On the first leg of our drive home from Pennsylvania this weekend, we got caught up in the traffic jam caused by this accident.
It’s a sobering reminder that drivers always need to be on their toes on the highways, not just during high-traffic periods, but on normal and light-traffic days as well. One false move and 80,000 pounds of loaded tractor-trailer could come flying at just about anyone. I don’t know if there was anything the mother and daughter who died in that little red car I saw broken and battered on the side of the road could have done to avoid their appointment with destiny, though. Death comes at you pretty quickly at 110mph closing speed.
Who knows if it was driver error or mechanical failure that caused the trucker to lose control. That will come out in the investigation. It was said that he was cooperating with authorities, which at least suggests he might have tried to get control back before the truck went off the road.
The commenter on that article who suggested that he ought to never see the light of day again and that the company that employed him ought to go out of business after being sued by the survivors for $100 million needs to find himself one of the better tasting brands of decaf, though. And remind himself that this is a country where you’re innocent until proven guilty, even if the case looks open and shut. [Hmm. Five minutes later, it appears that that comment was removed. Interesting.]
By all means, pray for Karen and Kaitlin Babka and their families who are suffering from their loss, and pray for the injured family in the SUV that couldn’t get stopped in time to avoid colliding with the trailer…but don’t forget to include Yevgeniy Bugyerev in those prayers, too, and be thankful that it wasn’t you or someone you know who got caught up in the wheels of destiny last Saturday noon.