Car Accident Update --The Full Story
June 29, 2007
Scott and I loaded up our cars to make another trip to Bethany before the trip in the big U Haul truck. We saw our friend Jason just as we finished loaded my fish tank in the SUV next to the mini fridge and tied it down with bungee cords. We asked Jason if he thought it was tied down tight enough. He said “Yeah its good enough, it’s not like you’re going to be off roading or anything.”
Oh boy was he wrong.
I responded with a comment that Scott was a horrible driver (which wasn’t true-I trust his driving more than I trust my own). Scott took the teasing lightly and we were soon on our way.
I let him lead in the SUV while I followed in the Buick. I don’t know why. Usually I lead us both because I like being in control. Scott, while he is a careful driver he drives about 5 miles per hour under the speed limit. This drives me nuts.
But this day I chose to follow.
We were heading down Highway 62 (going west) planning on taking the Muskogee Bypass when Scott took the wrong exit. This should have been my first clue that I should have been leading us. But we had taken this trip many times and I had faith in Scott.
We corrected his mistake and got back on our way following Highway 69 south, and the followed I-40 east.
At the exit for Okemah there was a huge accident. About 4 or 5 cars were involved and completely smashed to pieces. We were directed to take a detoured using the off ramp and the access ramp to I-40.
As traffic slowed I looked at the wreckage and noticed there wasn’t an ambulance. Then I noticed that the fire department had a person on a stretcher with a white sheet over them. (I looked closer; I think I saw blood.) It took me a second to realize that they were dead. I remember my friend Teri, an EMT, once telling me that car accidents on the highways were the worst and that they hardly ever have survivors. The impact at such a high speed really tears the car apart in the worst possible way.
I don’t consider myself to be a religious fanatic. Sometimes I don’t consider myself very religious at all. But today I prayed. For the lives of the people who were killed; for the lives of Scott and I; for everyone I knew.
Having seen the wreck I passed by bothered me. I think it desensitized me. There was a real person under that sheet. They must have had a family, someone who loved them. They were human, and being human is to be fragile.
I would like to think that people are responsible for themselves. It is easier to think that it’s their own fault that bad things happen to them. But that’s not always true. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time doesn’t make that person responsible, it doesn’t make them stupid, and it doesn’t make it fair. But it does make a difference to the people who are involved.
They may have deserved many things, but I doubt they deserved to die.
Scott and I eventually stopped at Shawnee to take a break. In the parking lot at Wendy’s I told him that I loved him. I was worried that something could happen to us, and I was scared.
The funny thing is that Oklahoma weather is usually known to be pretty wacky. This year it keeps raining. The rainy season usually stops around Father’s Day and it’s usually bone dry until September. There has been flooding all over central Oklahoma. The heavy rain and the flooding have made the roads even more dangerous than usual.
Of course, it doesn’t help when everybody on the Interstate insists on going 80 miles per hour in the rain.
Remember Driver’s Ed.? The rule is to go 5 to 10 miles per hour under the speed limit in rain to avoid hydroplaning and skidding. But of course, why would anyone would actually want to do something mature?
After our break in Shawnee, Scott and I got on I-40 heading towards Oklahoma City. There was a heavy downpour of rain while we were heading through the construction zone near the Dale exit (near Firelake Casino). The speed limit was 55 miles per hour and the rain had just begun to let up when our accident happened.
We were in the right lane going around 50 to 55 miles per hour when a gold and black Scion was coming up the access ramp. Scott was about 5 to 6 car lengths in front of me and instead of yielding the Scion comes up on Scott’s bumper and ran Scott off the road.
He honked at Scott; Scott swerved trying to get into the left lane to avoid the car. Instead Scott’s SUV hydroplaned and he drove into the median.
It was the hardest thing I’ve ever watched in my life.
I drove onto the right shoulder of the highway and slid down the side of the bank getting caught in the mud and grass. The Scion kept going; even past a cop car right in front of us.
I was so scared that Scott was hurt. He was a little shook up but he was okay.
Later on Scott told me his first thought was “Oh shit!” and that his second thought was “Oh shit, the fish tank! Angela’s going to kill me!”
I was so worried about Scott at the time I didn’t even care. Thank God that Scott’s okay.
The McCloud police saw what had happened and hurried to help us. They called us two wreckers to get us out of the ditches. Big Wheel wrecker towed Scott out and a wrecker called Born Again pulled me out.
Scott talked to the police about what had happened. Both the police and the wrecker said Scott was lucky to be alive. Usually when a car hits the median it flips. Somehow Scott had dragged a barrel under his car; he thinks it anchored the SUV so it didn’t flip.
The wrecker that pulled me out said that we must have been blessed to survive what we did. I think he was right.
Later after Scott and I reached Bethany we realized Scott’s back passenger tire was busted and the Scion had dented his back passenger door. The car isn’t dented badly, but we think it could have taken off the Scion’s side mirror.
I think it’s a miracle that we lived through what we did. If I had lost Scott, I don’t think I’d be able to continue. My life would shatter and I don’t know what would happen to me. Honestly, I don’t think I’d care what happened to me if I lost him.
Late that night I drove Scott back to Tahlequah. I was flipping through the radio channels about every few songs I’d hear a song with some sort of religious innuendo. I felt like I was in a Final Destination movie. This has been the strangest thing that has ever happened to me, and I’ve had some very strange premonitions in the past.
Scott and I loaded up our cars to make another trip to Bethany before the trip in the big U Haul truck. We saw our friend Jason just as we finished loaded my fish tank in the SUV next to the mini fridge and tied it down with bungee cords. We asked Jason if he thought it was tied down tight enough. He said “Yeah its good enough, it’s not like you’re going to be off roading or anything.”
Oh boy was he wrong.
I responded with a comment that Scott was a horrible driver (which wasn’t true-I trust his driving more than I trust my own). Scott took the teasing lightly and we were soon on our way.
I let him lead in the SUV while I followed in the Buick. I don’t know why. Usually I lead us both because I like being in control. Scott, while he is a careful driver he drives about 5 miles per hour under the speed limit. This drives me nuts.
But this day I chose to follow.
We were heading down Highway 62 (going west) planning on taking the Muskogee Bypass when Scott took the wrong exit. This should have been my first clue that I should have been leading us. But we had taken this trip many times and I had faith in Scott.
We corrected his mistake and got back on our way following Highway 69 south, and the followed I-40 east.
At the exit for Okemah there was a huge accident. About 4 or 5 cars were involved and completely smashed to pieces. We were directed to take a detoured using the off ramp and the access ramp to I-40.
As traffic slowed I looked at the wreckage and noticed there wasn’t an ambulance. Then I noticed that the fire department had a person on a stretcher with a white sheet over them. (I looked closer; I think I saw blood.) It took me a second to realize that they were dead. I remember my friend Teri, an EMT, once telling me that car accidents on the highways were the worst and that they hardly ever have survivors. The impact at such a high speed really tears the car apart in the worst possible way.
I don’t consider myself to be a religious fanatic. Sometimes I don’t consider myself very religious at all. But today I prayed. For the lives of the people who were killed; for the lives of Scott and I; for everyone I knew.
Having seen the wreck I passed by bothered me. I think it desensitized me. There was a real person under that sheet. They must have had a family, someone who loved them. They were human, and being human is to be fragile.
I would like to think that people are responsible for themselves. It is easier to think that it’s their own fault that bad things happen to them. But that’s not always true. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time doesn’t make that person responsible, it doesn’t make them stupid, and it doesn’t make it fair. But it does make a difference to the people who are involved.
They may have deserved many things, but I doubt they deserved to die.
Scott and I eventually stopped at Shawnee to take a break. In the parking lot at Wendy’s I told him that I loved him. I was worried that something could happen to us, and I was scared.
The funny thing is that Oklahoma weather is usually known to be pretty wacky. This year it keeps raining. The rainy season usually stops around Father’s Day and it’s usually bone dry until September. There has been flooding all over central Oklahoma. The heavy rain and the flooding have made the roads even more dangerous than usual.
Of course, it doesn’t help when everybody on the Interstate insists on going 80 miles per hour in the rain.
Remember Driver’s Ed.? The rule is to go 5 to 10 miles per hour under the speed limit in rain to avoid hydroplaning and skidding. But of course, why would anyone would actually want to do something mature?
After our break in Shawnee, Scott and I got on I-40 heading towards Oklahoma City. There was a heavy downpour of rain while we were heading through the construction zone near the Dale exit (near Firelake Casino). The speed limit was 55 miles per hour and the rain had just begun to let up when our accident happened.
We were in the right lane going around 50 to 55 miles per hour when a gold and black Scion was coming up the access ramp. Scott was about 5 to 6 car lengths in front of me and instead of yielding the Scion comes up on Scott’s bumper and ran Scott off the road.
He honked at Scott; Scott swerved trying to get into the left lane to avoid the car. Instead Scott’s SUV hydroplaned and he drove into the median.
It was the hardest thing I’ve ever watched in my life.
I drove onto the right shoulder of the highway and slid down the side of the bank getting caught in the mud and grass. The Scion kept going; even past a cop car right in front of us.
I was so scared that Scott was hurt. He was a little shook up but he was okay.
Later on Scott told me his first thought was “Oh shit!” and that his second thought was “Oh shit, the fish tank! Angela’s going to kill me!”
I was so worried about Scott at the time I didn’t even care. Thank God that Scott’s okay.
The McCloud police saw what had happened and hurried to help us. They called us two wreckers to get us out of the ditches. Big Wheel wrecker towed Scott out and a wrecker called Born Again pulled me out.
Scott talked to the police about what had happened. Both the police and the wrecker said Scott was lucky to be alive. Usually when a car hits the median it flips. Somehow Scott had dragged a barrel under his car; he thinks it anchored the SUV so it didn’t flip.
The wrecker that pulled me out said that we must have been blessed to survive what we did. I think he was right.
Later after Scott and I reached Bethany we realized Scott’s back passenger tire was busted and the Scion had dented his back passenger door. The car isn’t dented badly, but we think it could have taken off the Scion’s side mirror.
I think it’s a miracle that we lived through what we did. If I had lost Scott, I don’t think I’d be able to continue. My life would shatter and I don’t know what would happen to me. Honestly, I don’t think I’d care what happened to me if I lost him.
Late that night I drove Scott back to Tahlequah. I was flipping through the radio channels about every few songs I’d hear a song with some sort of religious innuendo. I felt like I was in a Final Destination movie. This has been the strangest thing that has ever happened to me, and I’ve had some very strange premonitions in the past.