Accidents
During my time as a trucker driver and passenger I was in far too many close calls to count. The ones that always come to mind are the driver going the wrong direction down the highway in Austin, Texas at 11pm at night. Then there was the time I was cooking in the back when James had to slam on his breaks nearly throwing me through the window. And finally, the two cases in Washington DC 10-15 miles of each other. One car was driving up the exit ramp the wrong way and the one that reminded me of my own accident because he was parked on the highway.
So what happened in my accident?
I was driving south down I-81 south early one September morning. It was funny in a way, because I had just gotten back on the highway after getting stuck in the horrible fuel island at Loves in Roanoke, Va. I always think back and think to myself that if I had not stopped, or if I had just stayed stuck a little longer that we wouldn't have had the accident in the first place.
A car driver had a seizure at the exit for Virginia tech. He had not been taking his medication and as a result had a major seizure while driving his car (which he wasn't supposed to be doing) - the only thing he managed to do was bring his car to a safe stop and had mistakenly turned his car completely off (lights included). Unfortunately, that stop was in the in the right lane of I-81.
As I came along I81 at 60 miles an hour with my cruise set. I had just finished eating and was briefly checking my GPS for my final stop. The city of Christiansburg, Va had turned off the lights in that section of the highway in attempt to save money (they got them back on very quickly after this) and as a result I did not see him until the last few seconds when his car suddenly came into focus. I remember time coming to a complete halt and things slowing down. I swore loudly and yelled at James to hold on tight. I made a split decision to swerve to the right rather than the left in order to try and save the driver of the vehicle. As a result I risked my husband's and my own life as our truck was launched up by the passenger side of the car and bounced off the barrier wall. When the truck landed I tried to get the vehicle under control as it swerved from left to right and just when I thought I had control, the weight of the load swung the truck around 180 degrees and then the truck rolled and everything stopped. I called for James, but there was no response and I frantically hit the panic button (which apparently doesn't work if your truck is rolled). Suddenly out of nowhere I saw head lights and another semi truck hit out trailer, splitting it in half and we skidded along the highway as their truck dragged us along. My drivers window broke and glass cut into my arm.
When everything came to halt again - for the last time - I found myself trapped in my chair which was hard up against my steering wheel. I called for James to see if he was alright and noticed that he had managed to turn the light on in the sleeper. He had a dazed look was trying to find a wearable set of clothing and a pair of shoes. As I told him I was fine, but stuck in my chair, as I said that the chair started to deflate and I was set free. I searched for my shoes and managed to find an odd pair, I grabbed Stacey and went to look for Jack in the truck. Jack was missing and at the time we didn't find him anywhere at the time (he came home later - but that's a different story see here). We had to climb out the front window in order to get out the truck.
Outside the truck, a cop had arrived. He told us to get away from the truck just in case of chemicals or an explosion. He told us James and I to go stand on the side of the highway so that we could be collected by ambulances when they arrived. I said I was fine and could help so I passed Stacey onto James and went to try and help the car driver.
He was alive, but there was nothing we could do for him. The roof of the car had come down on him and he was lucky enough to have his head go through the drivers side window of his car. He looked like something from day of the dead - completely covered in blood and wounds. As more truck drivers arrived on scene they pulled out crow bars, axes and hammers to try and pry him free from the car. None of them had any luck.
7 more police cars showed up, before a fire engine and 6 ambulances arrived. 2 of the paramedics from the ambulances worked with the firemen to free the man from the car, while the other 4 took the two drivers from the other truck and James to the hospital, leaving the last one with me. The paramedic was absolutely certain that I was not alright, I reassured her that I was fine and would like to stay until I could find something safe to do with Stacey. The deputy called in a favor from animal control and I waited with him until they arrived.
Many of the cops went in to our truck absolutely certain that they needed to remove dead bodies. I let them know that we were okay.
After passing Stacey off to animal control, I rode with the Deputy to the hospital. Now that I think about it, it was my first ride in a police car.
After taking my statement, the cops informed that the accident was unavoidable. Knowing that, and that I did everything the right way and that I followed everything my husband had trained me for has helped me put the whole incident behind me and move on with my life.
There was a lot that happened afterward. Scavenging what we could out of the truck, a lot of laundry, dealing with safety, dealing with doctors, health insurance agents, lawyers, replacing computers (which by the way - no matter if you have warranty on it, they won't do if it is covered in chemicals) and other items, reassuring family and friends and finding a way home. We were incredibly lucky that we had family living nearby who took us in to their home until my mother in law was able to pick us up.
A car driver had a seizure at the exit for Virginia tech. He had not been taking his medication and as a result had a major seizure while driving his car (which he wasn't supposed to be doing) - the only thing he managed to do was bring his car to a safe stop and had mistakenly turned his car completely off (lights included). Unfortunately, that stop was in the in the right lane of I-81.
As I came along I81 at 60 miles an hour with my cruise set. I had just finished eating and was briefly checking my GPS for my final stop. The city of Christiansburg, Va had turned off the lights in that section of the highway in attempt to save money (they got them back on very quickly after this) and as a result I did not see him until the last few seconds when his car suddenly came into focus. I remember time coming to a complete halt and things slowing down. I swore loudly and yelled at James to hold on tight. I made a split decision to swerve to the right rather than the left in order to try and save the driver of the vehicle. As a result I risked my husband's and my own life as our truck was launched up by the passenger side of the car and bounced off the barrier wall. When the truck landed I tried to get the vehicle under control as it swerved from left to right and just when I thought I had control, the weight of the load swung the truck around 180 degrees and then the truck rolled and everything stopped. I called for James, but there was no response and I frantically hit the panic button (which apparently doesn't work if your truck is rolled). Suddenly out of nowhere I saw head lights and another semi truck hit out trailer, splitting it in half and we skidded along the highway as their truck dragged us along. My drivers window broke and glass cut into my arm.
When everything came to halt again - for the last time - I found myself trapped in my chair which was hard up against my steering wheel. I called for James to see if he was alright and noticed that he had managed to turn the light on in the sleeper. He had a dazed look was trying to find a wearable set of clothing and a pair of shoes. As I told him I was fine, but stuck in my chair, as I said that the chair started to deflate and I was set free. I searched for my shoes and managed to find an odd pair, I grabbed Stacey and went to look for Jack in the truck. Jack was missing and at the time we didn't find him anywhere at the time (he came home later - but that's a different story see here). We had to climb out the front window in order to get out the truck.
Outside the truck, a cop had arrived. He told us to get away from the truck just in case of chemicals or an explosion. He told us James and I to go stand on the side of the highway so that we could be collected by ambulances when they arrived. I said I was fine and could help so I passed Stacey onto James and went to try and help the car driver.
He was alive, but there was nothing we could do for him. The roof of the car had come down on him and he was lucky enough to have his head go through the drivers side window of his car. He looked like something from day of the dead - completely covered in blood and wounds. As more truck drivers arrived on scene they pulled out crow bars, axes and hammers to try and pry him free from the car. None of them had any luck.
7 more police cars showed up, before a fire engine and 6 ambulances arrived. 2 of the paramedics from the ambulances worked with the firemen to free the man from the car, while the other 4 took the two drivers from the other truck and James to the hospital, leaving the last one with me. The paramedic was absolutely certain that I was not alright, I reassured her that I was fine and would like to stay until I could find something safe to do with Stacey. The deputy called in a favor from animal control and I waited with him until they arrived.
Many of the cops went in to our truck absolutely certain that they needed to remove dead bodies. I let them know that we were okay.
After passing Stacey off to animal control, I rode with the Deputy to the hospital. Now that I think about it, it was my first ride in a police car.
After taking my statement, the cops informed that the accident was unavoidable. Knowing that, and that I did everything the right way and that I followed everything my husband had trained me for has helped me put the whole incident behind me and move on with my life.
There was a lot that happened afterward. Scavenging what we could out of the truck, a lot of laundry, dealing with safety, dealing with doctors, health insurance agents, lawyers, replacing computers (which by the way - no matter if you have warranty on it, they won't do if it is covered in chemicals) and other items, reassuring family and friends and finding a way home. We were incredibly lucky that we had family living nearby who took us in to their home until my mother in law was able to pick us up.
So what did I learn from this experience?
I learned no matter what your told nothing can really prepare you for something like this. The majority of people that talk and teach about accidents have no actual experience of being in an accident and if they do, it is usually as a part of the clean up crew. I remember sitting in an accident awareness class during my commercial drivers license training and none of what I learned in that class was applicable in the major accident I was in. The man teaching the class had never been in an accident and he only repeated the Department of Transportation "general information on accidents" citing both statistics and what they think you should do and then what you should do to not get sued. I don't think anything that he could have taught me in that class could have prepared me for what happened, even many of the things my husband taught me fell short.
Something for you to think about as a driver:
There are 8 seconds of incredible importance before an accident.
I learned this lovely little fact from a race car driving who was giving a speech one day when I was in High School many years ago. It takes the average driver 3 seconds to respond 3 seconds to make a decision and then about 2 to put into play any decision you have made. This means that if your trainer was as good as mine *looks at James* he will drill procedure into you until it is instinct. The reality is is that by forcing your body to act before you process it leaves you a little more time to make an important decision if you need to.
What should happen at the scene after an accident take place?
The general story is that the driver of vehicles and anyone injured are the ones most affected by an accident. While I am almost certain that this is true for any person who is injured in an accident and any driver that has accidentally killed someone, I would argue that in an accident where no one dies that it is anyone who is in the sleeper of a truck (or perhaps a car passenger) who is affected most.
During our accident, I found I had this weird since of calm which I can only attribute to having God at my side. And since then, I have barely been affected. I didn't have nightmares and the only things that made me uncomfortable for awhile were white cars (which conveniently I owned one). I also can't stand the sight of the large scar on my husbands arm knowing that I put it there. My husband thought I would never go back to driving, but my father taught me to face the my fears and I was back at the start of the following year.
James, on the other hand was in the sleeper. He had no control over the situation or the events that took place, but to grip a tight hold on the bed and watch as his cat and the everything back there lifted up into the air, floated and spun. He was unable to move out of the way as he was hit by the microwave, got hit by a cutting board and cut by a piece of steel. He also took in a couple of mouthfuls of cat litter. He still has difficulty being in the sleeper while another person is driving and he tells me the only thing he can do to manage it is resign himself to the fact that he might not wake up.
During our accident, I found I had this weird since of calm which I can only attribute to having God at my side. And since then, I have barely been affected. I didn't have nightmares and the only things that made me uncomfortable for awhile were white cars (which conveniently I owned one). I also can't stand the sight of the large scar on my husbands arm knowing that I put it there. My husband thought I would never go back to driving, but my father taught me to face the my fears and I was back at the start of the following year.
James, on the other hand was in the sleeper. He had no control over the situation or the events that took place, but to grip a tight hold on the bed and watch as his cat and the everything back there lifted up into the air, floated and spun. He was unable to move out of the way as he was hit by the microwave, got hit by a cutting board and cut by a piece of steel. He also took in a couple of mouthfuls of cat litter. He still has difficulty being in the sleeper while another person is driving and he tells me the only thing he can do to manage it is resign himself to the fact that he might not wake up.
What can you do to be prepared for an accident?
- The best thing any driver can do is earthquake proof their vehicle. Make sure everything is stuck down or secured. Bold down anything heavy to the floor or wall (fridges/microwaves/ovens).
- Also, never store your first aid kit underneath the bed or in the tool box. This is where ours was and because the bed broke we were never able to access it.
- I would also like to see paramedics brought in on the accident awareness courses to help drivers understand what to do in an accident situation.