Pre-note: Wow! has it really been six months since my last post? Anyway, I digress...
It wasn't my day that got ruined yesterday. It was some poor bloke truck driver that happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. But if one wanted to play the game of "What ifs", then it's entirely possible this truck driver saved someone else from having an even worse day.
Let me explain.
I was driving to work yesterday morning, typical routine. I had passed through Frederick, MD on I-70 and it was around 0430. Traffic was it's typical relatively light smattering of vehicles. I was in the center lane of three lanes, another vehicle about 40 yards ahead of me, traveling about the same speed and slowly overtaking tractor trailers in the right lane.
A car passed me with no uncertainty on the right. The vehicle in front of me changed lanes to the left, even thought there was no one in front of them and no traffic in the left lane. I can only guess they did that out of courtesy or to avoid the overtaking car from cutting them off as said car was quickly closing the distance with a tractor trailer in the right lane.
As it turned out, this was one of Murphy's favorite drivers; a 20 year old female. Don't know if she was distracted by something or simply zoning out, but she almost rear-ended the truck. At the last second she swerved to avoid the truck, albeit too late, clipped the left rear corner of the trailer which sent her into a spin to tag the truck again, this time on the fuel tank, then zip across all lanes and finally came to a stop against the guardrail in the median.
Did I mention yet that the roads were also wet from sporadic rain?
I also think it's fortunate that the vehicle in front of me changed lanes when they did or she would have taken them out as well.
I stopped, flipped on my emergency lights and called 911. She got out of her car and was freaking out about the crash. I was concerned she was going to inadvertently run out into traffic. She was soon on her phone, apparently calling her parents and boyfriend, because they all showed up before the fire department and state troopers.
Boyfriend took her to his car. Moments later the cavalry arrives. Parents and I directed the trooper to boyfriends car, where he finds her smoking weed!
I don't know if she ended up getting arrested for the weed or not.
The trooper told me I could leave and he didn't need anything from me so I continued on to work.
The truck had a fuel leak from the saddle tank getting hit. Talking to another guy at work that travels that route, the clean-up operation had traffic snarled for quite awhile.
It is fortunate that no one was injured. Or worse.
