The Crash

Last night at about 3:30 in the morning, I was awoken by a EEeEEeEEE BANG sound. Not sure what it was (sounding like a shotgun firing outside our apartment complex), I fell back asleep, heart-a-pounding. Not an hour later I was awoken again. But this time it sounded like a thousand lawnmowers were outside our window. Peter didn't flutter an eyelid, sound asleep. I honestly had no idea what was going on.

At 5:30 am, my alarm went off. I look out my bedroom window and spot a helicopter hovering right above my apartment complex. Still thinking the first sound was that of a gunshot, I get a little freaked out. Should I stay clear from the windows? Should I turn on the tv and see if there is breaking news for my area? I do neither, and instead, clear my head with a hot shower. As I was walking out the door at 6:10 am, I notice a cop car right in front of my apartment door, just sitting on my street. The street perpendicular to mine has 3 to 4 more cop cars on it, and a few men are redirecting traffic off the main street. It was then when I decided to call my mom, and I asked her if she heard anything about a car accident near me.

That's what it was. Apparently  a younger man (21 years old) drove his car off the road, right next to my apartment complex, hit a speed limit sign (damn near bent it in half) and a tree. That was the first sound. The second sound was the helicopter airlifting the man away from the scene to a nearby hospital. Thankfully, the accident occurred so early in the morning, and the driver did not hit any other cars. The condition of the man is unknown to me, but having been airlifted, I imagine it isn't good.

I can be even more thankful that the man didn't swerve in the other direction, because directly across the street where he ended up is the apartment complex. And while Peter and I do not live street-side, we certainly are close enough to be affected. And I know there are little children that live next door to us. If he went in the opposite direction, more people could have been injured, or even dead. Driving home from work tonight, I drove in the same lane as that man did. The police marked the road where he crashed. They basically spray painted his tracks on the pavement, and I could see and imagine my car going right into the ditch, mimicking the incident from the night before. And it freaked me the fuck out. 

When I entered the apartment, I sat with Peter and cried a bit. It's so easy to forget how quickly people can dissipate from life, so I made sure to tell him how much he means to me, how much I appreciate him, and how awesome he is. Never, ever, EVER take this life for granted, and spend every moment with people you love, doing things that you love and make you utterly happy. Make every moment count.

Article about the crash: Click here.