FAST TIMES AT WENDOVER ROAD

I was pulling up to an intersection late this past Sunday night, about to turn left onto Wendover Rd. from Providence Rd. Suddenly a vehicle crossed through the intersection going so fast that I couldn't make out what it was. Probably around 100 mph. I smiled and thought to myself, 'looks like they're having fun tonight'. My light turned green and I made a left turn going the same direction as the speeding vehicle. I kind of hoped to catch a glimpse of it as I headed down Wendover, but it was already out of site.

As I made my way around the final bend in the road I noticed a vehicle up ahead stopped in the other lane. All I could really make out where the two taillights. I figured at first that it was just someone leaving their home or maybe they were dropping someone off. As I got a little closer I noticed a tire in the middle of the road and that this vehicle, a nice new truck, was not in any normal scenerio like I had imagined. It was actually wrapped around one of the many huge oak trees that lined this road.

Suddenly I remembered the vehichle that I had just seen fly past me. Was this it? It had gone by me so fast that I couldn't tell if it was even a truck or not. Then I saw smoke start to swirl out from the front of the car (which at this point was underneath the front windshield). I whipped a quick u-turn in the middle of the road and got out of my car, my headlights focused on the vehicle.

The passenger in the rear and the one in front seat were both face down in the vehicle. I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to see this. I was dialing 911 as I walked. One other car drove past and asked if I had alerted the police. I told him that I had. He and his girlfriend started to get out to help, but apparently they had just come from a fancy dinner on the town and I'm sure they were afraid that this was about to get messy and ruin their sparkley clothes. They disappeared before I had a chance to look back. I gave out the location to the 911 dispatcher and then they transferred me to a medical dispatcher.

The medic asked me how many people were in the vehicle. I wasn't quite sure. I saw two on this side, but I couldn't really tell where the driver was. I walked around the truck to the other side. The front left tire was in the driver's seat. The steering wheel was where his head would normally be. I didn't want to look in or beneath the deflated airbag. I answered "I think three". In between her questions I was asking the two guys on the passenger side if they were okay. The only noise I heard in response was the steam from the engine and an occasionally deep moan. The medic went on to warn the officers and I (who were now arriving), 'Don't move them and don't give them anything'. The officers brought out their flashlights and began checking out the situation.

Within minutes the road was completely locked off, a few firetrucks, a few ambulances, and a half dozen police cars. Immediately the fire department set off to plug in their hose and others managed to pry open the passenger-side door.

The medics rushed in and started to slowly remove the two side passengers. The guy in the back first. He hadn't been wearing his seatbelt and his internal organs were apparently crushed from the impact and because of that neglect. As they pulled him out he began coughing up blood. He was out of it though. The police seemed to think that they were all drunk. They pulled out the guy in the front seat. He was a rather big fellow but he didn't seem too bad off other than being in an extremely dazed state.

A couple of gentlemen from the neighbourhood stood beside me watching. They said that if it weren't for the sirens they would have never known that there had been a wreck in their front yard. They heard a crash, but had assumed it was thunder. They said that they normally would hear the screaching of brakes first. These guys didn't brake. There were no skid marks on the road. A direct b-line to the tree at about 90-100 mph. One of the neighbours pointed me to a headlight that was about 50 or 60 feet from the vehicle.

I stuck around partially because I had to, all of the trucks had trapped my little car inside of their rescue camp. They had huge lights cranked 40 feet up into the air. Soon they started pulling out huge saws and started to cut apart the vehicle. There was one guy left. I didn't want a closer look, but I wanted to know that he was alive. I waited, praying, thinking, and praying some more. An hour passed and the fire department managed to tear the truck apart. They removed the roof, the side door (other then the steel support beam). They also cut through the back and front windows of the truck to get to him.

I'd occasionally inquire from the officers about how he was doing. One told me that he was pretty well wrapped around the engine. That didn't help my imagination much. Eventually I saw him. They had the breathing machine on him and were holding his head up. In the end they managed to pull him out and once they did he began to scream like nothing I had heard before.

At this point I felt okay enough to leave. I don't know if they all made it, but I hope so. I know that Princess Diane had died from not wearing her seat belt and having internal organ damage, so I hope that the guy in the back makes it out okay. The driver may loose his legs, but at least he's alive, I hope.

I learned a few things from this.

First, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! I don't want to come across you in the middle of the night and I don't want to ride with you.

Second, WEAR YOUR SEATBELT, EVEN IN THE BACK SEAT!. I had never really thought about the importance of that before. I had even mentally ridiculed people that I've seen strap one on in the back seat. I'll be doing it from now on.

Third, DON'T SPEED... (at least not that excessively). When I was in High School I flew down this same stretch of road at about 85-90 mph in my dad's MG-Midget racing my friend, Charlie, but it was daylight and I knewabout the curves in the road. Don't be stupid to look cool, because in the end... you'll look stupid. Nobody wants to go out like that. These guys were fortuitus and I don't think they'll be doing that again.

Fourth- Someone made a racist comment to me about this event (and fortunately I can't remember who had said it). They asked, "Did you say those guys in the truck were Hispanic? Because 9 times of 10, if there is a truck in a wreck at two in the morning they're probably Mexicans." If this was you, please don't say such things to me again. Whether the statistics say anything like that or not... a person's life is a person's life. This could of happened to any number of my friends that I know who drink and drive on a semi-regular basis. Play smart and it won't happen.

Call me if you need a ride. I keep my phone on and would be glad to take you home or at least pay for a cab for you.