FA+
Shop
"The Accident"
9 years ago
Have any of YOU ever witnessed a fatal automobile accident? Not the kind you see on the TV news, or a fictionalized one in a movie, but a genuine accident right before your eyes? Well, that has just happened to yours truly...
I was taking my bicycle today (3-22-16) to The Last Picture Show (cinema) in Tamarac, Florida, in the hope of catching the 1:15 PM screening of "Kung Fu Panda 3". Part of my route was going westward on the Cypress Creek Greenway (the same bicycle path I used to take -going eastward to Palm Aire - when I used to be a 'janitor'). The Greenway runs parallel, south of a canal that separates the Margate/Coral Springs area (to the north) from the North Lauderdale/Tamarac area (to the south). And even though there was a "Sidewalk Closed" sign at the Rock Island Road entrance (due to construction), I was still taking that particular route...
At about 12:15 PM, I was nearly halfway between Rock Island Road and University Drive, walking my bike around the dirt mound that constituted the 'closed sidewalk' area. Once I'd remounted the vehicle, I was looking down at the path for a mere second... when I'd heard an explosive sound (not unlike a cannon being fired)! Looking up and ahead of me, I saw a cloud of debris to the north of the canal. And emerging from the cloud was a black SUV, which drove off of the embankment and directly into the canal. I pedaled as quickly as I could to the scene of this accident; but with ten-to-fifteen seconds, the vehicle sank below the water's surface...
Apparently, the SUV was heading south, until it reached the dead end of the road; but that didn't stop it from plowing through the concrete barricade (which caused the cloud of debris), and plunging into the water.
A person in an orange shirt - on the north side of the canal - heard the explosion, too, and came out to investigate. I'd shouted from across the canal what had just happened, and asked him what road the SUV was driving down. "Ramblewood Drive," he'd told me, as he took off his shirt and pants and waded into the water (in a futile attempt to find the car and try to rescue the driver).
Quickly, I reached into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed 911. A female dispatcher answered and asked me the nature of my call. I'd explained the situation to her, and she asked where I was located. I told her I was on the Greenway, but the accident was on the opposite side of the canal, at the end of Ramblewood Drive. She eventually sent out two Coral Springs Police Department cars and a Fire Department ambulance to the scene. They arrived by the time my 911 call was over (in about four minutes)...
A small crowd began to gather on my side of the canal, as I watched the police and emergency crews snap into action. Eventually, a police vehicle pulled over at the south side, and an Accident Inspector approached me to ask questions. I gave him my Florida I.D. upon request, and he took down all that information. I'd told him what had happened, While all this was going on, two members of the emergency crew put on wet suits, and went under water to search for the SUV and its driver.
Moments later, a stretcher was brought close to the embankment, as the two divers emerged from the murky canal with the limp body of the vehicle's sole occupant. (I had a feeling that it was way too late for the male driver to be rescued.)
I had to stick around, and provide additional information to a few more police officers - giving each one of them my cell phone number (in case they needed me any further). By the time all this activity was over, it was already 2:00 PM. The Accident Inspector thanked me for my cooperation. But I still felt terrible about the outcome.
"You did the right thing by calling 911," the inspector assured me. "It was just a case of 'too little, too late'."
We eventually parted company, and I'd resumed my bike ride to The Last Picture Show - for the 4:15 PM screening of "Kung Fu Panda 3"...
The only 'positive spin' I can put on this episode was that I was fortunate enough to decide to go to that first screening (which I had to miss). If I'd left for the later show, the SUV would've sunk without any witnesses, and its late driver would've not been found for several days, instead of mere minutes.
Still, seeing this deadly auto accident will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.
So, I'll ask again: Have any of YOU ever witnessed a fatal auto accident?
ADDENDA: Here is a small reprint of the article about said accident from the March 23, 2016 issue of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (in their 'Local' section):
CORAL SPRINGS: A man dies after his car went into a canal in Coral Springs on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Fire Chief Frank Babinec said the man was driving, possibly speeding, southbound on Ramblewood Drive at about 12:30 PM. The car he was driving crashed through concrete barriers where that street dead-ends into the C-14 canal.
Babinec said rescue divers pulled the man from the car. He was the only occupant.
His identity won't be released until family members are notified, police said.
SECOND ADDENDA: The March 24th issue of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (in its 'Local' section) had a second article, identifying the fatal victim of said accident. Here's an excerpt from it:
The man who died after driving a car into a Coral Springs canal has been identified.
Police Wednesday said James M. Singh, 22, of Margate, was at the wheel of a 2008 (dark) gray Toyota Scion.
Possibly speeding, the car struck concrete barriers at the end of southbound Ramblewood Drive and plunged into the C-14 canal about 12:30 PM Tuesday, investigators said.
Singh was pronounced dead at the scene after Coral Springs Fire Department divers removed him from the Toyota.
He was the only person in the car, investigators said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, police said.
Having only witnessed the accident, nothing else I can tell detectives can solve this mystery. So, I'd refrained from further contact with the police. I think I did the right thing...
I was taking my bicycle today (3-22-16) to The Last Picture Show (cinema) in Tamarac, Florida, in the hope of catching the 1:15 PM screening of "Kung Fu Panda 3". Part of my route was going westward on the Cypress Creek Greenway (the same bicycle path I used to take -going eastward to Palm Aire - when I used to be a 'janitor'). The Greenway runs parallel, south of a canal that separates the Margate/Coral Springs area (to the north) from the North Lauderdale/Tamarac area (to the south). And even though there was a "Sidewalk Closed" sign at the Rock Island Road entrance (due to construction), I was still taking that particular route...
At about 12:15 PM, I was nearly halfway between Rock Island Road and University Drive, walking my bike around the dirt mound that constituted the 'closed sidewalk' area. Once I'd remounted the vehicle, I was looking down at the path for a mere second... when I'd heard an explosive sound (not unlike a cannon being fired)! Looking up and ahead of me, I saw a cloud of debris to the north of the canal. And emerging from the cloud was a black SUV, which drove off of the embankment and directly into the canal. I pedaled as quickly as I could to the scene of this accident; but with ten-to-fifteen seconds, the vehicle sank below the water's surface...
Apparently, the SUV was heading south, until it reached the dead end of the road; but that didn't stop it from plowing through the concrete barricade (which caused the cloud of debris), and plunging into the water.
A person in an orange shirt - on the north side of the canal - heard the explosion, too, and came out to investigate. I'd shouted from across the canal what had just happened, and asked him what road the SUV was driving down. "Ramblewood Drive," he'd told me, as he took off his shirt and pants and waded into the water (in a futile attempt to find the car and try to rescue the driver).
Quickly, I reached into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed 911. A female dispatcher answered and asked me the nature of my call. I'd explained the situation to her, and she asked where I was located. I told her I was on the Greenway, but the accident was on the opposite side of the canal, at the end of Ramblewood Drive. She eventually sent out two Coral Springs Police Department cars and a Fire Department ambulance to the scene. They arrived by the time my 911 call was over (in about four minutes)...
A small crowd began to gather on my side of the canal, as I watched the police and emergency crews snap into action. Eventually, a police vehicle pulled over at the south side, and an Accident Inspector approached me to ask questions. I gave him my Florida I.D. upon request, and he took down all that information. I'd told him what had happened, While all this was going on, two members of the emergency crew put on wet suits, and went under water to search for the SUV and its driver.
Moments later, a stretcher was brought close to the embankment, as the two divers emerged from the murky canal with the limp body of the vehicle's sole occupant. (I had a feeling that it was way too late for the male driver to be rescued.)
I had to stick around, and provide additional information to a few more police officers - giving each one of them my cell phone number (in case they needed me any further). By the time all this activity was over, it was already 2:00 PM. The Accident Inspector thanked me for my cooperation. But I still felt terrible about the outcome.
"You did the right thing by calling 911," the inspector assured me. "It was just a case of 'too little, too late'."
We eventually parted company, and I'd resumed my bike ride to The Last Picture Show - for the 4:15 PM screening of "Kung Fu Panda 3"...
The only 'positive spin' I can put on this episode was that I was fortunate enough to decide to go to that first screening (which I had to miss). If I'd left for the later show, the SUV would've sunk without any witnesses, and its late driver would've not been found for several days, instead of mere minutes.
Still, seeing this deadly auto accident will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.
So, I'll ask again: Have any of YOU ever witnessed a fatal auto accident?
- - - - - - - - - - ADDENDA: Here is a small reprint of the article about said accident from the March 23, 2016 issue of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (in their 'Local' section):
CORAL SPRINGS: A man dies after his car went into a canal in Coral Springs on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Fire Chief Frank Babinec said the man was driving, possibly speeding, southbound on Ramblewood Drive at about 12:30 PM. The car he was driving crashed through concrete barriers where that street dead-ends into the C-14 canal.
Babinec said rescue divers pulled the man from the car. He was the only occupant.
His identity won't be released until family members are notified, police said.
Lisa J. Hurlash SECOND ADDENDA: The March 24th issue of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (in its 'Local' section) had a second article, identifying the fatal victim of said accident. Here's an excerpt from it:
The man who died after driving a car into a Coral Springs canal has been identified.
Police Wednesday said James M. Singh, 22, of Margate, was at the wheel of a 2008 (dark) gray Toyota Scion.
Possibly speeding, the car struck concrete barriers at the end of southbound Ramblewood Drive and plunged into the C-14 canal about 12:30 PM Tuesday, investigators said.
Singh was pronounced dead at the scene after Coral Springs Fire Department divers removed him from the Toyota.
He was the only person in the car, investigators said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, police said.
Wayne K. Roustan Having only witnessed the accident, nothing else I can tell detectives can solve this mystery. So, I'd refrained from further contact with the police. I think I did the right thing...
The only other time I saw someone almost get killed was back in the 1990s, when my brother Glenn and I went to a Heat/Knicks basketball game in Miami. We'd left the Miami Arena and began to leave the parking lot, when we saw a drunken person in the middle of the road get hit by a car (traveling rather fast), flipped off of the hood, and landed in an upright, seated position. The drunk looked up at the driver, as if to mentally say to him "Why did you do that?", but apparently he survived...