Notice: You have been identified as a bot, so no internal UID will be assigned to you. If you are a real person messing with your useragent, you should change it back to something normal.
Hello all. It's been a while since I posted but this shit rattled me pretty bad.
My new job involves quite a bit of driving between Portland and Seattle and I spend a good portion of the week in between the two on I-5. Yesterday I was driving near Olympia and was suddenly passed by about 6 emergency vehicles. About a minute later I came up on a rollover accident. The only vehicle I could see was a small pickup truck that had crossed the median and rolled several times before coming to a stop on its side in the northbound lane. I arrived just in time to see firefighters peeling back the roof that they had cut off with the Jaws of Life. Just when I saw that there was still someone behind the wheel a police officer came out into my lane and motioned for me to stop. I sat there for about 5 minutes trying not to look but I was about fifty feet from the truck.
Long story short I couldn't NOT look and saw what looked like a young man in his late teens or early 20's literally crushed into the steering wheel. There was a great deal of blood on the dash board and his hair was matted in it. The only word I can think of to describe what I could see of his face is "mangled". The cop motioned for me to drive and I saw the firefighters checking his pulse but not really looking like they were expecting much. I found out later that he was indeed pronounced dead on the scene. This is the second violent accident I've seen. The first one was actually worse as it involved a truck on fire with people inside.
Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 2 minutes later[^][v]#418,206
Tell us about the first accident you saw.
Fats (OP) replied with this 13 years ago, 8 minutes later, 10 minutes after the original post[^][v]#418,210
It was in Valdosta, Georgia in 2006. I was travelling to Kentucky to watch my dad get taken off of life support and stopped off for gas. A flatbed semi was stopped at a light a block up from us and was hit from behind by a Toyota Tundra going about 80 MPH. It was later determined that the driver must have passed out or had a heart attack or something because the brakes were never applied. The entire cab of the truck was completely crushed, killing the driver and his passenger instantly. However it was a 4-door truck and the people in the back were trapped inside.
The driver's foot was still all the way down on the accelerator so the tires were just spinning and smoking while people ran up to try and help. After about a minute the tire caught fire which didn't take long to find some type of flammable fluid leaking from the truck. It wasn't a big fireball or anything, but the fire spread into the truck pretty quickly. Most of the people trying to help took off running and the ones that stayed were trying like hell to break the windows with their fists.
I realized I was going to be stuck there for quite a while and I quickly hung up the hose and got in the car. As we were trying to get out and back to the interstate my girlfriend said "Oh God. They're screaming!"
Indeed they were. Loud. I got an opening and took it hauling ass up the on-ramp and back onto the interstate. We drove for about a hundred miles in silence while she cried silently and I just tried to focus on the road.
All four persons in the truck were killed.
(Edited 27 seconds later.)
Syntax joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 32 minutes later, 42 minutes after the original post[^][v]#418,216
Do us all a favor and drive over that gap in that bridge on the I-5. (North of Seattle) The truck drive made it all the way so you should be able to do it as well. Remember to go real fast as you approach.
Anonymous B replied with this 13 years ago, 1 minute later, 44 minutes after the original post[^][v]#418,217
@418,210 (Fats)
Ugh. Sorry you've had to see all this. :(
Anonymous D joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 2 minutes later, 46 minutes after the original post[^][v]#418,218
there was that limousine fire recently where like 5 people were killed
being stuck in a car is scary
car accidents are scary
i totaled my car last year
Anonymous B replied with this 13 years ago, 40 seconds later, 46 minutes after the original post[^][v]#418,219
@previous (D)
I totaled a car once. Fucking scary.
Fats (OP) replied with this 13 years ago, 20 minutes later, 1 hour after the original post[^][v]#418,220
@418,216 (Syntax)
Luckily that bridge is a bit north of anywhere on my route. I was talking to another driver about it and he told me to pay attention to every one of those little bridges on I-5 through Washington. There are literally dozens of them and EVERY SINGLE ONE has girders that are peeled back and bent from being hit. The roads and bridges in Washington and most of Oregon are absolute shit. Roadwork is apparently very low on their priority list out West.
@418,217 (B)
Yeah it's pretty shitty. I have dreams all the time about violent car accidents. Shit like this definitely doesn't help.
(Edited 4 minutes later.)
kook !!32zdfdzi+ joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 1 hour later, 2 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,229
I've only really seen sick dead people
Fats (OP) replied with this 13 years ago, 20 minutes later, 2 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,235
@previous (kook !!32zdfdzi+)
I've seen dead relatives. My father looked like a monster when he died because dat liver and kidney failure can have strange effects on people's bodies. His legs were about as big around as my waist. This shit was different though. Seeing the carnage a simple mistake on the road can have on someone was just a show-stopper.
kook !!32zdfdzi+ replied with this 13 years ago, 14 minutes later, 2 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,238
@previous (Fats)
I believe you. Once I saw a motorcycle accident, and the woman was alive but had her foot hanging on by a thread.
Fats (OP) replied with this 13 years ago, 22 minutes later, 3 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,240
@previous (kook !!32zdfdzi+)
Sick. It's funny how you think you're all jaded and desensitized from the internets until you see shit like that for real.
Anonymous F joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 17 minutes later, 3 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,241
I don't think I've ever seen a dead person. Just half of a dead mouse after my other one ate it.
Sorry you had to see that.
!KThEOwLwbU joined in and replied with this 13 years ago, 10 hours later, 14 hours after the original post[^][v]#418,267
never driving never driving never driving never driving
Becky's Butt joined in and replied with this 7 years ago, 5 years later, 5 years after the original post[^][v]#980,504