Passed a fatal wreck today

[conjur]

for the first time. A pedestrian was struck by a semi (car hauler...empty) and another car while walking along an interstate near downtown. I saw the covered body in the emergency lane (it was on the other side as I was going).

Everyone was taking it easy after that...no tailgating...no one really speeding.

'Cept after having gone a few miles and nearing an interstate split, some woman (appeared to be in her 40s/50s) in an SUV was flying up behind me and got close enough to where I couldn't see the lower part of the front of her vehicle (don't know where she thought she was going to go as traffic was slowing and full in front of me).

<shaking head in disbelief>

Sad that even seeing a fatal wreck doesn't phase some drivers.

 

[MacBaine]

Exactly why I don't walk alongside interstate highways.

 

[Lucky]

my first "fatal" was when I was dispatched early on a sunday morning from the newspaper I was working at to go take some pictures. It had happened early sunday AM, so bodies, car, etc were gone. However, there were bits and pieces of brain matter EVERYWHERE, the police/coroner/whoever did a really crappy job cleaning up. It was a one car accident, 4 20-year old hilltopping on a country road near mansfield, OH. Car went airborne, hit 8 trees midair. All 4 died, reportedly one was decapitated with the others' body parts strewn for hundreds of feet. I remember seeing the speedo about 600 feet away stuck on 105.

There's a lot more to the story, but I cried when I got back...not much hits you harder than stepping on the remains (brains) of 4 kids.

 

[kgdb]

Yea, sickening thing to see isnt it. Doesnt matter how much you see the fatals they are always tough to see. In my line I see them and the aftermath alot and and they are never easy. Very tough when it is someone young with a lifetime ahead of them. Becarefull out there folks!

 

[SuperTool]

I really wish the cops would clean up faster after these wrecks.
Cus otherwise people slow down too much to take a peek at what's going on. Pisses me off. I know it's sad and all, but wasting my time is not going to bring these people back.

 

[Lucky]

Worst fatal I ever saw I was nearly involved in. Was on I-70 (?) From chicago to columbus when about near indianapolis traffic suddenly stopped. After 20 minutes of sitting in traffic and seeing emergency vehicles go by, I squeezed onto an off ramp, crossed over the bridge and parked at a gas station. Went down the enbankment to see that a U-haul has crossed into the other lanes of traffic, hit a minivan with 4 kids, which was then promptly hit by a 18-wheeler and a flatbed carrying a (large) construction bulldozer. There was sh*t everywhere, wasnt a pretty sight. Thing that tore me up the most was a teddy bear from minivan of one of the dead kids (there were 4 people dead, 2 of them kids.) None of the bodies where covered when I started taking pictures.

 

[kgdb]

There is alot of work that goes into doing an accident secene. For many different reasons every little detail must be accounted for and documented. In multiple fatals where there are no survivors it is the accident scene that may lead investigators to what has happened. The scene, surroundings, detailed measurements, bodys and or body parts, tire skid marks, vehicle parts etc etc are all critical details. These all combined give the answers to the investigators and the familys of the deceased. On another note, Yes the old methods of doing a scene were very very time consuming, often closing a scene for 4-6 hrs. The new methods can shoot a scene in an hour, the investigators can then load this info and a computer will generate the entire scene.