A Tragedy and a Miracle... so sad

[Katfish]

Please don't read this if your are squeamish.

My OH was at work yesterday morning, driving his 44 tonne lorry towards Felixstowe on the A14.

At 04.25 a car overtook him doing around 75 miles per hour.
It kicked up dust on the central reservation and then veered violently left and barrel rolled.
All sorts of debris came out of the car and littered the road.

G. decided to drive over a bag of rubbish to get nearer to the car to help the occupants.
He realised at the last second that the bag of rubbish was a small child sitting upright in the road.

He slammed the brakes and managed to stop his lorry about 7 feet from the child.

He picked up the 18 month old girl and held her as she was crying, and all she had was blood coming from her nose. He feared the worst (head injury.)

He started to walk towards the car to check it out, when something caught his eye on the verge.

The was a man there and G. checked for a pulse, but there was none.
G said he looked really peaceful, like he was asleep, and there wasn't a mark on him.

There was no-one else in the car, thankfully.

G. held and comforted the little girl until the emergency services got there and they took her away.

G. carried on working, but all he could think about was what would of happened if he hadn't stopped in time. He got home around 2pm visably shaken and IMO suffering with shock.

G. received a call from a traffic bobby this morning saying the little girl was stable in hospital, with pulminary oedema, but doctors are hopeful for a full recovery.

An 18 month old child being thrown out of a rolling car, is a sickening thought, the fact that she is still alive is a miracle!

So... what happened? G. said there were no brake lights on.
Did the poor man fall asleep, was he distacted by the babe?
That is something we will never know,
BUT it brings it all home, when you see morons reading maps, putting on make-up, or other such idiotic pursuits, whilst they are driving, how lucky they are not to be dead.

[jerryrm]

That's quite a story, Kat. It all ended up well for your husband and hopefully the little girl. Your husband is a hero, he saved that child. If he hadn't stopped to help them, someone else might have run over that bag, thinking that it was just trash.

[Katfish]

Thank you Jerry,
you have said exactly the same as me, but my poor man is still re-living that moment and will for some time to come.
Sometimes the what if's torture you, when the actual event is put aside.

[deesigner]

Kat your husband must be torturing himself, but he is a hero, he realised in time that it was a child and stopped. Sadly there are many people out there who wouldn't have bothered to stop, they wouldn't want to get involved, he did and saved the life of the child in the process.

He must be living in a sort of hell at the moment, the 'what if's' will keep springing up. Let's hope he can accept it for the positive act that it is and the 'what if's' start to fade quickly

[Clutter]

Oh Kat, your poor hubbie

He probably needs to 'what if' to try and make some sense of it.

What if his reflexes hadn't been so quick? But they were quick and he brought the child to safety.

What if he had run over the child? His reflexes were so acute he avoided hurting her and picked her up, comforted her and kept her safe.

As Jerry and Dee said, he is a hero.

[Katfish]

Thank you Dee,
I am hoping he will find comfort from the kind words from you and Jerry!
He is such a strong man, but I think everyone's week spot is a child and I can't imagine the horror that went through his mind.
Just feel for the family who have lost a Father/Husband.

[Katfish]

Thanks Clutter,
you are right, and I thank goodness that it WAS G. there and not anyone else!

[magicma]

Oh Kat how sad but how brave your husband is. I do hope he can soon put his nightmares behind him.
A mother will be eternally grateful to him Love MM xxx

[barneykew]

thankyou for all your kind comments but my feelings are going to a little girl without a father and a mother without a husband. These two are the one's who matter. My heart goes out to them.

[jerryrm]

It's very sad indeed, Barney, but it could have been much worse for the mother. Thanks to you, she still has her daughter.

[Katfish]

I AM sorry for this awful thread, but needed to get the OH to dump the emotions, which thanks to you he is doing now,
Thank you!

[delboy]

wow..... every now and then life throws up some pretty tough things.

This is heavy duty stuff and is disturbing as it's well outside what you would normally experience in daily life.

It also shows us how potentially fragile life is. To see that up close is shocking. To be that close to something so awful is difficult to take in.

I'm sorry it fell to your husband to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of this tragic incident. But bloody well done to him too. He reacted superbly and stepped up to the plate and did all he could do.

You must keep us all posted on the little girls progress now. And your husbands too.

[Katfish]

Will do Del, and thank you!

[Chrissie]

(((Kat & Graham))) you must both be in shock - especially ((((Graham)))) Please keep talking about it as much as you need to - it will help. There is a good chance the full shock wont set in till later tonight

My heart also goes out to the little girl & her mother

[Hanow]

Awful, but............ thank heavens for the care and driving capability of people like Graham. (((((((G))))))) xxxxx Well done Mister.

I had to drive to Exeter yesterday - leaving early, 6.30 a.m. Great thinks I: Open roads, not too much traffic. However, on 3 occasions, total idiots, seeing the 'open' road ahead (presumably) decided that speeds approaching what had to have been 90 mph were acceptable. I was doing a steady 65-70 on the open stretches, with masses of cars overtaking me - at significant speed. I hate driving.