I don’t have
any more real accidents to write
about, but this story is about an incident that could very well have ended in
the most serious accident I’d ever been in.
Back in 1975 and 1976 I spent my time alternating college semesters taking classes and
being a cooperative student. I was the most cooperative student you’d ever
seen. I’d do anything for money. Well, not really. The cooperative (co-op for
short) program was where students would spend time working in a real job while
still in school in order to gain real world experience before graduating and starting
to work full time. It was like being an intern. I had co-oped here in the
Shoals for a total of three semesters. At the end of my final co-op period,
which was at the end of 1976, I was ready to return home to Louisville, KY. My
parents had been visiting family for Christmas about 70 miles away, so came
over to help me carry all my stuff back.
It was New
Year’s Eve, and there had recently been a big snow in the area. However, all
the roads were clear and it was a sunny day, so it seemed to be a perfect time
to drive home. We were driving east on US 72, with my dad in the lead,
approaching Second Creek. Those of you familiar with this location will know
that there is a rather steep downwards hill to the creek.
Dad had just
crested the top of the hill before heading downwards when I saw his brake
lights come on. Just as I was about to tap my brakes I crested the hill and saw
a state trooper car at the bottom of the hill in the median with its lights blinking.
I immediately assumed there was an accident ahead. I put my foot on the brake
pedal and within a second or two I found myself spinning. The whole car was
rotating as it slid down the hill. I was so disoriented, I didn’t really
comprehend what was happening until later.
My dad later
told me that he saw me in his rearview mirror and said to my mom, “Well, would
you look at Randy spinning down the hill.” My mom turned around to look and
then became hysterical. Dad told me that I spun around at least six times.
Well, as you
might have guessed, there was ice on the road. The downhill slope was in the
shade, so the sun had not been able to melt it away. Fortunately my dad noticed
the ice just before he ran over it and let his foot off the brake. I was not so
fortunate. With the combination of seeing my dad’s brake lights and the state
trooper’s lights, I had run over the ice before I noticed it.
Anyway,
after six-plus spins down the hill, I came to a stop. Surprisingly, I was still
in my own lane, but facing backwards. I saw another vehicle heading down the
hill in the other lane and at first was concerned that he would lose control
and run into me. But he didn’t. He kept a steady pace and passed me by safely.
After just
sitting there for a while attempting to recover from my dizziness, I slowly
proceeded to turn the car around and head on down the rest of the hill. As it
turned out, there was no accident at the bottom as I had suspected. The state
trooper had his car in the median with the lights blinking. The trooper himself
was leaning against his car with his hat and sunglasses on. I felt a bit
embarrassed by what had happened to me, so I rolled my window down and said to
the trooper as I passed him, “It’s kinda rough through here.”
The trooper
didn’t respond in any way. He just stood there staring at me with no change in
his facial expression, which was stone-faced. Even though I couldn’t see his
eyes behind the sunglasses, I could feel his stare shooting through me. I just
rolled my window up and kept driving. Dad had stopped on the land bridge over
the creek and was waiting. I pulled up beside him and we quickly discussed
whether or not we should try to make it all the way to Louisville since some of
the roads were obviously not clear of ice yet. We decided to drive over to an
aunt and uncle’s house and spend the night instead. The next day, New Year’s
Day, we made our way safely on to Louisville.
For the next
few days, I thought about this incident often. I was amazed that my car had
stayed in its own lane while spinning down the hill rather than sliding off the
road. However that happened, I was thankful. But then I began to wonder why the
state trooper had been at the bottom of the hill with his emergency lights
blinking when there was no accident. I originally thought he was there to warn
other drivers of the ice on the road, but then realized that that made no
sense. It would have been better for him to station himself at the top of the
hill so as to slow down traffic before getting to the ice. When I realized
this, I began to get a bit angry at the trooper. But then I realized that
perhaps he had slid down the hill as
well and had ended up in the median and was waiting for assistance when I showed
up. I like to give people the benefit of a doubt, so I’ll go with that
scenario.
