Life is Fragile

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I pray that everyone finds this blog in good health and spirits.  I wish I was typing this blog in a cheerful spirits, but I am not feeling very good right now.  Physically I am doing good, it is my feelings that is bothering me.  I am currently in Caldwell, ID were I checked into a hotel after being involved in a serious automobile accident which resulted in a person dying.  Please pray for the family and friends of the person who passed away.

I was traveling east on US-20 about 20 miles east of Juntura, OR at about 2315 on 1/22.  In a distance, I saw an oncoming vehicle with it's bright lights on.  I was wishing that the driver would dim it's lights. As the vehicle got closer, I slowed down and steered my Semi-truck close to the fog line and avoided looking at the lights of the oncoming vehicle. I then noticed that the vehicle was in my lane and before I knew it, the vehicle hit me head-on.  My truck went right and down a cliff while the SUV went the other direction. My truck continued down the cliff and into a field for about 200 feet.  After I found a flashlight and made sure Sasha was OK, I stepped out of my truck and two men asked if I was OK.  They were traveling behind me and saw the accident. I told them that I was OK and asked about the other vehicle. They informed me that the car is destroyed and they have not seen the driver.  We set out to look for the driver and found the driver a several feet away from the car.  It appears that the driver died upon impact. The front end of my semi was totally destroyed and the steer axle came off of the semi on the highway before my truck went down the embankment. 

Even though I am OK and statements from the two witnesses and the investigation shows that the accident was unavoidable, I am still bothered by the fact that someone died.  The guy did not appear to have slowed down or even try to go back into their lane before impact. I believe that they may have fallen asleep at the wheel but the investigation into why the man was in my lane has not been done yet. It is a huge reminder though as to how fragile life is. That was someone's dad, brother, husband, friend and they are gone in a blink of an eye. No matter what caused the accident or who's fault it is, many people are waking up to tragic news this morning. I have huge empathy for the family because my thoughts take me to my loved ones and how I would feel if they are in a traffic accident with a semi-truck. 

Please be careful and take care of yourselves and each other. 

The Oklahoma Tomcat

"Life is fragile, handle with care."