Jerry's grandparents own a mile. One, straight, flat, nice, wide highway runs along the south edge of that mile. Grandpa and Grandma live on the west end, Jerry's sister owns the house at the east end, and we live in a farmhouse halfway between.
Twenty years ago, the east end had a large S curve that was known as one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the area. Now, two decades later, the accident rate doesn't seem to have changed at all.
Almost exactly a year ago, we came home to a small red car buried in the black walnut grove just east of our house. A guy driving west swerved right into the fence, over the irrigation ditch, and slammed through the trees, smashing the car against one of the larger black walnuts. If that walnut tree hadn't been there he would have stopped approximately in the vicinity of the middle of our living room. He walked away. Before that, a man died when their 5th wheel trailer came unhitched halfway between our place and Sister's. Those are only two of many.
Tonight, I was watching TV downstairs when Jerry came home from the barn. Jerry, being Jerry, only says "Well, that was an interesting night."
A Dodge pickup carrying a family of five (including 3 little girls and the family dog) was traveling west, coming home from getting $700 worth of groceries. At the corner where Grandpa and Grandma live, a Topaz carrying 3 men ran the stop sign, and the father of the 3 girls could not stop. The truck ended up smashing the car off the road, and landed against it in a full irrigation ditch, with all 3 men in the car unconscious and either partially or entirely submerged, and the water rising.
Jerry's dad had gone out to get another bunch of cows to put in the barn, and saw the wreck very soon after it happened (within minutes). When Jerry, his dad, and grandpa got out there, the driver of the truck was out of his truck, UNDERWATER, pulling a man who was unconscious and submerged out of the car. As they pulled him out, he regained consciousness.
The man they rescued was screaming for them to also save his Grandpa and Uncle. Jerry looked into the car, and while the two men still trapped did not have their heads submerged, it was obvious their injuries were bad enough that they should NOT be moved, and he saw that there was most likely nothing anyone could do. Over it all...of course...massive alcohol smell in that car.
At this point, the 3 girls and mom still in the truck had pretty much a direct view of two dead bodies. A very nice man in a suburban stopped and shifted the girls and mom to his car, where they could be warm and away from the accident. It turned out he was not even from around here, but was lost and trying to find his way to a High School Golf tournament.
In the end, of the two men left in the car, the grandfather was pulled out of the car and covered with no lifesaving measures taken, as there was nothing anyone could do. The other was intubated, but work stopped before they even got all the way to the ambulance. In fact, lifeflight had been called, but actually broke down and had to abandon the mission. Fortunately, (or unfortunately) they were unneeded. Also, there was another accident at nearly the same time on the freeway which also required a lifeflight call. Fortunately, that chopper was able to make the pickup and that person is reported in critical condition at the hospital tonight.
I don't know what the deal is with this stretch of highway, but on this mile, there is at least one fatality a year. We morbidly 'joke' that people forget that the 'S' curve isn't there anymore, and try to follow it right into the fields, but it is just so very strange how many accidents happen on a perfectly straight, flat section of road right out in front of our house.
Yes, Jerry is fine. He is ok in dealing with the things he saw tonight, and he's so thankful that it wasn't 3 little girls' bodies he was helping to pull out of the wreckage. Even the family dog is ok. So often, it's the drunk driver(s) that come out unscathed, while the victims do not, but tonight those three little girls and their mother and father ALL go home with each other to hold on to. Unfortunately, some mothers' son/brother/father/husbands should have slept it off instead of getting in that car. Not a good Mother's day for them.
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