I just want to take a moment to share my New Year's ordeal with everyone and rant about what fsvking idiot-@$$ holes drunk drivers are!
This morning, around 1:45, some drunk guy was speeding down the road and made a sharp turn onto our cul de sac, he then gunned it and made a sharp turn and lost control, going into the neighbor's yard and doing two doughnuts. He then went back into the street, and raced back toward the road, making a sharp right turn as he sped out of the cul de sac, lost control while making the turn, spun into our yard then drove into the yard across the street, rupturing a major gas line. He then turned and went into another yard, side swiping a giant oak tree (which probably prevented his truck from going into the house-right where the bedroom was located and our neighbors were sleeping in there at the time) and then fled the scene. Luckily for the moron in the truck, the gas main was highly pressurized and the force of the escaping gas kept it from mixing with the oxygen in the air and igniting. However, the wind currents carried the gas due east-straight into my family's home. I was awake at the time, but didn't know that the gas main had been ruptured, but heard the extrememely loud hissing and knew something was terribly wrong. Ran down the hall to get my family. A neighbor ran over to our place and started ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door. I ran downstairs and opened the door and he told me what happened and that we all needed to evacuate our house NOW! Ran back upstairs and started yelling to wake Mom. Dad had been downstairs checking the furnance when neighbor came; until I was informed, none of us knew the main had been broken and Dad and I thought something was wrong inside our house. Ran into my room and threw on shoes and grabbed cell phone, wallet, and keys, then ran back downstairs to grab the family cat. When I got down the stairs and headed into the family room for the cat, I noticed that my lips, chin, and fingertips were going numb. I also felt a tad light headed and was having a little difficulty breathing. Grabbed the cat, which was wobblying around and appeared close to passing out, and then grabbed some coats for the family. Mom and Dad came down the stairs and went into the garage to grab their shoes. By then, we were all moving pretty sluggishly. I opened the garage door (the one for people-with a knob) and stepped outside and tried taking in some outside air, which was awful because of the pungent fumes! Stepped back into the garage and saw my Dad struggling a bit to get up off the stairs, where he had been putting on his shoes. We all made it out of the garage though and started staggering up the driveway and into the street. At one point, I handed Mom the cat so I could put on my coat, and I noticed that he (the cat) had gone limp. The cat was okay a few minutes later though, and is still doing okay this evening. We were about 300 feet from the house and I started gagging. All the people on the cul de sac that were home at the time were in the middle of the street. I stumbled to the side of the road and started dry heaving into the ditch. Fortunately, I managed to avoid vomiting in front of a crowd of people, but it took a few minutes to start feeling better. We (there were about 12 of us) went into a neighbor's house (1000 feet south west of ours) and stayed there until the police came and informed us that they were evacuating the area in a half mile radius. Everyone grabbed for the phone, but I had my cell on me and we called my Uncle, who lives a few miles south of us. We cut through a field to get to the road and then started walking until we met Uncle, then hopped in his car and went to his house. We stayed for about 45 minutes to an hour and then Mom and Dad went with Uncle back to the house. My family knew the emergency workers at the road block and they called down to the site and got the okay to let them return to the house. By then, the gas had been shut off and the break was sealed. Mom called me from our house and sent Uncle to get me and drop me off back home. The gas company had taken meters into our house and deemed it safe to be there. Around 4am, I returned to my house and dropped off the cat, then went outside to look at the damage. Part of the bumper on the drunk guy's truck was sitting next to the oak tree. We spent the next hour talking to other neighbors, relaying information, and taking coffee to the rescue workers. Finally, a little after 5, we called it a night.
The drunk guy was taken into custody by the time we were able to go home. He goes before the judge Monday morning and he's probably going to "pound me in the @$$ penitentiary." I'm thankful that no one was injured and no one lost their home, but I'm horrified that the whole neighborhood could have gone up in flames. When I stop and think about it, I get a tad freaked out about how woozy we all were when trying to get out of the house and that I was poisoned enough by the fumes to dry retch in a ditch. We were all very lucky that things didn't end in catastrophe. The bastard behind the wheel forced most of the south end of town to be evacuated into the 10 degree January night. It'll be interesting to see what the law does to the drunken piece of $h!t!
This morning, around 1:45, some drunk guy was speeding down the road and made a sharp turn onto our cul de sac, he then gunned it and made a sharp turn and lost control, going into the neighbor's yard and doing two doughnuts. He then went back into the street, and raced back toward the road, making a sharp right turn as he sped out of the cul de sac, lost control while making the turn, spun into our yard then drove into the yard across the street, rupturing a major gas line. He then turned and went into another yard, side swiping a giant oak tree (which probably prevented his truck from going into the house-right where the bedroom was located and our neighbors were sleeping in there at the time) and then fled the scene. Luckily for the moron in the truck, the gas main was highly pressurized and the force of the escaping gas kept it from mixing with the oxygen in the air and igniting. However, the wind currents carried the gas due east-straight into my family's home. I was awake at the time, but didn't know that the gas main had been ruptured, but heard the extrememely loud hissing and knew something was terribly wrong. Ran down the hall to get my family. A neighbor ran over to our place and started ringing the doorbell and pounding on the door. I ran downstairs and opened the door and he told me what happened and that we all needed to evacuate our house NOW! Ran back upstairs and started yelling to wake Mom. Dad had been downstairs checking the furnance when neighbor came; until I was informed, none of us knew the main had been broken and Dad and I thought something was wrong inside our house. Ran into my room and threw on shoes and grabbed cell phone, wallet, and keys, then ran back downstairs to grab the family cat. When I got down the stairs and headed into the family room for the cat, I noticed that my lips, chin, and fingertips were going numb. I also felt a tad light headed and was having a little difficulty breathing. Grabbed the cat, which was wobblying around and appeared close to passing out, and then grabbed some coats for the family. Mom and Dad came down the stairs and went into the garage to grab their shoes. By then, we were all moving pretty sluggishly. I opened the garage door (the one for people-with a knob) and stepped outside and tried taking in some outside air, which was awful because of the pungent fumes! Stepped back into the garage and saw my Dad struggling a bit to get up off the stairs, where he had been putting on his shoes. We all made it out of the garage though and started staggering up the driveway and into the street. At one point, I handed Mom the cat so I could put on my coat, and I noticed that he (the cat) had gone limp. The cat was okay a few minutes later though, and is still doing okay this evening. We were about 300 feet from the house and I started gagging. All the people on the cul de sac that were home at the time were in the middle of the street. I stumbled to the side of the road and started dry heaving into the ditch. Fortunately, I managed to avoid vomiting in front of a crowd of people, but it took a few minutes to start feeling better. We (there were about 12 of us) went into a neighbor's house (1000 feet south west of ours) and stayed there until the police came and informed us that they were evacuating the area in a half mile radius. Everyone grabbed for the phone, but I had my cell on me and we called my Uncle, who lives a few miles south of us. We cut through a field to get to the road and then started walking until we met Uncle, then hopped in his car and went to his house. We stayed for about 45 minutes to an hour and then Mom and Dad went with Uncle back to the house. My family knew the emergency workers at the road block and they called down to the site and got the okay to let them return to the house. By then, the gas had been shut off and the break was sealed. Mom called me from our house and sent Uncle to get me and drop me off back home. The gas company had taken meters into our house and deemed it safe to be there. Around 4am, I returned to my house and dropped off the cat, then went outside to look at the damage. Part of the bumper on the drunk guy's truck was sitting next to the oak tree. We spent the next hour talking to other neighbors, relaying information, and taking coffee to the rescue workers. Finally, a little after 5, we called it a night.
The drunk guy was taken into custody by the time we were able to go home. He goes before the judge Monday morning and he's probably going to "pound me in the @$$ penitentiary." I'm thankful that no one was injured and no one lost their home, but I'm horrified that the whole neighborhood could have gone up in flames. When I stop and think about it, I get a tad freaked out about how woozy we all were when trying to get out of the house and that I was poisoned enough by the fumes to dry retch in a ditch. We were all very lucky that things didn't end in catastrophe. The bastard behind the wheel forced most of the south end of town to be evacuated into the 10 degree January night. It'll be interesting to see what the law does to the drunken piece of $h!t!
Facebook
Twitter