In the evening, traffic gets backed up through every stop light as the after-work military crowd heads back to the base. A few nights ago I was stuck in this line of cars on a run to the grocery store, inching along with all the rest of the flashing brake lights. A shirtless young man was on the sidewalk, shiny with sweat and spinning a NO PARKING sandwich board on one of its legs like a dance partner. I was watching him, wondering about what drug he was on and whether his family was looking for him, when a woman on my right suddenly ran between the slowly creeping cars. One side of the highway had been re-paved, and there was a 2-inch ridge in the middle where the new pavement met the old. Her foot hit that ridge and she fell headlong across the empty turn lane, landing flat on her stomach with her head under the back wheel of a car. The driver hadn't seen her, and the car rolled forward. There was a yell from all of us in traffic, thinking we were about to see her head crushed, but the woman got her hands under her and lifted her head to the side just as the tire rolled over her hair and brushed along her cheek. She got up and ran to the sidewalk, adjusted her pants a bit shakily, and walked on. The shirtless man dropped the sandwich board and pretended to be sober as she passed by, then checked to see if it was okay when she turned the corner.
Lady. Holy shit. I’m really glad I didn’t have a front row seat to your gruesome death.
Use a crosswalk from now on, please.
When I was in the fourth grade I saw what happened when a truck ran over a student's head. I remember that and I remember the driver of the truck pacing around the yard next to our class room over and over and over, lighting one cigarette after another. As much as I would like to, I will never forget that.
ReplyDeleteHoly Hell... she definitely had a miraculous 'Save' and too close a call. That would have been horrific to Witness and for her Family and the Driver of that Vehicle to have to try to get over too!
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