Why? :(

A little bit ago, perhaps a half-hour or so, I decided to get on my brother's bike and ride to the park for a little more of my "training." Never did I expect the events to happen next...

On my way up over a bridge, one that extends over the interstate, I witnessed something that I wish I didn't have. There were two stop-lights up ahead. The first light turned green and some guy on a motorcycle with a young lady riding on back went 0 to what it seemd like 60mph in about 4 seconds. I took a look at them and said to my myself, "He's going to run through that red light..." A split-second later, he rams head-on into the front/left tire area of a car that was making a left turn. I see both come to a dead stop to witness the driver fly off to the left and the female get somersaulted into the air 100+ feet. At that point, time just stopped for me. I wanted to rush to the victims and help in any way I could. But...I couldn't. There was no way they survived... I could not see myself staring face to face with death. So I calmly turned around and sped off...

I feel horrible for not trying to help. At the same, I just...couldn't.

:(

That is very depressing, indeed. I don't know if it will make you feel any better, but if it occured as you described it, there really isn't much you could've done. Staring death in its macabre, brutal face like that isn't something any person should have to deal with, you did nothing wrong. I am very sad you had to see something like that happen though. :(

These are some of the realities of life.

I was driving my car to work once, when a bad accident occured in front of me. Flipped over SUV, utterly crushed Honda. I swerved off the road and out of the way, lest I become part of it. Got out of the car to try and help.

No other car stopped.

I was the first person to get to the cars, and it was very clear that everyone was dead, or dying. I screamed at a pedestrian to call 9-1-1, and he took off running for the phone. There wasn't an fire that I could see, only a lot of smoke, and debris. The Honda was the closest car to me, and I ran up to the passenger side door (the car had spun around sideways). It was being driven by a man, and there was a woman in the passenger seat, and both were dead. I'll spare you the details of why I know they were. I ran over to the SUV, and got to the driver side door (the car was upside down). In the SUV was a similar scenario, with one other variable that I was not prepared to deal with. A dead infant in the back seat. The father (who was driving) was still alive. He managed to crawl out the smashed window, even though I later found out he had both his legs broken. I couldn't move. I didn't know how to deal with the sight I was seeing.

I passed out.

When I came to, I was in the back of an ambulance that was on the scene, lying on a gurney. I got out of the back of it, saw the wrecked cars, and the memory of the child hit me like a train wreck. I couldn't do anything but cry. Everyone in the accident, save for the father, was dead.

This is a memory that will never go away, and will always be upsetting. There was nothing you could do, and I don't think you would have wanted to be on the scene if you could. Take it easy on yourself.

These are some of the realities of life...

:(

My advice: Take a shower, call a friend, and go get some coffee at a diner (or some other place where you can be pretty invisible with a buddy)

Phoenix has it right. There isn't anything you could have done to help, and you probably did the right thing to prevent yourself from being traumatized yourself.

I also think you should take his advice, get together with some friends, put on some good music and relax, or get lost in a good RPG.

My goodness..... Those are both terrible stories Shinobi and PAW. I feel really terrible just reading them, I cannot imagine the horror of actually witnessing them. My mum is an ER nurse and when she occasionally tells stories about work and I want no part of hearing them. I can barely cope with hearing/reading stories like this, no less deal with them face to face, so I am sorry to hear about your experiences, and of course even more sorry about what happened to those people you described. What a lousy lousy way to die.

Don't feel bad about not helping Shinobi. There was probably little you could have done, unless you're trained in medicine. I honestly doubt if I would have done anything aside from call the police.

I think PAW gave good advice though. Spend some time with some friends or family and appreciate being alive that much more.

Oh yeh, and don't watch any stupid-assed action movies where people always survive shit like that. Ugh... This is exactly why I hate that stuff so much. :(

*speechless*

That.....sucks..... you've won my sympathy, along with all the before mentioned victims.

Bummer. Seeing death is never easy. Some of us may get a bit more desensitized than others, but it's never an easy thing.

I hope eventually you can find something else to see when you close your eyes...

I feel better getting this off my chest so I'm going to talk a bit more..

I would've passed out myself. I can't stand the sight of blood, let alone peer into the eyes of death. I am traumatized by all of this, but at the same I am angry. I'm angry at the driver for being so careless.

1. He was going way over the speed limit.
2. He flew through that red light.
3. She wasn't wearing a helmet, I'm not sure about him.

I mean, c'mon people, that's just ignorant and stupid. I can't really say I feel sorry for him as much as his passenger.

*sigh* As much as you don't want to think about it, it just replays over and over in head. :( I honestly don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I guess I'll go play some Golden Sun...

You may want to call the police, you're a witness to the accident.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Luke
You may want to call the police, you're a witness to the accident.

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I was thinking, isn't there a law or something that says you're not supposed to leave the scene of an accident?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Shinobi128


I was thinking, isn't there a law or something that says you're not supposed to leave the scene of an accident?

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Um, yeah, maybe you shouldn't call the police.

Quote:

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As much as you don't want to think about it, it just replays over and over in head. :( I honestly don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I guess I'll go play some Golden Sun...

---

Like with most things, it will probably take some time to get over it. Hopefully in a few weeks you can stop thinking about it, even though you might never forget it. Time really is the only thing that helps with bad things like this...

Getting caught up and lost in a nice fantasy world like that of Golden Sun is probably a great idea tho'. I've been playing that game practically non-stop for the past week and I can't get it out of my head! So hopefully it can find a way into yours as well...

Calling the police would be fine.
You have information, and you may be able to do some good. They're not going to arrest you for running away from it. You're how old? 19-20? Not a chance in hell they'll arrest you.

Call them.
Tell them your story.
It might be of importance to the driver of the car...
Do it NOW!

They won\'t be asking you to identify any bodies, just to describe what you saw.

Shinobi, there was nothing you could do, any major accident involving a motorcycle, ESPECIALLY when those who were riding the cycle weren't even equipped with a helmet, typically results in the deaths of the riders. From the way you described it, they were both probably killed instantly and thus were spared much pain and suffering. From someone who was once taking pre-med courses, and whom is the son of a doctor, let me assure you there was nothing you could have done other than collapse unconscious at the sight of the carnage and add to the confusion. You did nothing wrong.

I've been through a life-flashing before my eyes accident before, but I'll spare you guys the details. As for actually viewing one first-hand, well, my family and I were once out driving on the interstate on a vacation, and to the left of us in the far left lane, near the wall, was an old, beat-up truck which was swivelling back and forth across the lines. The guy whom was driving it head was bobbing up and down, back and forth, and he didn't appear to be wearing a seatbelt. My dad said the guy was obviously drunk, and moved several lanes away from him.

Sure enough, seconds later, the truck swerves to the left and starts skidding against the freeway wall, sparks start flying everywhere, and the guy's head disappears from view. I'm not sure what happened to him, I was just a child when it happened, I didn't even turn my head back or look in the rearview mirror after it happened. But I believe that, more than anything else, SADD, MADD, TV specials, etc, THAT more than anything else convinced me never to drink and drive.

I feel for your Shinobi, I hope you feel better soon :(

ive had day dreams of car wrecks. lots of them. i guess its kind of weird, but ive always wanted to save someone's life. to be a hero.

but if it ever came down to it, i dont think id be able to do it....

I drove into a ditch the other day, which wasn't much fun.

Man, that really sucks, but like everyone has been saying, theres nothing you could have done. Quite frankly, I think you're handling yourself well.

I've never whitnessed anything that bad myself. The worst I witnessed was my best friend get the shit beaten out of him by a thug infamous in the area we live. I couldn't help him because I had his mate trying to start something with me. He was much bigger than me, and I didn't stand a chance against him. That took ages to leave my head. Apart from that, the worst I've seen is a busted up walking frame from when an old couple was hit by a car, and blood stained concrete from a gang fight.

I suggest seeking councilling. Its really helpful for things like this.


Even though I haven't really whitnessed anything bad, I know some people who've been through some deep shit. My old english teachers husband was brutally murdered right infront of her. She's been weird ever since. And also, a friend of my family was involved in a car crash in which her daughters head was decapitated. She had to sit in the car for half an hour with her headless daughter sitting next to her...

I can't possibly imagine what it would be like to be in their, or even your situation. I can't stand watching people get hurt, let alone die. I would have probably broken down then and there.



You're doing well, and you did all you could.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Rhydant
ive had day dreams of car wrecks. lots of them. i guess its kind of weird, but ive always wanted to save someone's life. to be a hero.

but if it ever came down to it, i dont think id be able to do it....

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Yeah, I don't think so either.

Unfortunately, I've been desensitized to stuff like this. I won't go into details on how, but I will say that being desensitized is not all its cracked up to be. When something bad happens, and all you can do is look blankly and show no emotion, the guilt starts to build up. I can say, however, that you did the right thing.

Quote:

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Originally posted by sambolc
I drove into a ditch the other day, which wasn't much fun.

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:lol:

"And also, a friend of my family was involved in a car crash in which her daughters head was decapitated. She had to sit in the car for half an hour with her headless daughter sitting next to her... "

Dude, that has got to be the worst possible thing that could ever happen.

AS long as we're exchanging traumatizing stories...

My cousin's mother was killed right in front of his little brother's (neither of which I have any blood relation to) eyes.

He was hiding in a closet when a man (the cops were pretty sure it was her drug dealer) came in the house and shot her. He stayed in the closet for about 2 hours until anyone came to the house, I guess he was too afraid to open the door and see what happened. He was only about 6 years old.

^^ I'm not very proud of "that" side of the family, I make as little connection with them as possible. So I can't say I knew either of them too well, but this is still the worst thing I've ever heard in my life. The fact that it happened in my family made me feel even worse.

I just remembered that when I was 5 years old I saw a bad accident on the side of the road. It's hazy now but I think I saw a body. :( I was driving in the car in the backseat with my family. Because of the accident people in the car started talking about horrible accidents they had seen or heard about. Well, maybe they thought I was sleeping or not paying attention or too young to understand, but I most certainly did and because of that night I became obsessed with death. For a few years I would cry at night thinking about what happens when you die. Not very good or healthy for a 5 year old!! I still remember the song that was playing on the radio that night was "Watching the Wheels" by John Lennon, who himself had just been murdered the previous winter (the first person I ever heard of who "died" I guess)... so for years every time I heard that song I would feel terrible and start to cry, which is strange because the song is not a sad song like that at all. It's a really nice one and one of my favourites. To this day it still sends a chill down my spine when I hear it though. :(

-- -- -- --

As for being a hero and saving someone, unless you are trained there is probably nothing you could have done anyway. I know if I was in that situation I would have no idea what to do. My mum was in a situation like that once though. Like I mentioned earlier, she is a nurse and so she knows medicine. Well, one time when I was little she saw a car accident, pulled over, and saved some man's life right there on the street. I don't remember the details. I was always really proud of her when I heard that story though.

An article came out in today's paper regarding the accident.

http://shinobi128.iwarp.com/pics/accident.jpg

Well, I can say that I'm relieved that both of them are alive. I honestly thought they were dead on impact. It's a shame the driver had to learn his lesson the hard way.

I don't think this is something I'll forget for a long time. The accident is played over in my head everytime I see that intersection. :(

thats good news...any word on their condition now?

It is very good news that they are ok, and you need to keep telling yourself that there was nothing you could have done. It's not like you wished them harm in anyway....

A month or so ago I was in line at the drive thru at the local McDonalds which is on a frontage road right off of a fairly busy highway. It was dark and raining. A group of about 3 or 4 kids about 14 years old left mcdonalds and started running down the embankment towards the highway, presumably trying to get to the subway across the street. At this time I said something to the effect of, "how stupid are those kids, i hope one of them gets hit by a car."

Not 4 seconds later, one of them got hit by a car. I saw the body go flying through the air and hit the pavement. I frantically told the employee working the drive thru to call 911, but I don't know if he took me seriously. By the time I left mcdonalds, the road was block off and an ambulance was there so I asummed there was nothing left that I could do. The local paper didn't cover the story or report a death, simply that fire and rescue had been called the location, that was it, so i can only assume the kid was alright.

Moral of the story. Don't wish badness upon people, or when it happens you will feel bad forever, even if it was in no way your fault.

Good to hear they're alive.

Sorry to hear that. I hope I never have to be in that kind of experience. I've been in some minor auto accidents (mostly deer), thankfully nothing serious. I've got some stories though..


When I was a baby some women in a Lincoln or some other big car sideswiped my dad. He had the right away but she never stopped. I've seen pictures of the truck he was driving... it's pretty scary... totally smashed :(


Last month my cousin (from what I'm told a notorious speeder) hit a moose up in Maine and totally demolished the car. They said he was thrown something like 100ft and it was a miracle that he lived. Moose guts all over the car and such. The thing is, if he wasn't going so fast and he still hit the moose, it probably would've landing right on him and it wouldn't have been catapulted to "safety."


Around the beginning of the summer some guy was driving along a mountainous road near us and his cell phone rang. He looked down to the passenger seat for like 4 seconds and then flew off the mountain. The car fit EXACTLY into the space that he went through. And inch to the left and he would've hit a telephone pole, an inch to the right and he would've smashed into the wooden fence that surrounds a nearby restaurant. He survived. Was airlifted out via helicopter. Pretty bad condition though.


There are a bunch of guys on Kawasakis and such that speed along the straight part of that same mountain road I was just describing. They pop wheelies on the straight section commonly. If they ever lost control they'd fly back and smash into the car behind them. You've gotta be pretty damn dumb to do such a thing.


A few weeks ago a woman got lost around the river underneath the mountainous road I was talking about. She climbed up the rocky ledges around 40 ft to look for her companions and ending up falling all the way to the bottom. She survived with a few broken bones.


Several months ago the sky was totally lit up near where we live. We heard a chopper in the sky. My dad got home and said that there had been an accident and the road was backed up for miles. We drove down a backroad with a perfect view of where the chopper landed. This was all at night mind you. Anyway, they loaded the body in, and it really hit me, that guy could very well be dead. It was pretty scary. :( The helicopter flew off right above us with its spotlight shining right on us. I felt like I was in The X-Files. :) Turns out the guy they airlifted was OK, a few broken limbs. His two companies further down the street were both dead though. He was the only one wearing a seatbelt.


Oh, one more, last month on our way home there was a flipped over car with a body lying in the woods with nobody around him. Must've been dead. There was another person they were all tending to who seemed alive.



Yeah, so, it's dangerous around here. And there's a ton of wreckless people.

This is kinda unrelated, but you just reminded me of on this show, they showed footage of a huge bike gang that was cruising around some city, running over pedestrians and stuff. The police acted by standing roadside with baseball bats and 2 by 4's taking swings at the bikers as they passed.

Man, there's some traumatizing stuff up in this thread.

Once when I was on the highway, a van was in the far left lane, and all of a sudden it made this huge arcing U-turn skid across 5 lanes of traffic (just a few yards from hitting my car), all the way to the right side of the road. It contunued skidding until it started up the embankment of a nearby on-ramp, then rolled about 6 or 7 times. I kept going, as I was past where it stopped and people were already pulling off to help anyway. But I really don't see how anyone could have survived that.

That's my worst accident-witnessing story... I guess it's pretty tame compared to a lot of yours.

I honestly wouldn't have been too heartbroken if the driver of that motorcycle had died, however.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Shinobi128


I was thinking, isn't there a law or something that says you're not supposed to leave the scene of an accident?

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I'm almost positive that only applies if you're actually involved in the accident.

My lastest story happened on August 23rd. My brother(Sqoon), sister, my bro's friend, and I were on our way to San Francisco on 101 to the Sony Metreon for the Kingdom Hearts event when suddenly traffic was stopped in front of us. I thought it was odd since it was only about 11:30 am. I looked over to the other side of the freeway when I noticed there was no cars at all. My first thought was that there was an accident that took up all four lanes on the other side and my side was rubber-necking. I've seen tons of accidents before, but nothing serious so I thought it was the usual fender bender with a big rig. Well, when we were nearing the accident, the first sight was a white van crushed on one side with blood that had dripped out of the side window. The seat was also drenched in blood. In the background was a big rig that was parked on the shoulder. Then as we got closer, there must have been at least 10 people sitting on the freeway with blood all over them. I couldn't tell if there was anybody laying on the road since there was a divider, but I'm pretty sure there was. The ambulance just arrived with police and fire trucks about half a mile behind them. All traffic had stopped. After I passed the accident, I noticed that I drove a little bit faster. I think I wanted to get away from the accident as soon as possible.

Okay, so this is all super depressing.

I have a story that isn't as depressing but made me think.

So my dad has this crap car that kept breaking down. I'm like, "Dad, get rid of this piece of shit; it's crap." And he's all, "Shut up boy!" (He does say that from time to time.) Anyhoo, he's driving to work, as per usual, and the car stalls, as per usual. So he pulls to the side of the highway, pops the hood. He's looking around and is cursing himself; there's nothing he can do for this craptacular car. While analyzing the remains of his now dead car, he gets this feeling. For some reason, he decides to peer around the side of the hood. All he sees is this car spinning (full fucking 360) towards his car, almost seconds away. Instead of freaking out, he promptly jumps over the guard-rail. A milisecond later he hears a huge bang. He cautiously peers over the guard-rail, only to see his car way, way, way down the road in pieces.

What was left of the car, you ask? A few mix-tapes of his (good tapes, by the way), the remains of one liscense plate and a touque.

What made me think: It was then that I learned that I deal with death and near-death experiences in a bizarre way. When I heard about it, I laughed, and thought of how funny it would have looked. (In hindsight it was pretty funny.)

However, after a couple of days, it hit me pretty hard: I almost lost my dad. Two more seconds and he wouldn't have known what hit him.

Weird.

*speachless* :(

Quote:

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Originally posted by Briscobold
Okay, so this is all super depressing.

I have a story that isn't as depressing but made me think.

So my dad has this crap car that kept breaking down. I'm like, "Dad, get rid of this piece of shit; it's crap." And he's all, "Shut up boy!" (He does say that from time to time.) Anyhoo, he's driving to work, as per usual, and the car stalls, as per usual. So he pulls to the side of the highway, pops the hood. He's looking around and is cursing himself; there's nothing he can do for this craptacular car. While analyzing the remains of his now dead car, he gets this feeling. For some reason, he decides to peer around the side of the hood. All he sees is this car spinning (full fucking 360) towards his car, almost seconds away. Instead of freaking out, he promptly jumps over the guard-rail. A milisecond later he hears a huge bang. He cautiously peers over the guard-rail, only to see his car way, way, way down the road in pieces. What was left of the car, you ask? A few mix-tapes of his (good tapes, by the way), the remains of one liscense plate and a touque.

What made me think: It was then that I learned that I deal with death and near-death experiences in a bizarre way. When I heard about it, I laughed, and thought of how funny it would have looked. (In hindsight it was pretty funny.)

However, after a couple of days, it hit me pretty hard: I almost lost my dad. Two more seconds and he wouldn't have known what hit him.

Weird.

---

I am glad he is ok.

That reminds of of a really sad story though. One of my dad's friends sons was killed in an accident similat to that. He was about 4 years older than me and I really admired him when I was little.

Anyway, he was driving along a highway and there had been a truck that had pulled over, which was probably similar to your father's car. The difference was that the truck did not break down. The drivers stopped to pee. So, anyway, he was driving along the highway and there was a bend in the highway. John (that was his name) crashed into the truck and died. :(:(:( I think the police said that he never saw the truck or tried to stop. It was night time and it was dark... maybe he took his eye off the road for a split second. No-one knows....... It was a really terrible thing. He was a really nice guy and he had a bright future ahead of him. He was an all-state hockey player too...

The one thing that keeps going thru my mind when I read this thread is how pointless most of the deaths and accidents are. It's such a stupid and sad way to die. *sigh*

If you really want to help you could call the police and say you witnessed the accident from afar and that you would submit a statement that made sure the person who hit them doesn't go to jail.

Just a thought.

The start of your story reminds me of a fairly funny one, Briscobold.

My dad sold our old car to our next door neighbours for a carton of beer.

that is all.

I wished my dad did that.

I fucking hate Hyunadais.