Fix The Toaster Contributor David Little

This is a story told by Fix The Toaster contributor David Little. He emailed me what happened. This "story" just happened to him last month. David survived a horrible car crash a few years back that fortunately did not kill his children, all three of them, his wife or himself. He was hit by a person texting. You should read his story here.

I appreciate his self-awareness here.

David and I share a concern for the safety of our families while we are on the road because we know the statistics. With David's permission, here is his email.

I just returned from NYC.  I was a chaperone on a middle school choir trip.  We took 3 busses full of 7th and 8th grade graders...20 hours...slept on the bus.  It was a real adventure.  We packed about 7 days of activities into 2 1/2 days.

We boarded the busses at Battery Park at 4:00 PM to head home.

Before we left, my one principal concern was that I wanted a seat up front.  I have always been a bit of a control freak when it came to road travel and even more so since our crash.  I joked  that the reason I wanted to be up front is because I want to see the crash when it happened. A bit of truth I guess, because I didn't see our crash happen since it was at night.

We picked up our overnight bus crew in Allentown, PA, and drove into the teeth of Winter Storm Wiley.  Nothing major really, by snow storm standards, but driving through 6 to 12 inches of snow was a real adventure.  Our bus drivers did great.  We travelled a 200 mile stretch of I-81 at about 30mph...Naturally, it was hard to relax, so I popped a 5 Hour Energy drink and stayed up and visited with our driver while he drove.  I just felt bad for the guy...driving in that snow while everyone slept.

 I didn't change into my comfy clothes because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, and also wanted to be prepared just in case something happened.  If we got stranded, or slid off the road, I didn't want to be standing there in Crocs and sweatpants.

Well, we made it through the snow, and arrived at our next stop, just north of Knoxville about 3 hours late.  We switched bus crews, got some breakfast, brushed our teeth and hit the road for the final stretch home.  From Knoxville, we had about 3 hours to Huntsville.

We were the 3rd bus, in a 3 bus convoy.  We had been on the road for about 15 minutes, when a car headed north on I-75, for reasons unknown, crossed the median and hit a large freight truck hauling slabs of granite. The car hit at the rear of the truck, at the wheels on the left side. The truck flipped on its side, throwing granite everywhere and slid down the interstate. The car that crossed the median spun after hitting the truck and was was then rear ended by a minivan.

All of this is happening in front of us travelling at about 70MPH...our Hero bus driver Bill (retired Coast Guard, long haul trucker. 77 y/o) hit the brakes but did not panic...we narrowly missed another car that was stopping in front of us. Bill steered us into the median under control, and brought us to a safe stop.

I got out and ran towards the first car and dialed 911, certain the driver would be dead or nearly dead and was shocked to see a lady crawl out of the passenger side of the car, dazed and but on two feet. The van was full of a family of small kids and they too walked away.

We had a nurse and a former EMT on our bus and they began rendering aid to the lady in the first car.

I turned and began running up to the truck, expecting the worst and again was shocked to see the driver crawl out of the cab, unscathed.  By the time I got to him he had lit a cigarette.

This wreck should have killed someone. I am still shocked that everyone walked away.

The second bus in our convoy was beside the granite truck as it flipped. It swiped the bus, shattering a window. The seat was vacant...and had just been occupied. By a girl named Faith.

When everything was finally settled down, I pretty much fell to pieces. Memories of our crash came flooding back.  It was intense.  I still don't feel back to normal.  That type of trip alone is enough to throw you out of whack, and add to that the violent wreck...well, it's hard.

We tried to piece together what happened. From a few firemen, it sounded like something happened in her lanes of traffic, a blown tire from an 18 wheeler perhaps or someone cut her off.  The strange thing is that her tracks through the median are as straight as an arrow.  I would have expected them to be sideways.