Accidents Will Happen

I went out to shoot some night photos over the weekend and heard a bizarre crashing noise– not exactly the screeching of tires and crunching of metal on metal. (4:30 am is good because you can set up a tripod in unusual places and usually not arouse much attention.) Anyway, I kept shooting until I heard sirens and I finally went down to the parkway to gawk since I saw that the police had blockaded the entire northbound side and I could see people getting out of their cars to see how long it would be before they could be on their merry way. Admittedly, it was a little bit of a scene with some cars blasting hip hop and house music while they waited. Cars with lots of boys in them flirted with the cars with lots of girls in them.

The auto in question had somehow gone off the road and into the trees on the right. The roof of the car was ripped open and lying like a TV dinner tray over the hood. The back half along with the back seats was broken off from the front half. The chassis had snapped. It was a mess. Firemen were at the ready with a hose in case it caught fire. Just as I arrived, the paramedics were pulling the driver from behind an air bag. He appeared to be conscious and more or less okay, possibly some leg and rib fractures. I heard a cop say that a passenger in the car had “walked away.” Accidents happen and miracles do as well. It was probably two hours before a tow truck was able to get the car out of the trees and the police opened a single lane to traffic.