from the Purdue Maryland game I'm following this semi on US 30 at the speed limit (70mph) and I see a black minivan lose control in the oncoming lanes...perceived it had been hit as it's bumper flew off...crossed perpendicular across the median...and I was just about to say "Oh **** look at that" when it slammed into the trailer of the semi and exploded. Never saw anything like it and I've been to a lot of wrecks...the rear two axles of the trailer decimated the minivan and the impact tore the entire rear wheel assembly off the trailer. The semi driver was able to get the thing under control without flipping and ended up 200 yards down the road. I pulled over in the grass behind the minivan and my wife called 911. I'm hurrying up to the minivan thinking for sure there would be fatalities and damned if there isn't a guy thrown out of the van and sitting in the middle of the fricking highway surrounded by debris and screaming. I sent my wife over to the minivan and I'm out there in the middle of a 70 mph highway waving my arms hoping the traffic behind us was alert and would stop (they were and did.) A little old lady (turned out she was a couple years younger than me actually) came next and helped flag traffic. Then I just tried to calm the guy and keep him warm and keep him from moving around. More people came up including an ER nurse and a paramedic. The minivan had his wife or girlfriend and four little girls aged 6 through 12 in it. Graced by God nobody was dead. Three of the girls seemed fine and one was a little in and out of it but I think will be ok. She had a bumped head and maybe a broken ankle. A bunch of ladies in the traffic behind us came up and were holding the kids and calming them down. The guy in the road had a broken femur and who knows what else but was alert. The lady (who was driving) was unconscious but breathing when I got there but was conscious when the squad took her. Not sure of her injuries. It seemed like a long time for the squads to get there...but in reality it wasn't. The road was closed down for an hour and a half. We had to stay and give statements. There was a nice guy there who caused the thing by pulling out from a cross road and nipping their car. He lived nearby and crossed that highway thousands of times...just never saw them. He was pretty shook up of course. He stopped right away and ran to the minivan but didn't see the guy in the highway. I'll call the Highway Patrol tomorrow and see if I can find out if everybody made it.
Wow that's quite a story and heart warming that so many people stopped to render aid. Hope everybody makes it.
Good Lord, it sounds terrible... Amazing there are no deaths and as terrible an experience it was for you and your wife to witness I’m glad you were able to help out...
We need a shocking icon on this board. I can't believe anyone walked out of that okay let alone have everyone survive. Man, it's horrific how it can all change in a second.
About 1/2 through Stu's post I thought I would read that debris hit his car and he's texting from the hospital
It's what almost everybody would do...So lucky that nobody seemed to have life threatening injuries and that so many people stopped.
Wow. That's all I can think of. Glad you for all involved no one was seriously hurt, and glad you weren't close enough to get involved in it Stu!
Stu, not exactly what I was expecting when I checked in a few minutes ago. Amazing that no one was killed in that horrible accident. I imagine and hopefully we all will be a bit more alert when driving but that had to be one horrific experience for all concerned.
Didn't do much except pray for the squads to get there. I just now called the Patrol...they of course can't give out any medical info but the accident is still a non-fatal...I am amazed.