Please Pay Attention

I saw a gnarly accident last night.  Or, I guess I should say I witnessed it.  And now I have to testify.  

I was sitting a red light north bound on F Street at the 24th Street intersection in the number two lane.  Right in front of me was big white suburban.  I’m sitting there at the red light just like I have thousands of times before when all of the sudden the suburban took off.  The light is still red and none of the other cars around us are moving, but the suburban took off any way.  I was all, “What the hell are you doing?”  Then I just watched it, like a scene from a movie.  I watched the cars heading east on 24th speeding towards the suburban.  I think at some point the woman realized what she had done and tried to speed up to get out of the way.  I almost thought she was going to make it.  She got as far as the furthest lane before she got hit; T-boned by a little four door driven by an elderly woman who never saw it coming.  

I’ve seen accidents happen before, but never quite like this.  It was weird to just sit there and watch while two lives collided into an explosion of metal and plastic.  Luckily no body was badly hurt, although I’m sure they’ll both have a severe case of whip lash.  The woman in the car had an air bag and it worked very well.  She also had a cute little King Charles Spaniel in a dog carrier securely belted in the passenger seat. That is one lucky little dog, cuz I have no doubt she would’ve been dead if she hadn’t been belted in.

I didn’t talk to the women driving the suburban but I watched while one of the other witnesses did.  The reason she took off was because the light at the next intersection had turned green.  She probably had a lot her mind, or maybe she was on a cell phone.  What ever it was, she just wasn’t paying attention, and when she saw that light turn green she took off.  Everybody I know has done the same thing at one time or another.  I know I have.

I learned a lesson yesterday.  One I already knew but needed to be reminded of.  We spend so much time behind the wheel; we drive around half paying attention all the time.  We take it for granted that we’re going to be fine. But it only takes a split second to do something really stupid.

Take your time out there friends.  And for heaven’s sake, please, please pay attention.