Wednesday 15 August 2012

Summer on the roads

They say there are only 3 seasons in Canada, bugs, snow, construction, none mutually exclusive! I would agree!
Hot, heavy work, while motorists get frustrated. Our climate is hard on our roads!

I was teling someone about an incident on the road near Sharbot Lake on highway #7. I was passed by a large semi-trailer, at great speed, and was driving slowly through a construction zone. A man, grabbing a coffee from a canteen truck, could hear the truck and not me. He turned and walked right in front of my car. It was gruesome.
My daughter, who turns 33 tomorrow, was two at the time. I drove to Toronto, arrived at my mother's home. Phoning various hospitals in the area, I could not find where the man was taken. After talking to an ER doctor, they told me he had died. I had to testify at his inquest months later, with a grieving mother in the courtroom. It was horrible.

Be careful out there. Somebody loves you.


Our cat, smucked by a car last week, shouldn't have been on the roads. I went over and brought him home, put him in time outs in the house, scolded him forever. It didn't help.

Motorists need to be prepared for wildlife, though. Lots of deer cross, as well as other animals. Driving Ontario's roads, I noticed the skid marks and wondered about the stories. The hits and the misses, and near-misses.

6 comments:

Karen said...

Oh bless your heart, what an awful memory to be stuck with. A neighbour child came barreling down a lane on his bike, some 40 years ago, hitting the side of his car. Dad (95) still stews about it, thinking it was somehow his fault.

Kay L. Davies said...

Oh, Jenn, how awful that must have been for you. I hit a dog once, and it took me ages to get over it. Luckily for me, my parents were with me. My father went to find the dog's owners (apparently it often slept on the road) while my mother stayed with me. Unfortunately, I was on my way to work, and dropping them off on my way, so I had to continue on.
No matter whose fault it is, the man who couldn't hear you, or the dog who shouldn't have been on the road, the driver most often bears the brunt of the psychic pain. I hope somewhere there is a driver who is haunted by a beautiful black cat. Nasty of me, I know, but that's how I feel right now.
Luv, K

Kay said...

Jenn... This is such an awful memory to have to live with. I'm so very sorry.

Red said...

Your experience has to leave a heavy on you. It's hard to put such a stressful happening in the right place in your head.

Linda said...

There are just no words...I can only imagine the pain and grief. Your words are a good reminder to us all.

Jenn Jilks said...

You are all my very loving followers. Thank you for your empathy.