Last night just before midnight there was a huge crash in the two lane road out in front of our property. We have about a sixteenth of a mile of road frontage. There was no mistaking the sound. Vehicles colliding with each other or trees or our worst fear: our horses. I leaped out of bed and ran to the window to find a contorted white pickup truck looking suspiciously like it was in part of our pasture with its long fifth wheel RV hanging dislodged and unattached over the bed of the truck. At first look, that's all I could see.
My husband had been sound asleep but woke up when I jumped out of bed. He slogged to the window instructing me to call 911 which I did. There were several cars stopped around the wreck which ultimately involved another car. My son hustled down the stairs, incredulity etched on his expression because of the loudness of the impact. They were soon out there in the pasture making sure our horses were safe and seeing if they could assist anyone since what we could see looked bad.
As it turned out, it was tragic. Two fatalities. Both my husband and son viewed one dead young man in our pasture who had been launched from the now invisible passenger side of a silver Honda. The people in the pickup were bruised and shaken but not injured enough to have to stay in their totaled pickup truck which had come to its final resting place against a tree on our property. The RV was the least damaged.
Apparently the two 20-something men were speeding up the slight hill and lost control of the car causing the pickup to T-bone their car and somehow the car ended up near the rear of the RV smashed inside our pasture. The accident analysts were there for the rest of the night.
The emergency responders arrived quickly, so if the two people in the car hadn't been dead from the impact, they would've been rushed to the hospital. But . . . they were. They were speeding at an excessive speed one minute and dead the next.
The finality of death. The certainty of eternity. The sorrow of losing someone. The questions of why. The foolishness of brazenly tempting the challenges of life. The pain of not only hurting yourself but others. The instant reality that follows an action.
Dear God, please be with those who will need healing from this accident. Please minister as only you can do in events like this. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
*Please remember to pray for Kristy Dykes.*