Bearing Witness

nly 20 minutes ago I was witness to a horrendous car accident which occured at Exit 339 on the PA turnpike. Literally 100 yards ahead of me, a vehicle lost control and began to swerve heavily across the lanes and eventually over the grass which separated the turnpike from the exit ramp. I glanced around to gather up where other cars around me were in order to avoid any panicked drivers, like the one next to me who slammed on his brakes. By the time I looked back, dirt was flying everywhere and a minivan was flipping over and skidding, windshield down, on the exit ramp. We all pulled over and I was only the 3rd car back from the wreck, although I think the car I consider to be first from the wreck was actually involved as it appears he was pushed into the guardrail. I don’t even know if the person/people in the minivan were OK. I couldn’t tell who was who as they gathered around the scene. I’m not even sure if it was the van who originally lost control or not. I thought it was a smaller car who started swerving. “It happened so fast….”

It’s got me all shaken up, though. I feel a little sick. Ever since my accident(s) I have such a hard time when I see a wreck. This is the first time I’ve seen such an accident as it happened, though, and it was even worse. It’s scary how quickly life can be taken from you and how much we waste our time worrying about the stupid things, dwelling on the past, mulling over the future, putting ourselves in positions and situations we have no desire to be in. It’s scary how we need reminders like this constantly.