Being an eyewitness to a fatality

Last night, I saw a two-car accident that killed one driver. I actually turned off the dead guy's engine and called for help.
To make a long story short, I had just passed the intersection only seconds before the accident. For some reason, I was looking at my rear-view mirror and saw the whole thing. The dead guy ran a red light.
The thought of seeing another human being mangled in a car haunted me all evening. And to give a statement to the police was also difficult. There was one other witness to the accident.
The whole ordeal put a lot of things in perspective for me. Love each other. Take the time to make a positive difference in someone's life. Pray, it does work.
Ordinarily, I joke around along the threads and put up with a lot of personal attacks. And I'm sure the usual ass clowns will come out in full force. That's cool. I just wanted to pass this sobering experience on to others.

 

I came pretty close to seeing something like that happen myself. Someone just couldn't wait for a bus and drove smack into someone else.

I'm not saying this to be mean, but I suggest you go for some counseling. It may help you sort through some of the swirl of emotions I'm sure you're feeling.

 

F_T Your suggestion isn't mean. I think I'll be all right. It is very unsettling because I could've been involved with the accident. God, a few seconds, and a green light separated me from tragedy.

 

My sister had a similar experience, a guy in front of her got drilled and killed. She ended up fine, but, well, I sometimes wonder about her so it's not necessarily a normal reaction. Counseling would definitely be something you should consider.

Two nights ago on the subway I saw a guy who'd been run over by the subway. But, somehow, he lived. Not sure if he jumped or fell, but was under the first car. About 100 firemen down there and I heard on one of the radios that he had severe trauma and heavy bleeding but was conscious and they were talking to him. I'm sure the people who saw him fall are probably dealing with some tough emotions.

 

Drip - This isn't something to clown around about. I hope that others on this board don't. I'm so sorry you went through that.

 

This will end soon, but not well.

 

Go get help.

Talk it out. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

Saw a woman get hit while walking in a crosswalk on the eve of the Seattle-Pittsburgh Super Bowl. She was going shopping for Super Bowl food the night before the game and some guy wasn't paying attention. Two lanes in each direction, and he was in the far right lane. Car to his left was stopped for her. I was a the next car in back of the guy who hit her. She flew into the air and landed on her head. Huge pool of blood. We checked her and called 911. She was dead before they arrived. I remember picking up her groceries and putting them on the curb. Horrible experience. The idiot in me wants to say at least she didn't have to witness the hideous calls that went against the Seahawks the next day, but I won't go there.

I "talked" to somebody three times about it and it DEFINITELY helped.

 

While driving a rural back road in central Alabama in 1995 I came across an accident in which a former girlfriend was killed. She and the guy she was with (she'd taken up with a rough crowd after we dated) were high and drunk off no-telling what. He was ejected into a tree and it broke his back and neck. She was pinned beneath the steering column and pretty much folded up in the floorboard area.

It was a gruesome scene, no doubt, and I was shaken for quite some time.

 

I just wanted to give an update. I talked to a few people who are close to me and I'm feeling much better. I just want to thank those at SportsJournalists.com for their advice. It was very much welcomed.

 

God, that was brutal to read. My condolences that you had to go thru it.

 

Drip:

Glad you are doing okay with this. I saw my share of fatalities early in my career when I was a police/fire reporter. I grew to dread 2 a.m. pages/phone calls. I knew people who had done that kind of work for years and it didn't faze them. I reached my "seen one too many bodies" threshold VERY early. It made the decision to move over to sports an easy one.

Never feel ashamed to talk about it.