Saw somebody die tonight....

[MaineExport]

Sorry in advance... just need to vent.

On my way to work I came upon an accident scene with only one mildly damaged car. However, there were about 7 police cars and an ambulance. As I was making my way by the scene I rubber-necked it and saw three paramedics and a couple cops huddled around a very bloody and mangled human body. They were frantically performing CPR and one had the paddles out and ready to go. Apparently a pedestrian got smacked hard. They closed off the entire highway (Main street through town) just as I was leaving the scene. I later heard on the police scanner at work that it was indeed a fatality.

The worst part about it is that one of my best friends from high school died in the EXACT same spot a little less than 10 years ago. He was leaving work and got T-boned by a speeding truck.

On my way home from a very somber and thoughtful night at work the spot was covered in kitty litter. Somebody's former life was being absorbed by clay pebbles meant to clean up after Muffy.

I've seen this kind of thing a handful of times, and normally I just shrug it off... but this time it hit me hard. A lot of the emotions from 10 years ago quietly surfaced over the last few hours.

Again.. sorry for the bummer trip... just needed to share it with the "family"... and maybe remind people that life is very fragile. Whether we're driving or just walking... be careful. Tell your parents and kids you love them.

[krazy skwerel]

Man thats sad. Sorry I can't say more, but what could I say really.

[240DRFT]

today just sucks, my grandma just died today too

[The Mic]

i remember a scene a while back when I was driving near a local street and I casually look to my right to see a firefighters and cops swarming an area. Then I see a body laying in the middle of the street with EMTs working on it. Not an everyday thing for me.

[MaineExport]

Sorry to hear about your grandma, Bro. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

S13GUY... I hear ya... it's not one of those things you see every day.... and it certainly makes one stop and think.

[jdmfreak]

Rough business.

[Altiman94]

I have never witnessed something like that. There's no words I can even say to describe this. I'll just leave it at that.

[Dano]

today just sucks, my grandma just died today too

my thoughts are with you and your family, as well as you MaineExport

-Dan

[fiznat]

I am an EMT, I've seen lots of people pass away and honestly I still havnt become completely numb to it. They say it takes some time and after a while you develop a somewhat callous attitude about it, but it's still hard when you cant do anything for someone, especially if the family is right there and you dont know what to say...

The advice everyone gives, and it still helps me, is that while none of these deaths ever seem fair or necessary or anything like that, they should help us to truly appreciate the time that we do have: and understand life as something fragile and precious... It's easy to ignore that sometimes.

Really sorry to hear about your grandma 240DRFT.

[C-Kwik]

Sorry in advance... just need to vent.

On my way to work I came upon an accident scene with only one mildly damaged car. However, there were about 7 police cars and an ambulance. As I was making my way by the scene I rubber-necked it and saw three paramedics and a couple cops huddled around a very bloody and mangled human body. They were frantically performing CPR and one had the paddles out and ready to go. Apparently a pedestrian got smacked hard. They closed off the entire highway (Main street through town) just as I was leaving the scene. I later heard on the police scanner at work that it was indeed a fatality.

The worst part about it is that one of my best friends from high school died in the EXACT same spot a little less than 10 years ago. He was leaving work and got T-boned by a speeding truck.

On my way home from a very somber and thoughtful night at work the spot was covered in kitty litter. Somebody's former life was being absorbed by clay pebbles meant to clean up after Muffy.

I've seen this kind of thing a handful of times, and normally I just shrug it off... but this time it hit me hard. A lot of the emotions from 10 years ago quietly surfaced over the last few hours.

Again.. sorry for the bummer trip... just needed to share it with the "family"... and maybe remind people that life is very fragile. Whether we're driving or just walking... be careful. Tell your parents and kids you love them.

I saw a car on fire on the side of the highway the other day. I stopped to make sure noone was in it or noone was around. Thje police had already been called when I called 911. When I got up to the car(not too close since I wasn't sure if the gas tank went yet) It looked to be more of an arson. Probably a stolen vehicle. But scary nonetheless.

Years ago, a homeless mand was hit by a car within view. I didn't actually see it happen, but I was turning left to where the body ended up. When my light turned green, I noticed what I initially thought was a duffel bag in the road. As I made my left turn asn was passing it, I realized it was a body and blood was running down the street. I called 911. Luckily the Police station was literally across the street. I doubt he survived the impact from the amount of blood I saw streaming down the street. I still remember it as clear as the night I saw it.

And Fiznat, don't ever try to be callous about death. Your job is an important one where compassion for life will make you better at what you do.

Remember, if there was no death, life would be meaningless. We would just simply exist. Let yourself 'live'.

[Jesda]

Tragic.

[D1SR240]

last summer my neighbor was working on his van when the jack or jack stands or whatever slid out from underneath the car and the car crushed him. His pregnant wife then ran to our house and got my dad, and his friend who was over, they also got my other neighbor, toghether they got him from out from underneath the car somehow but it was already too late, the van basically crushed his face. a week later his wife gave birth to their second child. I wasn't home at the time when this happened or else i would have also seen it.

We see people dying on the news, or in the papers or we hear about it all the time, but it really hits you hard when its someone you know.

[180crafter]

Tell your parents and kids you love them.

You have no idea how important this is... Always tell the ones you love how you feel, you never know when you might be able to say it again.

[biggie]

It is true that you never think about things on the news the same way as real life. News story don't effect you because you usually can't relate to them.

I feel that I have a callous attitude when it comes to death. I fully expect with the way things go for me, that a few more of my family will be dead in the next few years and I don't expect to make it much more than another 10 years. Yeah, so I'm always happy.

But I would never wish upon anyone to see someone else die, it scares you, especially if its someone close to you.

[The Mic]

You have no idea how important this is... Always tell the ones you love how you feel, you never know when you might be able to say it again.

if i ever try to, my family would say "What? am I dying or something?!!"

[xekushnr]

just about 2 weeks ago a close friend of mine was in an accident. going to work in the morning, some lady spun out and hit his car. they were stranded in the middle lane of a 5 lane hiway. he got out of his car when it was safe and moved off the highway. he called his mom after he got off the road, and she said she could literally hear the other cars on the road smashing into his wreck (it ended up getting hit by 4 or 5 cars). but one of the people who hit him got out of her car while traffic was passing. my buddy was SCREAMING at her to get off the road, but it was too late. another car (a truck i believe) got sideways at a good 60 mph, hit the lady, and crushed her in between the truck and her own van. he was looking right at her, and he was only about 15-20 feet away...

death is a hard thing to grasp, especially when you are young. my personal story happened when i was only 7 or 8. me and my friend were playing in the park by my house when we heard a gunshot. it turned out that my friends neighbor shot himself on accident with a shotgun in his head. we got my friends dad so he could help out, but he was probably dead right after the shot. i only saw him for like 2 seconds but i will never forget that image.

[AZhitman]

You have no idea how important this is... Always tell the ones you love how you feel, you never know when you might be able to say it again.

Well said.

Slow down, look around and find a way to make someone's day better - it might be their (or your) last day here...

"Be excellent to one another." - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

[NSR240sxe]

Sorry to hear about your grandma, 240DRFT...my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[nsrZ32]

Wow....sorry to hear bro. Also sorry to hear about your grandma man. I know how it is, I lost my Dad just a couple months back, its rough. Sadly there has been a lot of death around me the last couple years, never a good thing and it never fails to make you stop and think.

Hang in there and stay safe everyone.

[[Zero-S]]

I don't even know what to say.

[Mr1der]

makes one aware of your own mortality...

all I can say is I hope they lived like they were dying.

[Ace 2.0]

thats sad! my friend got shot almost a year ago then another died shortly after, its hard i look back and wish that i was there more for them. but i know i will be gone one day and i will see them again!

[jacob360]

Life is too short, and you never know what might happen next. Don't waste it!

Several years ago, I heard a car accident and ran out to see what happened. A drunk driver had hit a light pole, spun around and hit a building. Some girl who saw it pulled him out of the car, and laid him out a foot in front of me. He was gasping like a fish out of water because his trachea was severed by the steering wheel, a river of blood was flowing down the street and his brain was falling out from a gash in the side of his head. It made me think, alot, but I was surprised at how calm and collected I was. Maybe I'm a sick fu(k

[JESTER]

Well, I hate to hear that you had to see that, as well as I hate to hear someone died, most likely needlessly. It really sucks.

And Fiznat, knows, you really dont have a choice in becoming numb. This type of work, EMT, fire, law enforcment, and us here in the dungeon of the 911 center, cant help getting that way. After you deal with death day in and day out, it becomes just one more thing for you. I dont enjoy talking to ederly ladies who have waken to find thier husband dead beside them, or talking to people who have been shot, who I know want make it. But that is the job. It changes you, and not into something you generally like. To be honest, I question my humanity sometimes.

Maine, it is best to just not dwell on it. There is nothing you could have done. As most of us in the field chose to think, it was their time to go. And if you are religous, remember that person is most likely in a better place now.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Wow. I'm glad I'm generally rather emotionless, or I'd be rather depressed after all of this. I still feel a little solemn, though. A few years ago, a neighbor a couple blocks away was working on his car and it fell off the jackstands. It didn't kill him instantly, and he was in intense pain for a few hours before he finally died.

A friend of mine, who I play Steel Battalion: Line of Contact online with, just lost his dad suddenly about a week ago. He's been in the hospital, or in bed at home (my friend, not his dad) from major surgery for the last few months and just as that was nearly over, his father passed away. Somehow (I don't know how. I'd become a walking corpse at that point) he manages to retain a good outlook, and his oddball sense of humor.

All of this really drives home the fact that any one of us could just be gone in a moment. Make sure you don't die regretting your life. And make sure that those people who mean something to you know it. Make sure, don't assume. It's not worth the chance.

Everyone who has experienced some tragedy recently (or at all), 240DRFT, MaineExport, and anyone else, you have my deepest condolences, and respect.

[Florida240sx]

On my trip to Arkansas this summer I saw a person that was ejected form their car. Either they were going real fast or the person was hit afterwards. The were picking up the body pars and was left of the body was pure blood. Next 200miles to my destination I drove under the speed limit. Was already on the road 12 hours and then saw that.

[MaineExport]

The news paper reported today that the police won't release the name because they can't find next of kin. It's been two days now his family still doesn't know.... crazy.

[Nitrus0nous]

Sorry to hear 240drft, everything will be well. This is the only thing that keeps me me goin.

"Well, in the end, my friend, we will all be together again Clutching onto my hand, in a valley we'll stand, just living again." O.A.R.

Sure can't wait to meet up with my buddy Kellen who passed last year.

be safe