By Flea - Be A Survivor
My friends, I am sorry for having been quiet recently. My Christmas vacation was less than ideal to put it mildly. The wife and I traveled to NJ to visit relatives (we drove). Everything was going according to plan until we left.
We were driving on the NJ Turnpike which most folks familiar with the area know sucks big time. The Turnpike is always crowded and they charge an arm and a leg to drive on it.
We were sitting in standstill traffic when all of the sudden I looked in the rearview mirror and what I saw something changed my life...a semi barreling straight at us (probably 30-35 mph) and I knew he wasn't stopping.
I didn't even have time to warn my wife before the impact. I have NEVER, EVER, EVER experienced something so violent in my life and I pray I never do again.
The semi plowed into us and crushed our vehicle between it and the cars in front of us. When the dust settled I looked over at my wife and saw she was alive and I knew I was alive so I immediately had happiness in my heart.
I then remembered we had TWO dogs (our children, we don't have any real kids) in a crate in the back and I slowly turned to see a mangled crate in the rear of the vehicle BUT both of them were ALIVE!
Somehow our little dogs squeezed through a gap in the destroyed crate and was in my lap before I knew it. The bigger dog had to be cut out of the crate by the tow truck driver with bolt cutters.
They took my wife to the hospital but I stayed with the wreck because the NJ state troopers (I wasn't happy with them or the ambulance folks, who were more concerned about me signing a waiver then ever taking a glance at my injuries.) wouldn't tell me what was going to happen to my dogs if I went to the hospital.
Anyway we sustained some injuries but it could have been a lot worse.
We were WEARING seatbelts and the airbags deployed which I believe helped keep our injuries to a minimum. The Ford we were driving had a 5 star front and rear impact rating and crumpled where it was suppossed to. That poor truck is totaled but we receieved a fair settlement from the insurance company on it (they believe it or not, have been great).
I am healing up nicely, my wife's injuries are a bit more complicated (knee). The dogs, remarkably, are fine, just shaken up. ANOTHER LESSON...if our dogs had been free roaming in the car they would be DEAD, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The crate they were in saved their lives so think about that when traveling with your pets.
That is all...
Flea, someone was definately watching over you both, glad things turned out OK for you and your pets!
ReplyDeleteDamn Bro I am glad all of you came thru relatively unharmed! God had your back that time for sure!
ReplyDeleteChina
III
Glad you're OK
ReplyDeleteGlad everyone was ok! We have our own dogs that are like our kids and we are constantly trying to make sure they are safe in the car. I'm curious, what kind of truck do you drive? And were the dogs all the way in the back?
ReplyDeleteT,
ReplyDeleteWe were driving a Ford Escape (ironically named) at the time of the accident. The dogs were all the way in the back but the backseat was down at the time as we had luggage and other stuff in the truck.
The crate we used we got at PetSmart, it looks like a cage (metal) covered with black vinyl and they were both in the same crate.
Flea
My friend, I am so glad to hear that ALL of your family fared so well! Like you say, it could have been so much worse!
ReplyDeleteGod bless and take care!
Thanks for the info. We bought a Ford Expedition last summer specifically so we can fit the dogs in crates in the back. We have two large dogs and each are now in their own wire crate. We did have concerns about using a wire crate (our friends with dogs seem to think that the wire crate is more dangerous than the plastic ones and the dogs would be better off roaming free than in a wire crate.) We decided it was more important to be able to see out of the back and possibly avoid accidents, than to use a plastic crate. I'm glad to hear that the crate helped save your dogs. Anyways, I'm wishing your entire family a speedy recovery. I have had 3 knee surgeries myself, so I feel your wife's pain. I hope it heals fast!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you and your family are ok. What a harrowing experience! Hope your wife's knee heals up fine. God bless!
ReplyDeleteI've SO many times said dogs need crates/seat belts etc and it's exactly for this reason. Am so glad you & everyone inside are ok - things can be replaced...lives can't.
ReplyDeleteFlea,
ReplyDeleteThank God none of you (including your dogs) were killed or seriously hurt. That is scary just thinking about it.
Oh man, I am so sorry to hear you had to deal with that, and it is good to hear you, the wife, and the dogs are okay. I drive the NJ Turnpike and the NJ Parkway every day to go to the office in central NJ. I know what it is like to sit there in traffic at a stop, and I always am looking in the rear view mirror to be aware of exactly the same situation you unfortunately had the encountered.
ReplyDeleteAs for the State Troopers, well just another bureaucratic agency to react and serve vs. protect and serve. I have a friend who was a trooper in NJ, injured on the job, and they forced him off the force. Another story, however.
Anyway, Glad to hear everyone made it alive, and again, sorry you had to deal with it.
Glad ya'll are OK.God Bless!
ReplyDeleteGlad your OK hope you and your wife have a quick recovery!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that your airbags worked properly and are all on the mend. It's so important to keep the pets properly harnessed in the vehicles. God was watching over all of you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on surviving what could have been a horrible accident. Getting rear-ended by a truck while stuck in traffic is a driver's worst nightmare, because obviously you had nowhere to go even had you spotted the truck coming sooner. You didn't do anything to cause it, it's not your fault, but you also can't do anything to avoid it either.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago a woman here in St Louis was killed by being squashed in a small car between two trucks on an exit ramp. It's why when I'm stuck in traffic I prefer to keep a good ten feet or more of space between me and the vehicle in front of me.
It's good you and your wife and dogs did have good luck and the grace of God.
You don't mention what happened to the truck driver. Was he drunk, on drugs or just spaced out?
Hi Flea,
ReplyDeleteGlade to hear you and your family are alive after such an event.
I have seen such accidents first hand and it is usually not very pretty, nor do they usually have a happy ending.
Stay well my friend, hope to talk to you again soon.
Keith
Flea,
ReplyDeleteBeen away from the blogosphere for awhile and I just found out about your accident. Thank God everything turned out ok.
Nomad
so what was up with the truck driver that he could not stop. was it snowing and icy or just what kind of driving was he doing in the truck? did they give him a ticket?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear this flea - but glad you and the family are okay.
ReplyDelete