I wiggle my legs to make sure they're still attached.My car has finally stopped and landed, upside down. I realize I'm hung in a tree. My car teeters forward then back. I'm hanging by my seatbelt. I move my arms, wiggle my fingers.
I exhale.
My airbag has deployed and deflated. A white powder fills the passenger area and collects on the roof below my head. I see the ground six feet beneath me.
My career is over, I think as I sweep the mic off the roof underneath me to call it in.
I'm speeding down the road, blue lights flashing, siren screaming. A burglary in progress. I cross the narrow bridge. The road is unfamiliar to me. I near the address I'm headed to and turn my emergency equipment off.
My heart is Racing. Pure adrenalin. Two cars enroute to back me up. I come into a turn. My tires find the loose gravel in the road and I begin to fishtail. I turn into it but begin to swing wildly in the other direction. I try to correct, and spin all the way around. After three wide fishtails I turn into and and just lock the steering wheel. I'm now in the wrong lane of traffic, 70 MPH and traveling backwards. I hear crunching metal as I hit the guardrail. That's good it will slow me down, I think as my car leaves the ground. It's so slow. I watch the steering wheel break open as it expels the airbag. Like riding a roller coaster, I think to myself. The airbag slowly inflates. I watch as it nears my chest. My car twists through the air. I see the guard rail beneath me through my drivers side window. It's sliding by impossibly slowly. The airbag wiggles and slowly begins to deflate. My car goes over the guard rail. Time speeds up. I hear a loud CRUNCH and my car abruptly stops. I collect my thoughts. I wiggle my legs to make sure they're still attached.
Slow night, I think as I pass a 24 hour gas station. I wave at the clerk. She waves back. The call comes in, a burglary in progress. I've never heard of the road this call is on. I use our car to car channel to get directions. Two cars check enroute to back me up. I'm speeding down the road, blue lights flashing siren screaming.
9 comments:
Wow. I am so glad you are OK. It's amazing how things slow down in a situation like that. It's like your brain goes into hyperspeed mode.
Do you ever feel like an awful lot of stuff has happened in your life? Especially, it seems, since the year your son was born and beyond? Pretty amazing experiences, you've got going there, man. No matter what happens next, good or bad, you can't say you haven't had an amazing ride, don't you think?
The fun never seems to stop.
just to avoid confusion, that isn't a picture of my car. I didn't have one. That is just a pic I swindled from the internet. It matches my post.
We just had a Detroit police officer wreck his car chasing some delinquent youths who had stolen a vehicle. The media interviewed witnesses. They complained about the officer, but not once, did they mention the jerks who broke the law. Isn't that usually how it goes? Glad to hear you're okay.
I too have totalled a cruiser. I was doing about 60 straight into a concrete pole. I hit the pole rather than the clueless woman that pulled out in front of me. It's weird how time slows down and you can watch the air bag inflate and then punch you in the face. When I told my wife about the crash the next day, she asked, "What did you do then?" I told her I went and got another cruiser and finished the shift. Thank God for seatbelts!
Geez I thought they taught you guys how to drive. LOL Well I am glad you are all alive and kicking.
Wow, sounds like that was a very impressive first wreck for you, I'm glad that you weren't seriously hurt. Stay safe out there!
I remember grabbing the phone away from your sister as she said "Guess who totaled his patrol car!" Egad!!!!
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