Death On The Highway

I was making my way home from my mother's last night, and all was well until I got about 11 miles from my exit off the Interstate Highway. Suddenly all I saw was brake lights coming on in front of me, and then we were all at a dead stop. About a mile up ahead, I could see a blue strobe light flashing, and what looked like high intensity flood flights. Was it an accident, or night road maintenance? If it was a road crew repaving a lane, we would be slowed down to a crawl, as both lanes merged into one until the construction was passed, but instead the Interstate had become a parking lot. After several minutes of standing still, the line would move two or three car lengths, only to come to a grinding halt again. There was an exit about a mile ahead, just about where the blue strobe was flashing. My plan was to exit there, and drive about a mile to the south to access an old two lane US highway, that would take me the ten miles further west to my rural neighborhood. It took about 30 minutes to travel that one mile, and when I got there, I discovered that the Interstate was completely shut down, and all traffic was getting off at that exit. There was a horrific accident between the off ramp and the on ramp at that interchange. Traffic was able to exit on the off ramp, and reenter the highway on the on ramp. As I reentered the highway, I looked to my left, and saw several emergency vehicles and two fire engines. In the left lane, facing the wrong way, was a burned out car, with the entire driver's side skin ripped off. My heart sank when I saw it. Later on the news, my suspicions were confirmed, when I learned that there was a confirmed death in that crash. Only a few days earlier, as I stopped at out local country store to pick up few things, a flat bed wrecker was parked out front with another passenger car on it, that had the driver side doors ripped off. The roof was caved in, and a wilted airbag laid draping over the driver's seat. Talking to the clerk in the store, I learned that the woman driving the car fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the Interstate, just two mile west of where I live. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I have no idea as to what her fate was, but after seeing her crumpled car, I'm sure she didn't fair well.

Winter is here dear readers. Snow and ice make roads treacherous. When conditions are dangerous, please stay off the roads if you can, but if you have to go out, take extra care. Drive slow, leave plenty of distance between you and others, and watch out for black ice! Also, if road conditions are wet, or slippery, never use cruise control!

Melissa xx