Friday, January 12, 2007

Snow and Helping Hand

Well yesterday was a very interesting day! We woke up to snow. Thursdays are our day to go with M for coffee before he has to go to work. It's nice b/c we all get to sit down together and relax some. Plus it's a routine that the kids love. E never likes M to go to work afterwards. :-) Well traffic was ok when we went...a little before rush hour. I love how the van handles in snow. I mean you just have to be careful is all. We watched a little truck slide his back end around two different times just b/c he didn't want to go slow. Stupid!!! Anyways, the kids and I came back to the house and M went to work. Traffic was bad then. Took forever to get anywhere but that is fine as long as people drive carefully. Anyways, the kids and I got home and then waited about 30 min for rush hour to be over and stuff. We needed to head to the pet store to get a new fish and return the dead one from the day before...had only lived overnight. Plus get a new algea eater, since we found out that snails like to reproduce big time!!!! I had to totally take the whole aquarium apart and boil most of it for cleaning. Never going to get snails again!!!! They can reproduce on their own...bet some of you didn't know that!!! :-)

Anyways, we headed down State street. There was a minivan in front of us about 10 car lengths and a truck in the other lane headed our direction...almost directly next to the minivan...just about 1 car length behind. Now thanks to my dad teaching me driving (always looking at side streets and such for other cars) I right then saw a truck with one of those construction (little white) trailers pull out to take a left across our lanes. There was not enough room for him to do that in that weather!!! The truck got thru it...not quite sure how b/c I was watching the minivan. She almost hit the trailer. She was not going very fast at all...I was going about 30 and my guess is she was doing about that. She tried to stop but it didn't work...she slide right off the road up onto the concrete barrier that was there for the ditch. All I could think of was there kids in there???? I turned and pulled down the street. Told the kids I needed to see if the person was ok. Locked the doors and ran with my cell phone b/c at that point she was falling out of the passenger seat and no one else had stopped as of yet. Think I was the first there. Got 911 while I am watching the guy that caused this keep going down state street. Dispatcher got EMS on the way and then switched over to police dispatch for a description of the truck. Luckily by this time the guy that had to swerve to miss too was there. He was much better at describing a truck then I am...I have no idea about truck names and such. Anyways, I am also glad that I always keep blankets in the back of the van. Got those and used them for a pillow and keeping the lady warm. By this time tons of people were stopping (that didn't really need to be there). One person that I am glad stopped was an ER nurse on her way home from work. I knew the lady was okay other then a broken ankle and then maybe some neck trauma. But just calming her down I couldn't get her to calm down. I was busy calling her husband and such. By this time too I had the kids watching a movie in the van with the heat on. I will tell you what my kids are great in a situation like that! They totally understood...at least N was explaining to E about how the lady was hurt and needed help. Anyways, we had fireman, ems, and 3 policemen there. (Nathan loved that! He kept asking how were they going to get the van down.) After the lady was taken in the ambulance and the fireman were gone b/c the van just needed to be pulled down by a tow truck...wasn't leaking anything. The policeman came and talked to me. Me and the other guy that missed the guy were the main witnesses. Got to fill out a report and everything. Come to find out that they couldn't find the guy b/c the traffic was so bumper to bumper going that direction that they just couldn't get thru it. But me and another guy knew the truck. Another guy had recognized the truck from being most likely from the neighbor next to him just down that street. I had recognized it just from driving around there. So the policeman said they would be sending cars around to case the neighborhoods to see if they could find it. If we saw it we have a number to call and case number. Just need to get the license number. I guess in Idaho that is considered a hit & run...even though there was no contact between the two cars they guy caused it and left the scene. I just can't believe he did not see it happen!!!! I can't believe he had tried to pull out that way!!! Anyways, I am just glad that the lady had just dropped off her kids at school and no one else was in the car. I know that would have shook up any kid more then an adult! Plus I am so thankful that I had my dad teach me driving for situations like that! Thanks dad!!!

I have promised M now that I won't go out that early if it has snowed until rush hour is over or the sun is out melting it. :-)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!! I have to work a night club tonight. Then tomorrow we are going couch shopping some more. Then out to lunch and ice cream for my birthday...just something fun. Then I am off to crop the night away with some friends! That reminds me I should pack my stuff today since I most likely will not have time tomorrow. :-)

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