- Jan 11, 2006
- 17,124
- 12
- 81
I was driving home on the freeway with my wife on Sunday afternoon. We were less than a mile from our exit, so I moved into the right lane. In front of us, a car had slowed down a little to let in another vehicle that was in the second-from-right lane with his right turn signal on. That vehicle seemed to start to move into the right lane, but then seemed to drift back to his left and tapped his brakes a little. This happened a couple times.
I mentioned to my wife that that the driver was awful and did not even know how to take a lane when it is being given to him.
Eventually, the guy moves into the right lane and starts down the long, wide exit ramp. I get on the ramp and, where it opens to three lanes wide, I moved to be parallel to the vehicle (him on the far left, me to the far right). I look over and the guy is asleep! Not slowly blinking his eyes. His eyes were closed for seconds long!!!
I immediately honk my horn and my wife and I start talking about if there is anything more we can do. (his eyes are closed throughout our conversation!!).
We get to the end of the ramp before the car and we stop at the red light. It is clear that the guy is not awake and will not stop, so I honk again to try to, I don?t know, warn someone. He plows into a car at the red light. Luckily, he was not going very fast, so it was just a fender bender.
I make a right turn and pull into the next driveway (which happens to be my daughter?s school). My wife and I hop out of the car and run back to the accident scene 100 or so feet away. We run up to the accident victim, a 20ih guy, and start to tell him through his window that we saw the whole thing, the guy was asleep, etc., etc.
The accident victim thanks us and we decide that we should all pull down the block to a gas station. We run back to our car and drive to the station to meet the victim and his girlfriend (who was in a car next to him at the time of the accident). Turns out that the sleeper took off and neither the victim nor his girlfriend got the sleeper?s license plate number! We gave him our name and number and left.
The most amazing thing about the whole event was that when we were talking with the victim at the scene of the accident, the light turned green and this 50ish guy in a big Mercedes drove by and yelled at my wife and I ?Why don?t you mind your own f--king business?.
I could not believe it!!! Do you think that the guy would say the same thing if it was his family who had been hit? Does this guy want the sleeper to continue driving around our neighborhood? Though it may be obvious as to who caused this accident, my wife and I felt it was important that someone know what led up to it.
I do not feel like a busybody and I would do it again (except I would take down the license number, too).
Do you think we were wrong to volunteer to be witnesses for the victim?
CLIFFS:
1. Saw a car accident caused by sleeping driver;
2. Offered to be a witness;
3. Asked by non-party, ?Why don?t you mind your own f--king business?.
MotionMan
I mentioned to my wife that that the driver was awful and did not even know how to take a lane when it is being given to him.
Eventually, the guy moves into the right lane and starts down the long, wide exit ramp. I get on the ramp and, where it opens to three lanes wide, I moved to be parallel to the vehicle (him on the far left, me to the far right). I look over and the guy is asleep! Not slowly blinking his eyes. His eyes were closed for seconds long!!!
I immediately honk my horn and my wife and I start talking about if there is anything more we can do. (his eyes are closed throughout our conversation!!).
We get to the end of the ramp before the car and we stop at the red light. It is clear that the guy is not awake and will not stop, so I honk again to try to, I don?t know, warn someone. He plows into a car at the red light. Luckily, he was not going very fast, so it was just a fender bender.
I make a right turn and pull into the next driveway (which happens to be my daughter?s school). My wife and I hop out of the car and run back to the accident scene 100 or so feet away. We run up to the accident victim, a 20ih guy, and start to tell him through his window that we saw the whole thing, the guy was asleep, etc., etc.
The accident victim thanks us and we decide that we should all pull down the block to a gas station. We run back to our car and drive to the station to meet the victim and his girlfriend (who was in a car next to him at the time of the accident). Turns out that the sleeper took off and neither the victim nor his girlfriend got the sleeper?s license plate number! We gave him our name and number and left.
The most amazing thing about the whole event was that when we were talking with the victim at the scene of the accident, the light turned green and this 50ish guy in a big Mercedes drove by and yelled at my wife and I ?Why don?t you mind your own f--king business?.
I could not believe it!!! Do you think that the guy would say the same thing if it was his family who had been hit? Does this guy want the sleeper to continue driving around our neighborhood? Though it may be obvious as to who caused this accident, my wife and I felt it was important that someone know what led up to it.
I do not feel like a busybody and I would do it again (except I would take down the license number, too).
Do you think we were wrong to volunteer to be witnesses for the victim?
CLIFFS:
1. Saw a car accident caused by sleeping driver;
2. Offered to be a witness;
3. Asked by non-party, ?Why don?t you mind your own f--king business?.
MotionMan