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Dec 18th, 2000... Posted by dparadis [Email]  (#2915) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from dparadis) on Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:22:51
In Reply to: I hit a dog tonite ;-(, turrbo   [Profile/Gallery]
, Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:42:06
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Hearing this story and especially how bad some people might have felt about hitting a dog, I thought I'd share my experience and the luck I had...
T'was the night of my business' X-MAs party. Big event with around 200 people present. Lots of dancing and a fair bit of drinking going on. When I decided to go home around 1:00AM, I called a local service (operation Red Nose) which takes you home WITH your car. So I call them up, stop drinking, take up a stool and wait for them to arrive. After waiting for close to two hours, I give up, call to cancel and walk to my car, deciding to drive myself home instead. Being in a downtown environment, there are lots of stops and red lights. Just as I am leaving a red light and accelerating, I approach a group of young people that are talking in between two cars parked on the curb. Just as I reach them, and am by then doing some 50-60 Km/h, one of them just darts out in front of my car, wanting to cross the street. Impact is unavoidable. I hit the young lady and send her flying. Velocity being what it is, it takes me a full block to stop AND find a place to park my car. I walk back to the scene where her friends are crouching around her, upset and swearing. I fully expect to get roughed up, when one of the guys, a friend of the girl I just hit, says that he saw the car, "it was a Volkswagen Golf and the f..ing guy just sped away...". to which I answer: "It wasn't a GOLF, it is a Volvo and I am the driver..." knowing full well that I am probably missing out on an opportunity to just walk away... The girl is shivering and I cover her with my coat
I then find out that the car following me also stopped and its occupant starts explaning how it wasn't my fault and all. By then, police cruisers have arrived from all directions, tires shrieking and officers very agitated. They take me away and sit me in the back of a cruiser, the kind where only an outsider can let you out (just like on TV!). And I wait there for close to an hour, agonizing over what I will tell my wife, my kids, people at work,... I think I'm OK as far as the drinking goes but I was in an accident. Surely the onus is on me!
An officer comes to the car and I explain to him the whole situation, the way it happened, the fact that I am coming back from my X-MAS party, that I had been waiting for Red Nose for two hours. And he leaves again.
Finally the miracle happens. The officer comes back, tells me that my car is damaged but driveable and that I am free to go.... Just like that. As I walk back to my car, ther ambulance is leaving with the girl in the back. Quebec is a 'no-fault' province, meaning that I could not have been sued because of my driving. I'm thinking that this probably gave the officer some leaway and he chose leniency. Anyways, I later learned that the girl had a broken hip but would be OK.
To this day, I still remember the imminence of the impact, the moment before impact going extremely slow and finally the awful thump that the impact produced. Knowing that a human being made that sound just made it worse. I had nightmares for many weeks...
I still wonder what made the police officer let me go. I think I was OK alcohol wise but I will never know. I know the police officer didn't know either. I was extremely lucky and don't know who I have to thank for that. i know that my attitude towards drinking and driving has changed. I used to think " Aaww. I'm OK!". Now I realize it's not just about me but also how other people might react, in unpredictable ways...
Anyways. I concur. Do watch your animals. But mostly, do watch yourselves!!!
posted by 207.139.1...
, Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:42:06, Thu, 29 Jul 2004 00:19:21
, Wed, 28 Jul 2004 20:28:48
, Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:07:29, Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:22:51 <-- Viewing This Message, Wed, 28 Jul 2004 16:46:15
, Wed, 28 Jul 2004 08:44:55
, Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:59:35
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