And all I wanted to do was get home and spend some time with my hubby before he had to go to work!
When we left the airport, it was probably around 3:30am. It was raining, but not many people were on the road. We came through downtown, which looked misty, and got into the left lane of the 110 so we could exit to the 5 north. We came around a turn and suddenly there was something in the road! At first I thought it was a street sign. You could barely see it because of the mist and the darkness.
K swerved right to avoid it, but we still hit it and I think we drove over it, because after that our right tire was history and we were bouncing along on our rim and the bottom of the van!
As soon as it happened, I was bummed about two things. First, I knew we weren't getting home anytime soon, and second, that might be "it" for my van. My dad had been telling me to get rid of my collision coverage on it because the van wasn't worth much.
But it was worth a lot to me, and I was bummed to see it get so damaged. K had pulled back over to the left, and we got out and looked at it. K was upset, and kept saying, "Man! This van is MESSED UP!" and "What was that thing?" I immediately started calling AAA, and was told they'd be there in 20 minutes.
Oddly enough, the police showed up right after it happened. We told them about the pole we hit, and I advised them to put out some cones or something as other people might hit it too! Well, they seemed to be doing something else (maybe reporting back to dispatch) and sure enough, other people started coming along and hitting it too!
I guess it turned out to be a street light. Every person that hit it seemed to knock it further and further out into traffic. Three people pulled up behind us because they'd hit it too. The guy behind us hit his grill, which seemed oddly high. The third guy looked hispanic, and he just sat there looking stunned. His front bumper was bent forward at an angle, sort of like an "L". I tried asking him if he was OK, but he didn't respond - he just sat there. Later I saw him just drive away.
At first I was afraid to get hit by other cars on the highway, but then I realized that the pole was sort of blocking for us, because people had to drive clear to the right lane to miss it. The flares the police put out helped too.
The flares made a bright barrier, but cars were still having accidents as one person would swerve to miss it and hit someone else. There were quite a few accidents that night because of that light pole. No wonder we didn't see it - it was dark because the street light fell down!
One of the cops that showed up first was pretty cute, but he kept saying the most negative things! I heard him telling the guy behind us that he shouldn't report it to his insurance agency because they'll blame him for hitting the pole! Later I went up to the guy behind us myself and told him that what the cop had said didn't sound right. So we exchanged names so we could be witnesses for each other and about all the other people that didn't miss the pole either! Also that cop told us that our car was driveable - I think he just wanted us to leave! I thought he was crazy, because the rim was even bent!
Finally another police car came, and they pulled the pole off the road I guess, and the flares started burning a little low. All the other cars drove away, and we were the only ones left (waiting for a tow.) Those last poor cops trying to clear the highway were dealing with a bunch of boneheads that night, though, because one driver just stopped and looked at him, like, "Am I supposed to stop here?" and the cop shined his flashlight on him and yelled, "Drive!"
They made their way to us and finally told us to drive off to the nearest exit. So I guess the first cop was right about that. Unfortunately. I'd eagerly watched every car and truck that came through, but the only tow truck was already carrying a car and wasn't the company name the dispatcher gave me. I had my phone in my pocket, but somehow standing out in the rain I didn't hear it, so I had to call AAA back and request another tow truck. The first company claimed we weren't there or something - I never really understood.
Anyway, we ended up right by a bunch of little apartment buildings. The "new" AAA guy showed up pretty quickly, but spent a long time in his vehicle after he showed up. I finally started to get mad - why would nobody hurry up or help us tonight? I asked what he was doing and he said, "Just a MINUTE, Ma'm!" and I finally cried a little bit. K said I looked so sad with my mascara running down my face.
But I guess I got it out of my system, because I didn't get any madder when it took him 45 minutes to figure out he couldn't tow our van because the axle was jacked - he then called for a flatbed. This guy also showed up pretty quickly, and helped the first guy get our van onto the flatbed. Then we climbed aboard the tow truck for our ride home.
It probably was about 5am by then.
No comments:
Post a Comment