him up 100 feet in the air, and kill him. Hit him so hard it knocked him out of his shoes.

I had to give statements to the troopers as an eyewitness. This all happened in front of this guy's wife and kids, so you can imagine the scene that ensued.

I've never been involved in ANYTHING like that -- let alone seen something like that -- so I'm pretty shook. My God.

Just wanted to share with the brethren on this board...

Trust. Don't stand too close to the road if you have to stop.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 12:27pm

God, how awful! Condolences to the family and sorry you had to witness it.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 12:33pm

How horrible. I am so sorry you had to witness that.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 12:37pm

it's a horrible experience for ALL involved... i remember having something similar happen to me when i lived in San Francisco years ago... seeing a bicycle messenger, following all the rules of the road, get smashed by someone in a hurry to make a turn... i almost threw up...

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 1:11pm

Thanks for the thoughts, guys.

You know, the "good" thing (And I use the term "good" for lack of a better word) is that this guy didn't even know what hit him. It was that quick. If all that stuff is true, he was standing talking to someone in a car one second, and the other second he was floating above the whole thing, saying "what in the hell just happened?" I don't think there was any pain involved on his part -- which is a blessing.

[PigletH13]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 1:26pm

Where did this happen? What a terrible thing...sorry you had to see that and that it happened in the first place!

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 1:29pm

It happened in Mississippi. I live in Memphis, and had to go to Montgomery, AL for a family function. It was on the return drive.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 1:32pm

wow very sorry you had to see that.

i was once on a road very late at night and drove by a car wreck with burning cars and people laying on the floor. I stopped to see if i could help but emergency arrived. i felt sick to my stomach and i didn't even see it happen...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 1:40pm

I've witnessed a couple of horrible auto accidents and assisted in the victims as well. What I saw was pretty bad, but I never saw the victims actually get injured. I can't imagine dealing with what you witnessed. My condolences to the family. People think so lightly about the extreme violence and killing in films, but forget what it means in real life. It's witnessing moments like that that is the reason I can't handle extremely violent films. I take it too personally. It's very emotional.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 2:07pm

My playwright mentor in college witnessed a man being propelled from his car into the path of an oncoming train. He pulled over and puked and said he was haunted by the image for years and years. So, RL, DO be mindful of post traumatic stress symptoms in yourself and if you feel it happening, talk to a therapist who specializes in that issue. There are some new techniques that are being used that are very helpful.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 3:59pm

actually DO NOT WAIT till u feel something. Talk to a physician about a counsellor or if there is a victims of violence support group sometimes they can recommend some one the police department may know some one who deal with critical incidents counselling as well. right now u are numb & surprised when that wares off u may be surprised @ what & how strong u feel about this.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 4:09pm

What an awful experience!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 5:00pm

Witnessing something like that gives you a different perspective, doesn't it? How quickly life can change. Or be over.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 5:19pm

Iflit - to borrow from Stan Laurel - "It certainly does, Ollie."

The thing that haunts me the most is that I was witness to that guy's last seconds of life. Beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, then BAM! (both literally and figuratively), and it was over.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 5:47pm

Cell phones are good but somepeople think of them as the be all & end all. Where I live there is a main throughfare with 8 lanes of traffic. You regularly see people crossing this area jaywalking, talking on a cell phone & totally oblivious to anything going on around them. They are chatting on the phone like they are sitting on a lounge chair at home & assuming they are impervious. They either are so engrossed in their call that they have no clue what is going on or they feel everycar must stop for them.These peoples have a deathwish & in a way if they get hit they , in most part , bring it on themselves. No call is so important that you either risk your life or lose it

I do not know if this person was on a phone or not but if not, this is another aspect of why some accidents happen. My sympathies to this party's family .

Updated On: 4/19/04 at 05:47 PM

[DofB5]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 7:49pm

Such a sad thing for everyone involved. I've never seen anything like that and pray I never do.

D

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 8:29pm

I am so sorry you had to see that ! I hope you are feeling better ! A few years back I was entering an organised beach near Athens and out was coming a really old foreign couple. They looked so sweet together and i glanced their way because i was impressed by the love they were radiating. As i walked further in, to get to the beach, i heard commotion outside. When i went out after about 5 minutes i found out that a car had ran over the old lady and killed her. Thankfully a sheet was thrown over her so i didn't see her. A young guy who was the driver of the car was shivering and the old lady's husband was in shock. It was not the driver's fault because it is a fast avenue and the old couple tried to cross the road. I felt awful for all of them. But having seen her alive and happy for probably the last minute of her life, it still haunts me until today...

Take care

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/19/04 at 8:56pm

I used to be a staff nurse in a large medical center, and as such, have been with dozens of people at their moment of death. It becomes less disturbing, but you never get used to it. That someone can be there one second, and not there the next, is a very profound phenomenon to experience.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 12:12am

The fact that you were in Mississippi going back to Memphis brought back a horrible memory. My sister and her partner were driving back to Memphis thru Miss. late at night (coming back from a family reunion with us in Florida) and hit an ambulance gurney that was in the middle of the road (no ambulance around and no indication what it was doing there) -- it came out of nowhere. They stopped and got out to see the damage to the car and their beautiful big black dog, Sylvie, jumped out from the back seat before they could stop it and he was hit and killed by a car coming from the other direction. They were all in shock, first from the car hitting the gurney and then, the dog. My sister will still not drive on Mississippi roads at night and that was 10 years ago. She says they're evil.

I'm sorry you experienced that and I hope you can talk to someone about it to help you deal with it.

[lassy]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 9:50am

Makes you wonder why you were chosen to witness it.

Iflit,you're right. No matter how many times you see it, it has a profound effect on you.

rlbgbc, it's not a bad idea to talk about this with other people. I'm sure you'll still feel the shock for a long time.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 10:10am

You know, I just gotta say it...and it's really something for me to "say it", as I'm probably one of the more cynical and caustic people to populate this board...

I'm blown away by the nice posts by everyone. Just goes to show that beneath our witty barbs and catfights, there lurks in the majority of us the ability to be the first one carrying a covered dish at the time of tragedy.

Thanks again, board-ites.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 10:34am

And you notice who DIDN'T post in this thread? All the "why aren't people just nice all the time on this board?" folks. I think from now on we should call ourselves The Fabulous Realists.

[Michelleruth]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 4:09pm

rblgbc,

I can't imagine the horror you experienced....or the horror of the man's family who also witnessed this tragedy. Hope you are doing okay.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 4:29pm

My condolences to the family, and to you for having to witness such a horrific event. I think had I seen something like that I would have crashed my own car from being in shock while driving. I cannot even imagine seeing something like that. I often say a prayer whenever I see an ambulence rushing through traffic on a highway; and I try to stay calm and not worry about where I have to be and try not to get annoyed about the traffic, but instead hope that whatever the cause for the traffic, that nobody is seriously injured.

It's odd when you think about it; if we're meant to see certain happenings like that. My Stepmother and my Brother were both in the sight area of the towers when 9-11 happened. My Stepmother was on the ferry and happened to look down at the very moment the second plane hit. Therefore, she didn't see it happen. My Brother was across the water, in his office building in New Jersey when they were evacuating the building. He looked out of his office window right as the that second plane hit. It shook him for quite some time. And I just always wonder...was he meant to see it happen and she wasn't?

Updated On: 4/20/04 at 04:29 PM

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 6:08pm

"And I just always wonder...was he meant to see it happen and she wasn't?"

I don't know, TB, I think what it all comes down to in the end is dumb luck... Forrest Gump's "**** happens", if you will. Some people get sick, some people have accidents; others lead a charmed life. For every story about someone who escaped death on 9/11 by oversleeping, there is another story of the person who was in one of the buildings covering a shift for a friend.

Feeling like there is a preordained causal relationship between disparate events would make me nuts. I think you mentioned feeling like something bad would happen to you if you sign a donor card in another thread. I'm not belittling the feeling, but as far as I can tell, much of what happens in life is random. Best to just live it well and see what happens.

Updated On: 4/20/04 at 06:08 PM