Friday, 23 July 2004

So, it was working out to be a great day - I took the day off from work and all was going so well... Then at around 6:00 or so this evening, problems came up at work that were unexpected. I had to help out with some decisions, and decided someone needed to be spoken to face-to-face, so I drove in on my motorcycle.

It was a great ride - it was around 96 degrees this afternoon. I got in, spent about 3 or 4 hours there, worked things out to my satisfaction and headed home.

It was late - around 11:00 pm - so it was dark out. I got about 5 minutes from work (it's a 45-minute drive home on the motorcycle), and was following behind a car on a rural road. I saw headlights coming toward me as well, and the headlights appeared to cross into the lane of the car in front of me. The headlights disappeared, I saw the brake lights from the car ahead of me light up and then swerve hard and jerk around. The oncoming car continued to roll toward me. I slowed, moved to the left, and slowed some more. The oncoming car continued slowly down the wrong side of the road and eventually skidded to a stop on the shoulder, dragging the broken front end on the ground.

The car was pretty badly damaged - the driver side front end was collapsed, and a man was behind the wheel trying to get out. I pulled off the road and called 911 on my cell phone, and then ran down to the car that I had been following. A man and two little girls were getting out of that car and his airbag had deployed. I saw child seats in the back seat of the car. Thank God for those.

Back to the other car, telling the dispatcher what I saw, how many people, what she'd need to send. Like I was a cop all over again. I got back to the first driver, and he had managed to get out of the car and was trying over and over to dial a cell phone. He smelled the way people smell when they've been drinking, and looked pretty hammered. He asked me if I had called the police, and I said yes, and he looked at me and said, "Why did you do that?" I told him he had hit another car, and pointed. "Another car?" he asked. "Yeah," I said. "Over there." I pointed and he staggered. I asked him again if he was hurt and he said he wasn't. "Why'd you call the police?" he asked again.

Babies and drunks, let me tell ya. Babies and drunks. It's a miracle no one was killed, not to mention that no one was seriously hurt. And I'm glad I leave plenty of room between me and the car ahead of me, especially when I'm on the bike.



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Thursday, 22 July 2004 23:38:17 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
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Friday, 23 July 2004 07:09:17 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Thats so cool everything was ok. Nice story!
Friday, 23 July 2004 07:56:40 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Yeah, could have been much, much worse. It's a miracle it wasn't, in fact.
Friday, 23 July 2004 10:08:07 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
First, I'm so relieved things turned out well. I was worrying about your back!

But I've learned two new things - you ride a bike and you used to be a cop. Is that true? You'll have to tell me all about this, since you probably know I started blogging on a road trip Charlie and I did to Florida and back on our Harley. The second theme I blogged about was called "Call for Cover," and you can probably guess what I wrote about.

Mainly, though, I'm glad you're okay and that you were there. Things end up a lot worse when there's no one to check on people, even if nothing horrific occurred. Reassurance, and all.
Friday, 23 July 2004 12:07:46 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Yes, I was a cop for about seven years, and I ride a CBR 600RR. It's fun for sure, but gotta be awfully careful, as this situation makes even more clear.
Friday, 23 July 2004 16:02:12 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Great job Greg! I was reading about it and the thought came to my mind that maybe your new toy was broken (thank goodness you didnt do that). Good thing you were there to help, the drunk driver might have flee'd the scene had you not been there.
Just glad all turned out good for you and no one hurt! That in itself is almost a miracle.
It is always good to help people in need like that, I helped a lady out in BLoomfield a few months back and actually got a thank you letter from the sheriff's department (Can you belive that?) and thought it was great!
Chris
Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:52:31 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
You're the man! I'm just glad it ended as well as it could. Close one, and very scary.
Thursday, 29 July 2004 17:03:58 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
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Friday, 30 July 2004 17:05:59 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
oops - sorry! didn't realize!

anyway, wizzow! that story is whack! can't believe it happened right in front of you! glad to hear you are ok.
bob
Saturday, 31 July 2004 01:42:31 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Yeah, kinda makes you wake right up and makes you think about why you have to be extra careful on a bike, for sure.
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