The curious incident of the Corolla t-boning the Subaru in the night
Last night I decided to go for a run outside. Yep, no more running on the treadmill like some kind of demented hamster for me (when do I get a food pellet??). I piled on a couple of shirts and my capri pants because it was, after all, a balmy two degrees and I exited into the dark and foreboding night. I was feeling pretty good, bopping along there in the dark, trying not to break my ankle missing a curb and doing a pretty good job of avoiding puddles. Traffic was relatively light so I didn’t have to wait to cross many of the major streets on my route. And the piece de resistance was that I wasn’t stalked and sexual harassed by a bunch of assholes in a Civic: score!
On my way back I was running up the little incline that leads to the intersection at 33rd and MacKenzie, surveying the traffic sidled up at the four way stop there. It can be a bit of a tricky one to cross, so I usually pay attention to it. As I look I see a Subaru starting into the intersection, going west on 33rd. Out of the corner of my eye I see a Corolla coming up MacKenzie, heading north. I anticipate the Corolla slowing down and stopping as it approaches the intersection, but then in a blur of movement I realize the Corolla isn’t slowing down. At all. I get a sickening feeling in my stomach and then I discern that what I think is about to happen won’t happen. I don’t have my glasses on, so maybe my depth perception is messed up. There’s no way that – CRASH! And that is how a Toyota Corolla goes from 40 or 50km per hour to zero in a millisecond. It was surreal. The silence that descended upon the intersection was almost palpable. I remember saying “Oh my god,” and then running into the middle of the intersection where the Corolla, that was the most badly damaged, had come to rest with the driver’s side of its hood caved in and steam ticking out of it. I balked, momentarily, afraid of what I might see when I looked into the car, but since I was one of the first people on the scene I went ahead. The driver of the Corolla looked like she was in shock. The only way I can describe it would be to say that her eyes were rolling around in her head. She did not know what had just happened. On the plus side (and thank god for this) everyone had been wearing their seatbelts so I didn’t see any blood. Other people were coming into the intersection now to help the people in the Corolla, and to move it off to the side, so I relegated myself to the sidewalk to watch. It was really quite horrifying. In my mind’s eye I kept seeing the Corolla sailing into the intersection and hearing the horrific crunch of two cars impacting each other. The driver of the Subaru was out of his vehicle and was obviously agitated, but was okay. Me and another lady gave him our numbers. Someone else called for help and within three or four minutes several emergency vehicles descended upon us. And so I decided to take my leave. Oddly, for the remaining five minutes of my run home I continued to hear sirens, leading me to believe that someone – likely the driver of the Corolla – was being taken to the hospital.
I was fairly shaken myself, experiencing some trepidation at crossing 41st and being unable to focus for a little while. I think everyone was okay. I hope everyone is okay. Again, thank god for seatbelts and for the concerned people that stopped to help at the site of the accident since I was pretty much useless.
It did get me thinking though: taking a first aid course might be a good New Year’s resolution. Teaching myself how to stay focused and calm in otherwise scary situations might also be more advantageous so I can do more than run around in little circles, wringing my hands and moaning, “oh my god” the next time I come across a high-stress situation.
And guys: please look both ways before you enter an intersection, whether you are driving or walking. If I had been one minute faster in my run last night, I would probably be dead. If the Subaru driver had looked both ways before entering the intersection, he might have been able to avoid the accident. Also, your parents say hello and want to know why you haven’t called lately…
On my way back I was running up the little incline that leads to the intersection at 33rd and MacKenzie, surveying the traffic sidled up at the four way stop there. It can be a bit of a tricky one to cross, so I usually pay attention to it. As I look I see a Subaru starting into the intersection, going west on 33rd. Out of the corner of my eye I see a Corolla coming up MacKenzie, heading north. I anticipate the Corolla slowing down and stopping as it approaches the intersection, but then in a blur of movement I realize the Corolla isn’t slowing down. At all. I get a sickening feeling in my stomach and then I discern that what I think is about to happen won’t happen. I don’t have my glasses on, so maybe my depth perception is messed up. There’s no way that – CRASH! And that is how a Toyota Corolla goes from 40 or 50km per hour to zero in a millisecond. It was surreal. The silence that descended upon the intersection was almost palpable. I remember saying “Oh my god,” and then running into the middle of the intersection where the Corolla, that was the most badly damaged, had come to rest with the driver’s side of its hood caved in and steam ticking out of it. I balked, momentarily, afraid of what I might see when I looked into the car, but since I was one of the first people on the scene I went ahead. The driver of the Corolla looked like she was in shock. The only way I can describe it would be to say that her eyes were rolling around in her head. She did not know what had just happened. On the plus side (and thank god for this) everyone had been wearing their seatbelts so I didn’t see any blood. Other people were coming into the intersection now to help the people in the Corolla, and to move it off to the side, so I relegated myself to the sidewalk to watch. It was really quite horrifying. In my mind’s eye I kept seeing the Corolla sailing into the intersection and hearing the horrific crunch of two cars impacting each other. The driver of the Subaru was out of his vehicle and was obviously agitated, but was okay. Me and another lady gave him our numbers. Someone else called for help and within three or four minutes several emergency vehicles descended upon us. And so I decided to take my leave. Oddly, for the remaining five minutes of my run home I continued to hear sirens, leading me to believe that someone – likely the driver of the Corolla – was being taken to the hospital.
I was fairly shaken myself, experiencing some trepidation at crossing 41st and being unable to focus for a little while. I think everyone was okay. I hope everyone is okay. Again, thank god for seatbelts and for the concerned people that stopped to help at the site of the accident since I was pretty much useless.
It did get me thinking though: taking a first aid course might be a good New Year’s resolution. Teaching myself how to stay focused and calm in otherwise scary situations might also be more advantageous so I can do more than run around in little circles, wringing my hands and moaning, “oh my god” the next time I come across a high-stress situation.
And guys: please look both ways before you enter an intersection, whether you are driving or walking. If I had been one minute faster in my run last night, I would probably be dead. If the Subaru driver had looked both ways before entering the intersection, he might have been able to avoid the accident. Also, your parents say hello and want to know why you haven’t called lately…
posted by Duder at 1:11 PM
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