Seeing a traffic accident

[ilvny]

In 2001, when I was 12, my family and I were driving home from a wedding.  It was dark, and there was a car ahead of us in the right lane that was swerving.  The driver lost control and the car veered across the center and left lanes, crashing into the concrete median.  We were close enough to see the accident, but thankfully not close enough to become part of it.

My dad pulled over, got out of the car, and walked across the highway to the accident (the traffic behind us slowed down).  There were two passengers: women who appeared to be in their 20s.  My dad talked to the driver and passenger to make sure they were okay.  Thankfully they were uninjured.  The driver was in tears because she was upset that she damaged her father's car.  The dual airbags deployed and the entire front end of the car was smashed.  My dad was about to call the police, but another driver who stopped to help called first.  Immediately thereafter, the state police arrived.  My dad talked to the police.  The police checked the women, talked to them, and filed an accident report.

My family and I were shocked.  I was shocked because it was unexpected and it was the first time I ever saw a traffic accident.

Last year, there was an accident right near my house.  I didn't witness it, but I heard it.  My mom and I were in the living room.  I was at the computer and my mom was at the TV.  My dad was upstairs watching TV and half asleep.  We all jumped when we heard what sounded like an explosion.  My dad ran down the steps and went outside to investigate.  I ran into the dining room and called 911.  My dad told us that the driver was an elderly woman who was disoriented and confused.  When the police arrived, she thought she had gotten pulled over.  Paramedics were called and the woman was taken to the hospital.  The police told my dad that the woman had a seizure while driving, which caused her to lose control of her car, jump the curb, and crash into the lamppost on the adjoining property.  The vehicle was seriously damaged and the lamppost was partially knocked over (it was crooked).  A few days later, the lamppost was straightened.  Surprisingly, the light still worked.

My dad also talked to our neighbors.  The woman, who was married with four kids, said that she wanted to move because she feared for her children's safety because of the close proximity to the road.  Sure enough, a few months later, a "For Rent" sign was in front of their house and they moved away.  It's a shame because they were nice people, but I understand their concern for their children's safety.

Did you ever witness or hear a traffic accident?

[NE2]

I fell off my bike.

[Duke87]

I have witnessed a few accidents but have never volunteered my involvement in the aftermath of one. Nor do I imagine I ever will since it is simply not in my nature to concern myself with the problems of random strangers.

When I was younger we were driving down I-95 in Connecticut and saw someone in front of us crash into the concrete median... after bouncing off of it he straightened out and kept driving.

A few years ago I witnessed a T-boning at the intersection of Pelham Pkwy and White Plains Rd in The Bronx. I was waiting a few cars back at the red light when it happened, once the light turned green I along with everyone else just drove around the wreck.

And, this past summer, another T boning occurred at the intersection nearest my apartment. I was walking back from the grocery store at the time. I was staring at the sidewalk as I was walking, so I didn't see it - I just heard *CRUNCH* and then looked up and there it was.

[empirestate]

A few, in my time...

One was particularly interesting because I first anticipated it based on the situation, then saw it coming a mile away (figuratively), then it happened, to none of my surprise whatsoever. I was in a line of cars waiting to turn left from a multi-lane arterial. Oncoming traffic was slowed by a nearby signalized intersection, so a car on the inside oncoming lane stopped to make space for the first left turning car. Of course I could see that the outside oncoming lane was still clear for traffic, and that anyone driving in it wouldn't realize the left turn "politeness" going on alongside him, and that the left turning car wouldn't be able to see the vehicle that, moments later, did indeed hit him (spun the poor little Geo Metro around pretty well, too).

Needless to say, I don't create openings for people where it would put them in danger like this, and when people do it for me I decline as graciously as I can (which can be hard; some folks can be very insistent on your accepting their kindness).

I also witnessed a van drive into a house; the driver walked out and away before police arrived. Another time I was a near witness to a vehicle into a utility pole, which took out power and caused a small fire when the transformer dropped. I don't know for sure how the driver fared, but I distinctly remember that no ambulance sped away from the scene, and we stood watching for a while. Although, that could be partly because they had to deal with the electrical fire above the victim's and responders' heads...

[JREwing78]

I don't think you spend much time driving around the Midwest, particularly in the winter, without seeing all sorts of accidents. The first few winter snowfalls catch people off guard, and it takes a slew of accidents before people acknowledge the changing road conditions.

I've personally had some close calls - I've been run off the road twice, been in the passenger seat as someone else spun out once, and nearly became the end result of someone else losing control on a wet surface. That guy crossed a median, went into oncoming traffic, went into the opposite ditch, and rolled his truck, taking out a telephone pole.

Also, long, heavily trafficked 2-lanes are common here, and people tend to be way too timid about speeding up enough to complete the pass in a timely manner. They also underestimate the distance they need, and pull out to pass instead of waiting.

[kphoger]

A few years ago, I was driving delivery in southern Illinois, and a car didn't stop at the east end of one of the numbered streets in Johnston City.  It was after dark, and maybe she didn't realize her street was ending at Corinth Blacktop, or maybe she just didn't feel like yielding.  At any rate, she made another driver swerve at the last second, and that driver went into the woods/bushes along the side.  My trainee and I stopped, I called the police, and my trainee went over toward the car to see if the driver was OK.  Boy, was she pissed!  About her car being scratched.  She just couldn't chew that other woman out enough about her car getting scratched.  He decided she was fine, and came back to the truck to wait for the police.  Yeesh...

A few months ago, I was on my way to work heading up I-135 in Wichita.  A trucker entered the highway from the left, coming from I-235.  Shortly thereafter, a driver in the right lane decided to get into the left lane.  Problem was, the trucker was in it–right next to the guy.  Crunch.  Pieces of plastic and/or metal went everywhere, the driver swerved, (I swerved to avoid the car parts,) then both vehicles pulled over onto the shoulder.  I called the police, proceeded to work, advised my coworkers I would be right back, found the police officer who had responded, and filled out a witness report.  I figured I was the only one who actually saw everything happen, and figured I'd better make it known that the trucker was not at fault.

[hbelkins]

I've seen a few. One in particular I remember was a single vehicle wreck on northbound I-77 near old US 21 in West Virginia, just south of Parkersburg. My wife and I were on vacation; we were heading south from a tour of Fenton Glass to Gatlinburg. The car ran off the road into the ditch. I had a bag phone at the time (it was 1996) so I dialed the posted number for West Virginia State Police (* something-or-other) to report the wreck and then went to see if the occupants were OK. There was one occupant, an obviously-shaken younger female who said the car had jerked suddenly to the right. After being assured she was OK and knowing the police were on the way, we headed off.

There have been several times that I've seen wrecks or other incidents, and called 911 or the local LE agency.

[DandyDan]

In 1996 or 1997 (can't remember for sure), I was on my way to my old courier job in Omaha when I witnessed a hit and run accident at 36th Street and Q Street.  The man who got  his car hit didn't seem to be in too bad of shape, although an ambulance came to pick him up.

Then last year, when I was on vacation in Illinois, I was going west on US 136 near Havana, on the way towards Macomb, when I witnessed this accident.  I get to testify in a phone deposition in March about it.  Not looking forward to that.

Of course, there were also the accidents I was in, which I think is its own thread.

[formulanone]

I saw a vehicle roll over at slow speeds in front of me. I pulled over, darted across the street, and helped open the door (those doors are very heavy, when on their side), so the mother and her kid could get out. Nobody was hurt, but I think we were all a bit shaken.

I've seen at least twenty accidents (not counting two I've personally been a part of), and I've tried to help, or at the very least, show some concern (ask if they're alright, call the police, et cetera). I've seen two motorcycle riders fall off their bikes, and once I used my vehicle to block traffic so nobody would run us over. I live just off a semi-major road (no, it's not signed), so I've witnessed more than my fair share.

If it's a little fender bender, the parties involved can work it out. But I feel that it can't hurt to help, for more serious accidents, if it's safe to do so...even calling for help is something that helps, unlike gawking.

[vdeane]

I've seen at least three overturned trucks on I-81 and the Thruway in the aftermath of snow storms.

One time on NY 104 Mom and I were passed by someone who's car was moving sideways.  We decided to get off NY 104 and take local roads home because of that.

Driving up I-81 back to Clarkson after Thanksgiving on a snowing day through the snowbelt I passed too many multi-car pileups to count.  Southbound I-81 was even closed between Sandy Creek and Pulaski because of one involving 10 cars.

But the most notable one was on the Tappan Zee after the New Haven meet.  It was just a fender bender from what I could tell, but that didn't stop it from causing hours-long backups on both I-87 and I-287!

[1995hoo]

A couple of years ago I was walking out of the grocery store near my house and a lady who left just before me started to cross at a crosswalk to head to her car when another car came speeding through, hit her shopping cart, and kept going. Several other shoppers (me included) stopped to check on her. Her wrist was injured when the cart got snapped to the side, so we called the police; meantime, we saw that the woman who'd hit the cart had parked in a far corner of the lot and was standing outside her car talking on her cell phone. Cops came and we all gave statements and pointed out where the driver had gone. Cop went over and made her come back, which she did with someone else in tow–seems a boyfriend or family member came when she called. Turned out to be a black lady who said we were all obviously racist liar honkies (which didn't help her much with the police); the boyfriend/family member was a very tall, very muscular black guy and I got the impression she'd called him to try to intimidate us (which didn't work with the cops there). I got a call a couple of days later from an insurance carrier asking me to tell them what I'd seen and I quite happily told them all the things the driver had done wrong.

Back in 1997 I witnessed an accident a few cars ahead of me when the first car waiting on line at a red light wasn't making a legal left on red and I finally got pissed and blew the horn at him, at which he promptly went.....right into the path of an oncoming car. I felt kind of bad about it but got over it because the guy should have looked before going.

In 2001 or 2002 I was driving back from a deposition in New Jersey during a very bad snowstorm and I took I-95 through Philadelphia because the southern end of the Turnpike had so many accidents. (Yeah, I still wonder why I didn't go further west instead of fighting Philadelphia traffic.) Right as I hit the elevated highway I immediately felt the surface turn to ice under my car, so I took my foot off the pedal to declerate gradually. Looked in the rearview and saw some clown who must have slammed on his brakes go spinning across three lanes....somehow he didn't hit any other vehicles nor the wall on the side of the elevated highway! Took me seven hours to drive home that day; at one point my wipers were so iced up I just stopped the car in the right lane under an overpass on I-495 in Delaware to use the scraper to clean them off.

Walking on the sidewalk in DC once at 14th & I NW I saw some idiot pull out across the double yellow line to try to cut around stopped traffic to get into the turn lane. He sideswiped the vehicle in front of him and then hit a guy head-on who was coming the other way. I didn't stick around to be a witness because fault was obvious. Saw something similar in Alexandria, Virginia, once when a lady wanted to turn left into a gas station and just hit the car in front of her as she made the turn....she just kept going as if nothing had happened, but the other driver immediately peeled out and went after her. I didn't stick around as a witness then either because I was in the right lane and couldn't get over.

The WORST thing I ever saw relating to a motor vehicle was not an accident but rather a car fire. I had just graduated from law school and was living at my parents' house for a few months until I began my new job and I was coming home one night when I thought I saw something odd on the main street in their neighborhood. Slowed to look and realized a car in some guy's driveway was engulfed in flames just feet from his wooden garage door. I immediately called 911; meanwhile, another guy stopped and I told him to go ring the doorbell. The homeowner nearly crapped himself for obvious reasons. Fire truck came almost immediately because there's a fire station right outside my parents' community. That incident alone made having a mobile phone worth it! Had that fire not been noticed when it was, the guy's house almost certainly would have caught fire too....and he has a lot of very big trees around his house....

[hbelkins]

Don't some states actually require that you report an accident, or stop and render aid, if you witness one?

[realjd]

I see a couple every year. I always stop since I have extensive first aid training, even if my certs aren't current. I also make sure to call 911 to report because humans have a tendency to assume someone already did.

[empirestate]

Once in Pittsburgh, I heard the sound of a collision behind me, so I went over to investigate. I saw that one woman's car had hit another woman's, which at first glance seemed to be because the second woman had pulled out from a stop sign without yielding to cross traffic which had no stop sign. That was the first woman and she had hit the second in the front quarter.

The first woman was reassuringly yet assertively trying to calm the second, a young Asian woman who didn't seem fluent in English and was very much in hysterics, probably certain that she was in the wrong. The first woman had explained to us what happened, but after examining the angles of the cars (which were wedged together at the fender), it became apparent to me why the first woman had no stop sign: because she'd been coming the wrong way down a one-way street!

I asked her, "Which way did you say you were coming from?" and she gestured, rather vaguely all of a sudden, in the direction she'd come from. When the police arrived, they saw immediately the problem and were immediately dismissive of the first woman's bluster. The second woman was still at a total loss for words, but we exchanged e-mail addresses in case she needed statements for her insurance. I never heard back about it, but I hope she eventually gathered her wits enough to be absolved of the blame.

I never figured out why the first woman, who claimed to be the manager of a shop around the corner, wouldn't have been familiar enough with the neighborhood to know the one-way streets...