Glad everyone made it out.
Last year I was driving the mountain roads for my side gig. The roads were terrible so I took a flat byway to get around the mess. When those logging trucks and semi's are gunning it and no way around you they cross over solid yellows or just pass and you don't even have guard rails on your side (WA mountains).
I pull off in this small little town that's all of a strip mall and some coffee joints. I see EMS/fire/police lights and pull up as they wave me in. There's signs for road closures which I thought was from the tsunami alert.
I'm stopped about 30 yards away from a crosswalk in a school zone. My first thought was oh god that went from 55 to 25 way too fast.. I hope no one is hurt..
I see a small backpack and a shoe in the street covered in blood. There was a huge yellow tarp over a blood stain and slew of body parts (bumps under tarp). The grill of the semi truck was riddled with dead kid like he had just splashed a deer. The rim of a ball cap was stuck in with the bone and gore of his grill but no hat to be seen.
I'm sitting there waiting to be waved on. I don't know what to think. This horror had just unfolded on me and the streets weren't detoured yet. More responders come.
This poor woman comes running up screaming oh my god my baby my baby.. what have you done to my baby.. and the cops are holding her back and she's screaming and hitting them but they're doing their best saying ma'am and being calm and trying to help her.. she settles down for a minute and they release their "grip".. more like just keeping her out of the road..
She breaks loose.. she gets over to the little shoe and backpack in the road and completely loses it. She sits down in the road where traffic would be (lights are stuck red) crying how she wants to die because without her baby it's no life to live, he was all she had left, cradling the bloodied backpack and shoe, when cops get close she let's out this blood curdling cry of "just kill me".. never heard anything like it in 30 years. It was one of the most terrible things I've seen on the road.
The driver of the semi was on the side of the road pale as a ghost occasionally vomiting & dry heaving. Someone brought him a shock blanket and I could see he was sobbing. The crying that wracks your whole body and you shake. I doubt he will drive again.
Be safe out there everyone. Today and always. I don't know very many of you at all but I do hope that every day you all get home safe. God bless, all.