Tragic Day

Today at lunch time I took a break from work to run up the street to the post office to mail something out. When I pulled into the post office there was another person there who was parked out front and heading inside. I parked to her left, in front of the silver mailboxes. I was behind her in line once inside the post office. 

She left once done and I was being helped when suddenly me and the Post Master heard someone screaming outside and yelling “call 911!” It was the lady who had left and she was running back inside the post office. I grabbed my phone and started calling 911 as I ran outside to see what it was I was calling 911 for so I could provide accurate information. Once outside, I saw a lady lying in the middle of the road. 

She was lying right next to the double yellow line, to the left of it. Her head was near the yellow line and her legs were to the left of her head. The blood from her head was flowing up the road. There’s a tiny general store on the right side of the road. She must have been crossing the road from the store to the post office. 

She was breathing but not moving. A nurse who had been passing through the area was already by her side. I am a nurse too but stayed focused on speaking with 911 dispatch to provide details about the situation, location, whether or not the lady was breathing, etc. She was briefly but barely conscious, slightly opening her eyes but did not speak. She became totally unresponsive soon after. 

The nurse asked if I could see where the blood was coming from, as she was trying to stay in position to assess breathing status. I couldn’t see much but there was blood on the side of her mouth and face, but it didn’t look like all of the blood was from there. It was more likely the majority of the blood might have been coming from the side of her head that was resting on the pavement.

I was speaking with the dispatcher who transferred me to the police station and I filled them in as well. I then noticed that there were two other people also calling 911. There was not much that could be done except monitor her in case she might need CPR. Of course she could not be moved in case of spinal trauma; not unless CPR was needed. She was lying on her side. I’m guessing she was in her mid 70’s. Some people brought coats over to cover her to keep her warm. 

The lady who hit her was screaming hysterically and crying/sobbing! She had a tiny dog that she was holding. At first I thought the dog belonged to the lady that was hit but soon after I learned that the dog belonged to the girl who hit the lady. People were speculating that the lady who hit the pedestrian shouldn’t have been driving with the dog in her lap! Yet, nobody actually witnessed this! It was all just speculation. I didn’t see it myself but people said that the driver’s side view mirror was damaged and there was a blood steak all along the driver’s side of the car. It was too far away and parked at an angle where I couldn’t see that side of the car from where I was. But I car help but wonder if the pedestrian was hit in the head by the side view mirror as she was struck. 

People were also saying that some people drive way too fast through that area, insinuating speed was a factor. But nobody actually witnessed the speed of the driver either. The speed limit is 30. I agree that people bomb through there all of the time at 40, sometimes 45 mph and on rare occasions as much as 50 mph! It happens all of the time! It’s called Rt 14A and this seems to make people think they can travel the entire road at 45 mph! 

Most of Rt 14A is 40 to 45 mph but in that section, it slows way down to 30! I often have someone riding on my ass through there because I slow down from 35 in the 35 speed zone to 30 when it changes to 30 mph about a quarter of a mile before the post office area. And I always slow down to 25 as I approach the post office, general store and the intersection with Newport Road, which has a blind spot with the old general store being right on the edge of the main road. When sitting on Newport Road and trying to pull out onto the main road, you have to inch out until you can see far enough up the road to the right if you’re taking a left, which is the way I go 90% of the time.

This is what you can see when stopped at the stop line. If someone is bombing along through here at 45 mph, and you’re taking a left, you’re going to get hit. You have to slowly inch out a little past the stop lime to get a decent view. 

I know people fly through there and I have to be able to see as far up the road as possible before pulling out to take a left because if someone is bombing through there at 45 mph, they will come up on you fast! And you can only see so far up on that side too. I look out as far as I can see. If any cars are coming I wait. If absolutely nothing is coming as far as I can see, I can safely proceed. 

So, this one reason I slow down when I’m on the main road, aside from the potential for a pedestrian to cross the road to get to the store or post office. 

This is the general store, across the street from the post office. It’s on the corner of the main road and Newport Road, which is to the right of the store. There are two apartments upstairs that are rented out and the store is downstairs. There’s a tiny parking lot behind the store off of Newport Road. 

It’s a historical building that was built in the horse and buggy days before today’s roads were there. It was once a small hotel and store. This is how it ended up so close to the edge of the road. 

Anyway, it seemed like forever before the first responders arrived; EMTs. I was talking with the lady who had run into the post office earlier, screaming to call 911. She didn’t see the lady get hit but she heard it and just as she heard it happening and started to turn her head in that direction, she saw the lady landing on the ground. Her shoes and newspaper was also flying through the air at that moment. 

Then multiple police arrived a few minutes later. Nobody knew who the lady was. I saw the store owner outside and went over to ask him if he knew her name but he didn’t. He said she was a regular who often parked at the store and shopped, then she would typically walk across the street to the post office and back. He said she had not parked at the store so he wasn’t sure where she had parked. But he was able to describe the car, and said it was an older car. I let the police know, hoping they could identify her by running plates of a parked car that matched the description. I wasn’t sure if maybe she might have parked in the back parking lot of the post office. There’s also another small parking area across the street from the store on the other road that intersects with the main road. It was more likely her car was parked there. Hopefully they ran a few plates and were able to figure out which car was hers.  

Finally the ambulance arrived. It seemed like forever but when I’m a situation like this, seconds seem like hours. They got her moved to the stretcher and got her loaded into the ambulance and they left. I wasn’t able to leave until the EMTs and ambulance left. The police were still there when I left. The road was closed but I was able to get through ok. I knew where to go to get out and get back to work.  

Later, I found out they had arranged for the Life Star helicopter to meet the ambulance in the soccer field behind our town hall about a half mile away from the location. 

I also saw that someone posted on FaceBook that the helicopter arrived at Backus Hospital soon after. Someone mentioned that it seemed to take a long time to get there. Evidently they had to stabilize her before they could transfer her from the ambulance to the helicopter. I wonder if she went into cardiac arrest because that’s typically one of the only reasons they would delay getting someone to a hospital. Regardless, it appears she likely made it to the hospital alive. 

I keep searching for updates as I would like to know if she survived. But maybe no news is good news. After all, the news networks would likely be all over this if she died. 

I also heard the road did not reopen until 4:30 pm; 4 hours after the accident took place! 

The police were still there when I left. The emergency personnel were gone. I can only assume that a massive investigation was conducted! I haven’t heard what became of the driver who hit the pedestrian. I’m not sure if she was arrested. I would think they would have assessed her for the potential for being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They likely needed to cover all aspects of the case in case the pedestrian dies. I know the general store has surveillance cameras as you can see the screens behind the counter. I know there are cameras both inside and outside but I can’t recall if there are any views of the main road where the accident occurred. They may not point out that way. 

All in all, I suspect the lady who struck the pedestrian might have been going too fast. It’s not like she came around a curve and suddenly encountered a pedestrian crossing the road. It’s straight as an arrow through there. You can see pretty far ahead and she should have seen the lady crossing the road. At the speed limit of 30 mph or less, there would have been more than an adequate time to respond. 

There’s a chance the lady might have just walked out in front of her. But I find this unlikely. I was told by the store owner that she was a regular at the store who frequently crossed the road to go to the post office. It is difficult to estimate her age but, to me she appeared to be in her mid 70’s. After this many years I would think she knows how to look both ways before crossing the road. I can only speculate because I didn’t witness the accident. I only witnessed the aftermath shortly after. 

Part of me felt bad for the driver. She was beside herself! She was screaming and sobbing and was a mess! She is going to have to live with this for the rest of her life regardless of whether the pedestrian survives. And if she survives, what if she is never the same again? If I estimated her age correctly, someone in their mid-70’s is at much higher risk of complications than a healthy, much younger person. A lot can go wrong. Before the accident, this woman was able to drive a car and walk well enough to get around. If she can’t recover enough to live on her own, dies she have family or friends to help her out? She has an older car per the store owner. She either loves the car, is too cheap to buy a new car when her current car is still running (that generation where waste is not an option), or she lacks the funds to buy a newer car. What if she is low income, social security post retirement? She would be limited by her financial status if she is. 

Thus, obviously I’m far more concerned about the poor lady who was hit! This accident has caused her harm that might include her death but, icc FCC not, will impact her physically, emotionally and financially! 

And, in this area, if someone is driving the speed limit or less AND is paying attention, this should not have happened. The visibility ahead is really good there. It was also around noon time so outdoor lighting was not a concern. It wasn’t night time where a person crossing the road is far more difficult to see. Praying hard that she survives and fully recovers! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏