My last post about music made me think of this.... Bare with me you'll see how it made me think about this situation.
It was february 1991 or 1992, but im not 100% of it now, after the years have passed... I was either 15 or 16, and a sophomore in high school. I had been driving for only 2 years roughly, as i had gotten my license at 15. I had been given a car from my grandfather for either my 15th or 16th Birthday. I loved that car. The car i Had prior, was one i bought from a neighbor for 300.00. This car had T-Tops, and leather interior, and bucket seats, and a good V8 Engine. The only thing i was missing was a stereo. So I put one in it, and took out the factory 8 track that was in it. This is partly where the trouble started.
It was a school morning in february. the car was a 77 plymouth, which was carbourated, which means it didn't like running in the cold moist air until it was warmed up. Well this morning we were running a little late for school, and since i was driving i gave a ride to school to my neighbor friends J&J S. (they are twins, and while i wont directly write their full names I'll just call them J&J.) Well we had to pick up my best friend A.L. who lived over near the airport. We went over and picked him up, and J&J gave him the passenger seat. The key here is in between my neighborhood and A.L's is highway 1, and worse yet, a railroad track. The railroad tracks we've crossed hundreds of times, and never had any issues. This all changed this fateful morning.
Leaving A.L.'s house we took our standard route to Lexington High School. This involved going up Old Barnwell Road, to Emmanuel Church Road, and then finally to Kitty Wake Road, which met at a railroad crossing at Highway 1, or Augusta Road. The previous week i think it was I picked up the latest CD from one of my favorite Rock Bands, VAN HALEN. (see where the music tie in is now?) It was their latest CD as I had said and was called : For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, or F.U.C.K. for short. (side note, while this CD was out, anyone else remember CLEAR PEPSI?!?!!? God i loved that stuff!!) This cd, had 11 songs on it. We'd been listening to it in my new sony car Stereo on my 2 12" Pyramid subs (yes i had pyramid, i was poor, and it did the job, later on in my life, i went for the good stuff when i had more money... and now you know why i cant hear well) CD players were not cheap back then and it was really cool to have one, so i thought i was doing well.
Anyways, upon arriving at the intersection of Highway 1 and KittyWake Road we were stopped in traffic waiting to make a left on to Hwy 1. Those of you who know this intersection know how it is setup now. Kittiwake meets highway 1, with about 12 feet of a sharp inclined hill, then railroad tracks. These tracks back then, only had the two side poles for lamps. There was no crossing arms (it wasnt until much later when a trucker was killed there cause he got stuck on the little hill and a train struck him were they put in) there was not even a stoplight back then. It was a right lane turn, a left lane turn, an oncoming lane to go down kitty wake and a stop sign for us turning right or left onto highway 1 and the two pole lights. that was it. Well the little hill was before Highway 1, and sloped down to highway 1, but after the railroad tracks. So if your sitting on the tracks, your actualy at the crest of this little hill. The hill has enough room for maybe 2 cars, the third would be on the tracks and the fourth would be just before the tracks.
At the time we arrived at this intersection there were many cars, and we slowly got to a point where there were two cars on the hill, a small white hatchback on the tracks, and us after that white hatchback. Now, remember the car stereo i described? remember the Van Halen CD? heres where it comes into play. We'd been listening to the CD for the entire trip to school so far, and we were going to continue the rest of the way I'm sure. That stereo system i mentioned, well it meant we listened to the CD at a much larger volume than "normal" people. Besides that fact, we had been in the traffic to make the left onto highway 1 (4 lane road btw.) for about 15 minutes. at my age back then i was shall we say , less than patient.
Slowly the cars ahead moved out of the way, and the white hatchback sat there on the tracks, and I before the tracks. there was a few cars behind me, but not that many. The white hatchback driver, seemed like he wouldnt move up even when folks in front of him had already moved off. So hes sitting there and wont turn. he could have pulled forward, or turned by now many times. At this time we're listening to the first third of teh song "right now" which was number 9 on the disk. We've muted the CD player, to half volume, as we're arguing at why the idiot in front wont go. At that point the guy in the white hatch back pulls forward enough to get half way down the hill, and turns in his seat, and points to our right. which was down tracks toward columbia. I immediately put my car in to reverse, and perhaps put too much pedal down.
Remembering the next few steps will take longer to read what i write, than the time it took them to really happen. It was only a split second that all this happened in.... Now remember me saying it was cool, and misty.. well the ol Volare, she stalled. so I try to start her again, and i cant cause its in Reverse. So now i reach down to the console shifter, and put her in neuteral. Then i reached up to start her again..... As my hand touched the keys a shadow loomed from my right and WHAM!!!! the music stopped, all we hear is a train going by, and then there was Tink.... tink..... tink....tink.... the sounds of the individual railroad cars hitting my front bumper as they went by....
Let me stop there, with four teenage boys in a car that was just hit by a trian... and reassure you all, as sure as im typing this, we all were unscathed. Not a single injury. Now back to the story.. the cars behind me backed up, we're in shock, we cant believe we were hit. we're mad, because our ride to school (my car) is probably totalled. We're sitting there discussing for what seemed hours that we should get out and push the car back, or stay in car until the trian passes. We opt to get out and push the car back. I cant open my driver door (2 door car) at first. The driver front fender had been pushed to wedge the door some. i had to put my legs into it to push it open. once we have it open i let one of the J's out and make sure A and the other J got out. they did, we begin to push the car back. off to the side of the road in the dirt. There we were asked by a few cars behind us if we were ok. we were. Someone said they were going to go call the police and ambulance. We waited.
The train stopped, just up tracks finally. The conducter ran down to the intersection... paniced, as he should have been... we had no idea how lucky we were to be alive. Later we learned we ripped some wiring out of the engine when it hit us, and the train was stuck there for hours. The cops showed. Both state troopers. One in a mustang 5.0, who looked like he was the evil terminator in Terminator2 was a dick. Thats bout all i remember about them. I dont think i got fined, or ticketed luckily. The firedepartment showed too. we were chastised for being so close to the tracks, even though we werent on them. All of our parents were called. All my friends who were in the car that morning stayed home from school that day if I remember correctly. I was not so lucky. My stepfather forced me to go to school.
It was probably 10 am when i got to class. That was the day I learned I had died. Or that was the rumor that was going around the school then. Little did we know that near in the future my best friend A.L. would in fact be taken from us in a very unfortunate Auto Accident. :( J&J, well after high school we lost track, lost touch. their parents still live down the road. Ive recenetly been able to reconnect with one of the j's, and my best friend A.L.'s sister and father thru Facebook. A.L.'s wreck is a story for another day.. I was nearby when that happened... and it pains me to this day to recant the entire thing. So i spent the rest of that day, at school, opening the classes (even at the teachers permission) recanting the entire situation, and what had happened. Then after i had gotten home, J&J met me there. My car had been towed there. It sat in my side yard. I tried to start it, she wouldn't start. no power... so we opened the hood completely.. There it was, the battery had came unhooked. So one of the J's i think it was or myself reconnected it. I put the keys in the ignition and the turned her over. She fired right up.... hellatious noise though. Fan was in the radiator. The bumper had moved about a foot and a half to the left. Thus disconnecting the battery and a lot of other things. She'd never be the same again if i were to get it fixed and what was worse was i didn't have the money to get her fixed. The one thing i didn't mention though, was that instant i started her up, The van halen cd that was in my sony CD player, picked up right where it had left off that morning playing, "Right Now".....
No comments:
Post a Comment