Freak Accident

I almost decided to stay home today. I really didn't want to go anywhere, it looked like it was going to rain, and it was cold. But I finally got my lazy butt motivated to go to the local co-op. There were a few things I really wanted to get. I have a long list going of things I will need in the next year or so for when Chance gets older, but I can always buy an item or two throughout the year. But there were a couple things I wanted now. I wanted to get Vetrolin Liniment, a couple spray bottles and leather tie straps for my saddle. I have nylon tie straps right now and I hate the nylon. I browsed around the co-op, but they only had 2 items I needed, the liniment and spray bottles. I really just wanted to go get the oil changed in my car then head home, but you know how we get that strong pull to go to the tack store? Yep, the tack store won. So I headed up north to the tack store. They have a huge selection of everything and I figured they would have what I was looking for.

Once at the tack store, I browsed around. They had done some minor remodeling, so it looked more open, but it has always been so crowded in there. That is the only thing I don't like about that tack store. If it is really busy, you can't move around when there are too many people in there. There was only one other person in there, so it was a good day to browse. I always stop by the clothes first. I usually have good luck finding cute t-shirts but didn't see anything that I just had to have. I went to the western tack area and found the tie straps. They didn't have the color I needed for my saddles, but figured I'd get a couple anyways. You can't really see the tie straps when your saddle is cinched up. I then went to browse through the leather cleaners and picked out a sponge and a pack of the travel sized leather cleaning wipes. I have been meaning to get some of those for when we go on our horse trips. I then went to try on some gloves. Couldn't find any that fit my little hands and long fingers. Gloves are so hard for me to find. I ended up in the boot section. Goodness, why do I even bother? I know I will end up going home with a new pair! I have so many pairs of boots, but every time I buy a pair, I won't wear them around the horses. But I really needed a new pair of boots for work. So I tried on a pair of Ariat Pro Baby's, and they fit. Of course! I own like 8 pairs of Ariat's and they always fit! So I added them to my pile (do not tell my OH!), along with a Wrangler Q-Baby Ultimate Riding Shirt. Going to the tack store is so darn dangerous!!



I figured I did enough damage to the check book so I decided to hit the road and get home. I am cruising down the freeway in the left lane. There is an SUV behind me and a car in the middle lane a couple cars back. The far right lane is closed due to road construction. The speed limit is 70 mph through this section of freeway and I was doing 70, maybe a little less because it is a construction zone. I see a motorcycle on the left side of the road, very close to the actual lane I am driving in. He wasn't that far off the road so I hit my brakes and moved over a little when all of a sudden he decided to cut right out in front of me to cross the freeway. He was moving so slow, then I noticed he had a flat tire. I slammed on my brakes so hard to avoid hitting him. I must have gone from 70 to 20 mph in a couple seconds. I looked in my rear view mirror to see if the SUV that was behind me was going to slam into the back of my car. Thank goodness he was aware that I slammed on my breaks, because he had already slammed on his breaks and avoided hitting me. Then I see the car in the middle lane hit the motorcycle, which went flying 10-15 feet up into the air, along with the guy that was on the motorcycle. Parts of the motorcycle and car were flying everywhere. I immediately pulled over to the side of the freeway and about 8 other cars had already pulled over. When I got out of my car, I see the motorcycle guy laying in the middle of the freeway. There were already around 6 people surrounding him. My first thought was that he was dead. Then I saw his arms and legs move. Someone else was on their phone with 911. The guy was conscious, and was moaning and moving his arms and legs. Other people started directing traffic around the crash site. I talked to the guy that was behind me and he couldn't believe that the motorcycle guy tried crossing the freeway with oncoming traffic. And he couldn't believe that I didn't hit him. I was in shock myself. The state patrol and ambulance finally arrived. At this point the motorcycle guy had stood up and the cop was talking to him. He told the cop that he had gotten a flat tire and there wasn't much room on that side of the freeway so he was going to cross the freeway to the other side where the shoulder was wider, which makes sense, but in front of oncoming traffic doing 70 mph? Not a good idea.

The cop then asked who witnessed the accident and for those people to stay there to write a statement. He sent everyone else on their way. The cop then talked to me to see what happened, since the motorcycle guy pulled out right in front of me, and I saw the other car hit him, I had to fill out a witness statement. The couple that were in the car that actually hit the motorcycle, had a 2 1/2 month old baby in their car. It wasn't their fault. There is no way they could have avoided the motorcycle. I can't believe I was able to avoid the motorcycle. But thank goodness I was able too because if I would have hit him, it would have been smack dab in the middle of his bike and he would have been seriously injured, if not dead. The car that did hit him, clipped the back of his bike with the front passenger side of their car, so the impact caused the motorcycle and guy to fly through the air. The motorcycle ended up at least 50 feet south from where he landed.

I consider myself a very good driver. I am also a very cautious driver. I am always watching out for other drivers. There are way too many crazy driver's on the road. But this had nothing to do with bad drivers on the freeway. No one was speeding, no one was zooming in and out of lanes. Everyone was just cruising along at the speed limit, on their way home, to work, to the outlet mall, when someone made a bad decision and tried to cross the freeway into oncoming traffic. It could have had a different outcome. The motorcycle guy, or someone else, could have lost their life. Thank goodness he is going to be okay. Hopefully he will never try something like that again.

I have seen numerous accidents, like we all have, and I have only been in one car accident in my life, 15 yrs ago. But I have never been this close to witnessing someone almost getting killed, and I could have been the one who destroyed this man's life for his one stupid mistake. Crazy thought, I know. But it could have happened that way. I thank my lucky stars that someone was on my side today and that no one was seriously injured. It could have been so. much. worse.

I should have just stayed home and sat on the couch by the toasty fireplace, sipping hot chocolate and cuddling with my kitty................