A Light in the Dark of the Night

After an evening spent eating birthday cake and swapping stories with Whitney and a few of her friends, I began the long trek home in the pouring rain. Realizing that it was almost 2:00am, I nipped into 7-11 for two cans of Rockstar. One for tonight and one for the morning. A quick trip down the highway and I turned down my street, only to see a car reversing down the street fairly quickly. Finding it odd, but nothing unusual for a Friday night, I continued down the road.

That’s when I spotted the car in the ditch. The back bumper was stuck on the back of the ditch, while the front was wedged into the rise on the other side, facing the road. Even with how slick the roads were, it’s hard to imagine the move the driver must have had to pull in order to end up in such a jam. Concerned that someone might have been injured, I pulled over, hit my blinker, and started walking back toward the car. Running through my first-aid and CPR courses in my head (information I haven’t used in almost four years, but always seems to come back to me in times of need), I prayed everyone was okay.

As I approached the car, I realized that the driver’s-side door was hanging open, the occupant nowhere to be found. A young couple pulled over and told me they had already called 911. It turned out they had witnessed the car driving on the wrong side of the road and saw it fly into the ditch. They had been the car I saw reversing down the road — they were looking for a street name. The driver, they said, was extremely intoxicated. Apparently, he had already tried to drive the car out of the ditch a number of times. Considering the location of the accident, right in front of a house where two small children live, I was shocked.

While waiting for the paramedics and police to arrive, we watched as the driver drunkenly stumbled out of someone’s backyard and climb back into the car. He seemed to be physically fine, up and walking around. The young lady waiting with us was concerned about our safety, so we kept a fair distance from the drunk. After a few more futile attempts to dislodge the car, he finally gave up.

The police and paramedics arrived in force. I later commented to one of the firefighters that they had “brought the cavalry out”. He informed me that any car accident automatically brings out two trucks, in case they have to peel someone out of the vehicle. Once the driver saw the flashing lights, he feebly tried to crawl behind some nearby trees. He was quickly retrieved by the paramedics. Unfortunately, my statement wasn’t all that helpful to the police, as I was unable to place him behind the wheel. So, thanking the young couple (I regret never asking their names) for stopping and making the call, I climbed into the van and headed for home.

It’s a shame that people still drink and drive, putting the lives of themselves and other at tremendous risk. Especially on a residential street where, at any time during the day, children are running about and riding bikes. It is only because of luck and circumstance that no one was hurt tonight. It gives me tremendous hope, however, to know that there are still people who will stop and do the right thing, even if it means standing in the pouring rain at 2:00am. So, to that young couple, thank you from the bottom of my heart.