I've been unfortunate enough to have been in four accidents in my entire life... I'm speaking of car accidents, of course. Two of these, were minor enough to only mention in passing as actually being accidents. The other two were not so minor.
When I was 19 and living at home for a semester I took off from school, I was in a very serious accident. I was young and inexperienced and incredibly stupid... and unbelievable lucky. I've written a bit about here, previously. And, it still boggles my mind that I actually walked away from this one.
I learned a lot from that accident. I learned that no matter what, there is nothing so important that you need to be 'on time' for to drive that fast. I learned to be very aware of where I was driving. Driving fast can be fun, but you have to be very careful of what you're doing.
I was really shell-shocked about that accident for a very long time. And, I didn't even remember the actual accident itself. But, I lived in terror of suddenly remembering it at some time. I didn't lose consciousness during any point when it happened; I only seemed to suppress the memory of actually flipping or flying through the air, or the sound of thousands of pounds of metal hitting other solid objects at about 75-85 miles per hour. And it still makes me nervous sometimes, that I will suddenly remember it. Because if I do, I'm afraid I'll never be able to drive again.
I didn't really know how serious it was, until I saw the car in the junkyard, on the way home from the hospital. I immediately began to shake and sob uncontrollably. And, I couldn't drive for a few weeks afterwards. Luckily, when my parents helped me buy my next car, we made a smart decision... We got a car with a standard transmission. And I had to learn how to drive it. That took my mind off the terror of driving again, and made me concentrate on the driving process. It helped to get me back behind the wheel again.
When I wrecked our car here, in December 1998, it was another wake up call. But, I wasn't doing anything stupid, like I did during the last accident. I used poor judgment, on a rainy night, at an intersection I didn't know. And, while we were only sore, our car was demolished. And, since we'd only owned it about 6 months... that really pissed me off. Thankfully, it seems very long ago and very surreal to me now. But, it was not a fun experience when it happened.
So, in my driving experience, I've been in accidents, but I've never seen one. I wished someone had seen my first one. From all theories and guesses, it was probably spectacular... something right out of a movie. But, I've never watched a real accident happen.
This brings me to my poor sweet Wallace... and the unfortunate experience he had on Tuesday evening.
We have a little ritual we have fallen into since I've been here at home with Savannah. He usually calls me before he leaves work for the day, so I have a very general idea of when he might be getting home. This depends on how bad traffic is, how the weather is, if he gets stuck behind accidents, etc.
Wallace was driving on Mount Vernon Highway, here in Atlanta, which is really _not_ a highway at all, but really a fairly small and lesser traveled road, from his workplace, downtown. He said he was going the speed limit, and I'm sure if he wasn't, he wasn't too far off. He's a cautious driver, always has been. And I know he drives appropriately.
Well, here in Atlanta, people who drive appropriately are difficult to find, most of the time... The average speed on the highways, is probably around 70-80 miles per hour, about 15 to 25 miles over the posted limit. And, keep in mind, that is the average. There are a lot of people who go a hell of a lot faster than that, if they can. My dad hates the drivers down here. And, as a whole, they are pretty horrible.
Anyway, the motorcycle driving behind Wallace coming home, thought he was going too slow, so he decided, stupidly, to pass him on a double yellow line. (From all I've driven on Mount Vernon, I don't think there are really but a few legal places to pass on that road at all.)
Then, apparently inspired by the motorcycle rider's dumb-ass move, the car behind decides to pass too... and Wallace watched him pass, going way too fast, struggle to get back into the lane, loose control of his car, and end up flipping it and smashing it headfirst, upside-down stopping against a tree off the road.
He explained all of it, in detail. Although, my spatial reasoning skills are very poor, and I have a very difficult time imagining this scenario. But, I do think I have recounted it correctly. And he watched it all happen... and he apparently spent the rest of his trip home going over all of the 'what-if's' in his mind. He thinks it was his fault, in even a small way, that this guy was a colossal moron.
I know, it wasn't. And hopefully, if I tell him enough times, he might begin to believe me.
Wallace doesn't think this guy made it. He saw lots of blood, but no person. And he described how the engine block was sitting essentially in almost the middle of the car, how the dashboard was almost touching the driver's seatback. There doesn't sound like there is a lot of chance for this person, but I'm sure there is a chance.
I made it through my accident, and I didn't even break anything. And my car looked worse, according to Wallace, than this one did. The person could have survived, but it isn't very likely.
And, I don't know what that experience did to Wallace, or to anyone else who has gone through something similar. Maura told me of an accident she saw while living in Ohio. And, she wasn't driving and didn't have anything to do with that, but she did watch someone die, while waiting for someone to get the victims out.
Thinking of that sends chills down my spine. If it happens to me, ever... I hope it's not for a very very long time.
There are huge differences between being in accidents and watching them. And, from what I know and what I've heard, I don't like either of them.