A scary thing happened the other night – I was almost killed. My wife and I were on the way to meet our kids for a celebration of our 34th anniversary and my daughter Kate’s 32nd birthday. We don’t normally combine two events but we had been away in Canada and with Kate and Alex’s (and his wife Kai’s) schedules, it worked out.
My wife, Sidney, and I stopped at a red light at a major four-lane intersection, one we have crossed perhaps 1,000 times, and we were chatting about meeting the kids. I watched as the light for the crossing traffic turned yellow, then red. I was about to proceed when I turned my head left and saw an 18-wheeler barreling toward the intersection with no intention of stopping. This truck was still 40 yards away when my light turned green. All I could do was wait until the truck passed. I’ve never seen a truck, or car, go so blatantly through a red light.
We looked at each other in shock, then disbelief, then thankfulness, all rolled up in one emotion, when immediately in the left turning lane of the same direction the truck was headed, a police car shot out in front of us with sirens and lights ablazing. He pulled that sucker over as I finally made my way through the intersection.
My first thought was this: our kids are between 30 and 32 and they know we are never late. We were all about to meet at a high-class Japanese restaurant and if the accident had occurred, they would be wondering where we were. Our reservation was for 7pm and we had decided to leave a little early. So, even by 7:15 our kids would have beat us there: unusual. As I was driving there, I wondered, what would they be thinking at 7:30? 8:00 pm? They would have called us on our cell phones but if that truck had hit us, neither my wife nor I would have been in any shape to answer.
And it horrified me to think that they might have driven from the restaurant to our house and along the way, see that my car was torn to pieces or crushed.
There is no doubt in my mind I would have been instantly killed by the impact. The truck, racing the light or just unaware, would have hit the driver’s side with full impact. That truck, an 18-wheeler, was easily doing 60 to 70 MPH and since it couldn’t stop, I assume it was fully loaded. Death of me, probably Sidney too as I would have been slammed into her head-to-head and the truck would have flattened us and my car.
But thank God, years ago I became more mindful of always glancing left-right-left as I travel through an intersection. I was relieved. But I was also shaken. It’s been a bit more than two weeks now and I have often thought of this incident. Now, I’m more grateful than shaken, but it has left its residue in my mind. No, I’m not more careful or paranoid. I was haunted for a few days, now it’s a cautious memory.
Yes, I can hear people saying, “Get over yourself, you’re alive!” I did get over it but it shook me to think we were almost wiped out in such a quick and sudden and violent instant. Instead, we were able to arrive early at the restaurant and wait for the rest of the family to arrive. And of course, as they arrived, we shared the details with them, of what could have happened.
But then we moved on and got seated at our table and caught up with each other. We talked about our four-day trip to Canada, a reunion of Sidney’s high school friends, at a house that sits on a pristine lake near Kingston, Ontario. Four days and three nights of merriment, music and booze. Kate, Alex and Kai shared their latest accounts of work and fun.
I’m not over it yet. It wasn’t a near-death experience since we are both 100% alive.
But, still. Hmmmm. We all have these moments where we appreciate life a bit more. Oddly, this was not one of them. Perhaps, I am angry. But why? Maybe it’s the fact that damn truck driver never honked his diesel horn to warn me and the other drivers that he wasn’t going to be stopping. We all go through red lights, even though we shouldn’t. But this was egregious. And yes, I am glad that I was first in line at that light since I prevented those behind me from racing blindly through that light.
Sure, I’m glad the police car was there to pull the truck over. This was one time you don’t just get off for a slight driving mistake. The way that cop tore out, that trucker was going to get hit with a major fine and/or citation.
I think it was that feeling of despair I felt for my kids as they would have been waiting, waiting and waiting for us to show up. And then we wouldn’t have ever shown up again. Just like that. And that bothered me. But it provided me insight, too.
These things happen every day. I should feel blessed that I had the insight or patience or instincts to avoid a disaster. I did not just go blindly when that light turned green, I looked left and saw a horror story approaching. All I could do was continue to brake and wait for that ghost to pass in front of me. And when it did, I could safely proceed. But I was shaken and changed since I had seen Death rear its ugly head in my line of sight for the first time in my life.
I’m still here, thank God for that.
Chris Ebel
10/24/23
Photo credit: @VroomBroom