Monday, October 5, 2009

Eventful Drive


We returned home to snow-tipped mountains. I guess Fall has arrived. Hot one day, snowing the next.

It was an eventful drive home from Portland. We came across two bald eagles sitting together on a transmission pole, four beautiful deer, and a bad car accident.

We were one car behind a Subaru driving erratically, swerving all over the road, including into oncoming traffic. After calling 911, we followed half a mile behind, holding our breath, praying no one would be killed, but fearing the worst. After about five minutes he swerved into a ditch and flipped. The car landed upside down and an elderly gentlemen, the only occupant, was unconscious. We're not sure if he made it our not, but it didn't look good. Fortunately we didn't smell alcohol, as he narrowly missed a school bus full of children. The reality of the road. After traveling so much by car this year, we've begun to feel very grateful that this was the first accident we have come across. Also a great reminder to take those keys from our elderly when we know we should. My father-in-law drove way beyond the time when he should have given it up. He was 94 and in very poor health. He could easily have been the poor man we trailed today.

I look forward to catching up with all of you. I'm sure I've missed a ton. Hope all is well with you, and that you are enjoying a new season, whatever it may be.


18 comments:

Hilary said...

How distressing that must have been for you. I'm glad you made it home safely in spite of witnessing such a horrible accident. The eagles and deer on the other hand, must have been a real treat. Welcome back.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Nancy: Welcome back. I missed you. Good that you followed the subaru from a distance and did not get caught in an accident with him. It could be age, but he also could have been having a stroke or a heart attack.

I recall how hard it was on my father-in-law when my husband and his brothers told him they were taking the keys away - for the safety of everyone. It was his ticket to some freedom and he was devestated . . . but remained alive for a while.

Leah J. Utas said...

The eagles and the deer must have gone a long way to mitigate seeing the accident.
It's tough to give up driving i.e one's independence.

Joanne said...

Fall has arrived here, too. Canadian geese, foliage, harvest fairs. What a frightening experience you had on the road, so sad to see. Welcome back ...

~JarieLyn~ said...

Thank goodness you weren't hit by the erratic car. I hope the man was okay. That is so sad, especially if he was having a heart attack or something. How scary that must have been for him.

On the other hand, it must be nice to be traveling more and more.

I know what you mean about the weather. One day it's hot and then the next it's time for heaters and sweaters. There's no in between here. We don't have snow, but it's been cold the last day or two. I have the heater on right now and I am wrapped up in a sweater.

JC said...

That's sad about the car accident. On Sunday, it seemed that everyone was driving crazy. We came home and noticed that the moon was out. It's still out this morning. LOL

Mental P Mama said...

Glad you are home safe and sound. We have issues with elderly drivers here, too. It is a tough decision, but a necessary one that families need to make.

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

Welcome home! One of the hardest things we had to do was take away the driving license of my then 84 year old mother. She was screaming and kicking at the time, but now appreciates the move we took. I don't think they sometimes realize how drastically different their end of life would be should they have an accident that would hurt someone else. Fortunately, the light went off and she understood.

How majestic are those bald eagles and how wonderful that you were able to view them!

Brian Miller said...

scary. i have seen too many wrecks and helped pull a few from the wreckage as well. hard to keep your thoughts on the beauty of eagles in the tension.

Elizabeth Bradley said...

That driver may have been suffering. A friend of our family was only in his early sixties and driving down the road with his wife by his side when he suddenly had a heart attack and plowed into an SUV. The heart attack was so bad he was brain dead upon arrival at the hospital. It's so scary that heart attacks and strokes can happen when somebody's behind the wheel.

We took the keys away from my dad. It wasn't easy, he was 80 and to tell the truth he wasn't that great of a driver as a young man to begin with!

alaine@éclectique said...

What an awful experience! I convinced an old friend, in his late 90s to sell his car (he was allowed to keep his Licence but couldn't travel out of the town!). He sold it and bought a little motorised scooter and was 'as happy as Larry' scooting down to the shops with his little dog in the basket behind! He lived to nearly 104.

GYPSYWOMAN said...

hey lady! neat post!!! glad to see you again - have a wonderful remainder of the day!!!

Kathy's Klothesline said...

So glad you are home, safe and sound. Hope the older gentleman is okay.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what I would have one in that sort of situation...
You guys did the right thing by following behind the car. Imagine if you hadn't of been there for that man...

Everything happens for a reason.

Anonymous said...

That's why I'm in favor of mandatory retesting of drivers after age 70. My grandfather was able to renew his driver's license at the age of 92 with advanced Alzheimer's disease. Fortunately he didn't have access to a car, but just the fact that he was able to renew his license in that condition is scary. How many others like him are out there?

Pauline said...

I just stopped by to say thank for commenting on my blog, and have been here for half an hour now reading back through your posts. Great blog!

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

Yay! You're back and mission accomplished?

susan said...

Glad to know you made it home safe and sound and that you were so lucky to see the eagles. How neat.

I hope the poor man was okay but your description didn't make it sound hopeful. My Dad got to the point that he was driving on major roads at 5-10 mph and that's when my mother took the keys away and sold the car.