Carnage

[Boric Glanduum]

(reshared here from my blog)

On the morning of February 25, 2017 at 12:50 a.m. I started up my truck and texted my wife that I was on my way home. It was my monthly D&D night. I'd loaded my >koff< pounds worth of minis in the bed of the truck and had scraped off the snow.

Fifteen minutes later, I entered an intersection only a couple blocks from home. A 19-year-old was speeding down the hill and ran the red light. I looked up and saw him just before he entered the intersection. I had enough time to think, "Oh s**t. He's not stopping," before I was tossed around like a rag doll, in spite of my seatbelt.

Thank heavens for my seatbelt.

Thank heavens for my Silverado 2500 HD.

That steel cage saved my life. I walked away. The other guy went to the hospital in an ambulance. I have no idea about his status; I truly hope he's well.

I'm pretty sure he didn't even see the light. He never braked. There were no skid marks at the scene.

He slammed into my front passenger wheel, then spun and bounced into my rear passenger corner. He turned my truck sideways, then continued to spin another 180°. He was seriously moving, at least 10 mph over the limit I'm guessing.

I'm shaken up, but OK. Sore this morning, obviously. Moving VERY slowly.

His car (a Chevy Malibu)—make that his step-dad's car—is totaled. My truck is likely totaled; I'm thinking the frame was seriously twisted.

He hit with enough force to drive my two HEAVY boxes (one a footlocker) full of minis from the tailgate, the length of the bed and up onto a pile of sandbags. Broke the footlocker, too, in the process.

My reason for posting all this? I was nearly home, after an enjoyable night out with my friends. It's something and someplace we all experience on a regular basis. I may not have made it home last night. I keep thinking about how angry I was with one of my kids when I left the house yesterday afternoon. How I left things with my friends, my co-workers, et cetera.

Hope you all are well on this Saturday morning. I'm grateful for you all.

Cherish every moment you have, my friends. Take the time to appreciate your loved ones and let them know how you feel. As an eloquent friend of mine told me this morning, "You never know, kids. Cherish the now. Be careful out there."

[Just Rob]

I had NO IDEA that this happened to you! I'm so sorry to hear that this happened and the damage to all involved, but especially you! Do you have any update on your truck and the minis? I'm glad to hear from your post that you did not get hurt and that the other guy had to be carted away in an ambulance; nobody turned out fully ok from this it sounds like whether it was actual physical damage or not to your person. I'm just so sad that this had to happen to my brother!

Jaren, please let us know how things are going now that a couple of weeks have gone by. I really want things to turn out for the best or at least as good as possible for your truck and your other valuables. We certainly missed knowing that this happened to you and I hope that things will turn out better with the insurance and the family needs and all that stuff. If there is ANYTHING we can do for you, PLEASE LET US(ME) KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!

[Greylen]

Wow buddy, thank you for sharing. I've had a few of those 'Oh S**t' moments as well and all I can say is I'm grateful you're OK... So are you truly OK? or have you had subsequent issues? I know it was months before my neck issues became critical after being re-ended in 2000.