Driving home last night, I witnessed a car accident.
I was driving south down Route 95, in the middle lane, just as I always do every weekday after work. A few cars ahead of me, I spotted a car change into the fast lane very quickly, and wobble back and forth a bit, as if the lane change was a spur of the moment type maneuver. Seconds later, the car made the same lane-changing lurch, although into a non-existent fourth lane. That was then its headlights pointed up in the sky, and I saw what I believe to be the roof of the car, perpendicular to the asphalt.
Everyone driving around the suddenly airborne automobile slowed as the car came back down, landing back in the left lane. The SUV directly behind it stopped, and I passed them both on the right. Luckily, it did not jump into my lane, nor did anyone else swerve out of their lane into mine to avoid a collision themselves. The whole operation fell into place as if planned ahead of time.
I kept driving, as did most of the traffic around it, save for some rubberneckers and those who were caught in the leftmost lane. As I drove on, I realized that I didn’t hear the seemingly flying car make any noise at all. Granted, I was listening to System of a Down at a pretty good volume, but I find it very hard to believe that a car could leave the pull of gravity as long as it appeared to, come back to Earth, and not make a noise at least slightly distinguishable over my car stereo.
Once my initial jitters passed, and they did so quickly, that’s when I started questioning what I had seen. I can still picture it in my mind, but it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. It all seemed too fantastic, at least to a casual observer like myself.
I tried finding news about the accident online this morning. Didn’t find anything, not that I really know where to look. Boston.com had no mention, and the log for at the Massachusetts State Police isn’t anywhere I’ve been able to locate. This, added to the bizarre speed of the whole thing, gives my memories a tinge of doubt.
So for the mysterious driver gone astray into a swiftly vanishing carpool lane, I hope things turned out okay. My guess would have been some kind of medical emergency behind the wheel, but it appears that it’ll have to remain a mystery.
Manny Sucks November 28th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
I saw a car flip twice once. I was on my way back from Fry’s on the freeway and a car heading the opposite direction veered into the center from the left most lane. When they jerked the wheel back to try and get back onto the pavement the car spun out of control and flipped a couple of times before landing back on all four wheels but not in the lane.
The worst accident I ever saw was a small plane crash which I later learned contained a couple of friends from school. It was horrible.
John November 29th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Oh no… that’s terrible.
I wish I knew what really happened. I have a feeling that the dark played some sort of nasty trick on my perception.