accident

early this week, i was heading home after dropping jasmine off at her mom's work. the thought came into my mind that i should run an errand while i was out, so i did. after the errand, i was nearing home when i saw that the main road was blocked off. there were flares on the ground and police cars everywhere. it's a T intersection, so we had no choice but to turn right. i drove down the road then turned around. as we passed the scene again, i thought i saw a vehicle with a smashed front end, but i wasn't sure. i had no idea how to get home from the other direction, but we ended up having a really nice, scenic drive. amazingly, i made turns at all the right places because we got home right away. luckily, my street was not blocked off as i thought it might be. the flares blocked the main road just after the entrance to my cul de sac.

i wondered what had happened. i wondered if i would have been involved in whatever happened, if i had shrugged off my errand and went straight home. it gives me chills, just thinking about it. family came over that night to give my daughter a priesthood blessing for the first day of school, and a blessing for me as well. the road was still blocked off when they came. after they went home and i put my children to bed, i could still see police lights flashing through the trees, from my bedroom window. i started to feel scared. my mind wandered. what if it hadn't been a car accident? what if there was some bad person on the loose or holding someone hostage? my imagination runs wild at night! it was difficult to fall asleep.

well, the week went on and the road opened up again. on wednesday, i passed the area and noticed a small gathering of flowers and balloons on the side of the road. that is when i realized someone had died that day. i wondered who it was. i wondered if it was more than one person. i wondered if it could have been me or my children. i felt very sad for the people that lost a loved one.

the pile of balloons and flowers by the side of the road has continued to grow. i figured the person that died must have been a motorcyclist because i kept seeing other motorcyclists visiting the site. it's very sad. it also feels strange, knowing that someone died right on the other side of the trees, near my backyard.

as i passed the site again this evening, i decided to go home and run a search on-line, to see if i could find out what happened. i found this:

Car hits, kills man who fell from motorcycle

THE NEWS TRIBUNE Published: September 4th, 2007 01:00 AM

A motorcyclist died late Monday afternoon after he fell from his vehicle on Dash Point Road and was hit by an oncoming car.
The driver was described by a Federal Way Police spokesman as a man in his 20s who recently left the military.

About 4:50 p.m., the motorcyclist was headed south when he crossed the center line in the 4700 block of Dash Point Road. As he slid along the roadway, he collided with a car driven by a woman in her 40s. The woman was not injured.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. The police spokesman said alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor. The accident investigation forced the closure of the road, which was not expected to reopen until early today.

Jeffrey P. Mayor, The News Tribune

i don't like motorcycles.

[later] my goodness - i just realized that i left the house at about 4:50pm that day. i must have barely missed it, thank goodness. i hope i am never involved in a bad accident.