The Girl In The Van In The Trees

Yesterday while driving on I 94 in Wisconsin near Tomah, Wisconsin, specifically. I was driving along in the rain and was making a mental note to slow down to myself. It was raining really hard and the water was puddling up pretty good on the lane ruts. Enough so that I was having to take an active role in keeping control of the truck. That of course mean't that I had to put down my bowel of cereal. I just hate when that happens.

Anyway, I was approaching the overpass at mile marker 48 and hit another good sized puddle and backed her down from 55 to about 50. I was thinking in my mind that I hope this heavy rain stuff doesn't get the idea to stick with me all the way to Washington. I was also getting peeved at the fact that these cars were flying by me with no lights on. They were all but disappearing in the rain wash that clouded up behind their speeding cars. I was, as I said just coming under the mm 48 overpass and I noticed a dark green Oldsmobile Silhouette moving fast coming onto the freeway to merge ahead of me. Just as quick as the van appeared, the van hit a large puddle under hard throttle and the rear kicked out to the left. The driver hit the brakes hard and steered hard and the van left the road sideways and flipped as soon as it hit the grass. I couldn't believe how high the van flew. Then the van hit a low branch hanging out from a large oak tree and wedged there, about eight feet up. I whipped the wheel and slowed down fast, got out and approached the van through the chest high grass. Just as I called out, there was a loud crack and the van landed on its passenger side with the front grille smiling at me sideways with the lights still on. I walked up and called out again. A red head popped out from the passenger side window. My first thought was, there is a 14 year old out for a joy ride. She really looked shaken up but appeared unhurt. She was rather short and needed help to get out of the van. I approached the roof and grabbed her by her armpits. She was light and was out in a second. Once her feet hit the ground she started shaking and crying and she hugged me saying thank you for stopping. Then she looked at the van. It was all sinking in for her at that moment. I told her that I was glad to see that she was all right and the van...well the van wasn't important. She told me that she was 17 years old and asked me go get her purse. I went to hop up on the van to reach in and realized that the van was very near to tipping over. I was just lifting her out and never noticed.

I have driven a lot of miles and have witnessed quite a few accidents. I have had a pickup with 4 guys in back with beers drive by me and the guys waved at me at 5:45 on a Sunday morning only to see those same 4 guys with blankets soaked in blood covering their bodies after a roll over an hour later. I have driven by a mother and her 3 children in Clines Corner, NM after their Ford Explorer crossed the median on I-40 and hit a Mayflower truck head on. I came upon the scene mere minutes after the accident happened and the police weren't there yet. I could see the bodies burning inside the truck completely engulfed in flame. Evidently, she had been late for a dental appointment when a tire blew out at 75 mph. Both of those things did bother me and I am not trying to gross you out with my war stories. I am just saying.

I guess my point is, I was really bothered by this accident even though no one got hurt. Sometimes, when a car cuts me off, it is easy to lose the idea that there is a living, breathing, human being in that car. There are children, elderly folks, people that do not feel good, Someone that is having trouble in their life...you just never know. Try to think about the fact that there are people that matter to someone in that car ahead or behind you. It might just change the way you drive. Dedication.