October 26, 2005
-
Mysterious Major Mishap
This morning around eight, three state troopers went zooming up the highway, light bars blazing and sirens screaming. I figured that something fairly noteworthy had occurred, and I was right. At 9:30 am, I was headed for the library and saw all these flashing lights in the distance. Turned out to be more than a dozen assorted emergency vehicles–ambulances and fire company trucks and tow trucks in addition to maybe half a dozen police cars. Someone was directing traffic through the parking lots of roadside businesses, several hundred yards of highway having been closed off to through traffic.
I gawked as best I could, but could only glimpse what looked like a bundle of rags on the roadside and the remains of a small car–maybe half a car, really, both driver-side doors missing. Sadly, I had missed the best parts, most of the mess having been cleaned up by the time I got there.
I enjoy accidents, as long as I’m not involved. I like the colorful flashing lights on the emergency vehicles, the gurneys and the jaws of life and all the other exotic paraphenalia, the helmeted firefighters scurrying around, the troopers with their official clipboards, and ideally, the sight of corpses and carnage and death and destruction in general. It spices up the day–and in the words of Saint George Carlin, it is GREAT fucking entertainment. Being blissfully free of annoying things like compassion and empathy (except when it comes to critters in general, and cats in particular), I don’t really give a shit about the “victims.”
And as a rule, they are not so much victims as volunteers–almost without exception, every news story of a fatal accident contains two phrases–”alcohol was involved” and “not wearing seat belts.”
Film at eleven.
Comments (6)
Unless there was a fatality, it probably won’t make the news. Drat! It might remain a mystery.
Me and my boyfriend were one of the first people at the scene of the accident, only minutes after it had happened. We stayed until the ambulence came… The guy was dead when we checked him. He reeked of alcohol… he’s the only one dead, but they sent life guard in to get the woman he hit head-on to the hospital. He ended up crossing the middle line and ramming straight into her… It was really a horrible sight…
^Yeah, that is pretty much what the paper said. Too bad about the woman–I can’ t help wondering, though, if she would have been able to avoid being hit had she been more vigilant.
Intelligent people often become total morons when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. It is big and strong and fast and they feel that whatever they do all will be okay. Trouble is, often they not only damage property, their vehicle, someone else’s vehicle but flesh as well, and often as not, some of that flesh…called a human being…dies.
It is selfishness, it is disregard for property and life itself.
What a wonderful and kind humanistic property, detachment!
Sadly, unless it is a person on the side of the road seemingly broken down (where I come from you do NOT leave anyone there like that, too cold) … I tend to drive by. That’s bad, eh? I have advanced first aid and CPR training. If I am driving by and don’t see any kids, I just keep on going. What will be, will be.