A Quiet Night

It was a quiet night at the Cat Ranch. We worked on the brick pile for a bit (more about that in another post), came inside early, had dinner at a reasonable hour, and got to bed early!  (Early for us is 9:45pm. Anything before 10pm is great. )

It was perfect sleeping weather.  Windows open, cool breeze, no fan needed.  Just one thin blanket ready for the early morning chill. Ahhhhh

Around 2:45am, I was searching for that blanket and flip flopped over to look at the clock.  Yes, I still have 2 more hours to sleep. 

Snuggle down in under the blanket.  Ahhhhh.

Then about 10 minutes later.

CRASH!  A huge crash. Walt Kowalski and I both jumped up out of bed.

It was really dark.  2:55am is like that. No porch lights. No headlights.  We couldn't see a wrecked vehicle.  Looked out the front window.  Nothing.  Looked out the side window.  Nothing. 

I opened the side window in the kitchen and said to Walt Kowalski "I hear music." He listened.  He said, "I don't hear music."

We waited for a car to come by so the headlights would aluminate the guardrail.  No car.  Except, I heard a car and looked out the front window.  The drug dealer on the top of the hill was leaving his house.  Hmmm.  Odd, but then I'm not usually up at this hour, maybe it's normal.

Still no car lights.  Now we could hear sirens in the distance.  Ok, there was a wreck and someone else in the neighborhood heard and called.  Finally, a car drove by and we could see the smashed guardrail, but no wrecked vehicle. 

It was difficult to believe a vehicle could wreck that big and then drive away.

Ambulance came.  And drove by and left.
Fire truck came. and drove by and left.

Second department fire truck came.  Drove by, turned around and came back to see the guardrail. More fire trucks came and left.  Too weird.

We went back to bed.  10 minutes later,  we saw more blue lights reflecting on the ceiling and more cars.  State Police were here and were searching down the lane.  They were looking with flashlights in the woods.  Then they left. 

OK this is all too weird. Back to bed we went.  It was a restless sleep for the next 2 hours. 

In the morning, we could see the damage to the guardrail.  When we got home in the evening, we could REALLY see the damage to the guardrail.

But no vehicle.  It looks like you can kinda see tracks where a vehicle HAD been.  They must have pulled it out while we were at work.

While I was taking pictures, the Farmer called up to us that we could get a better view from below in his yard.  I said I was ok from here, thanks.  But he insisted.  "Really, you'll get a much better view down here.  Come on down."

He was right. You couldn't see the vehicle from the road, but you could see it from his yard.  When we first approached I could see a front end of the vehicle that was majorly damaged.  Then as I walked around the other side I realized and exclaimed "The truck is upside down!"

It was so damaged at first sight I couldn't tell that!

The big crash we heard was the vehicle hitting the guardrail, going airborne, flipping over, crashing to the ground, and sliding through the trees. Never heard a crash like that before.  Don't want to ever again.

The reason the first ambulance and fire truck never came back past our house is because the driver climbed out of the truck and started walking! He had only head injuries.

I really have no words for this sight.  It's amazing that he survived.  (that says at lot about vehicle safety.)

He hit so hard and so fast, the roof is embedded in the ground.

 

 

 

But there is more to the story.  One of our neighbors was leaving for work just after the wreck and an other car was blocking his driveway.  At the same time, the drug dealer came back home (only 5 minutes later. Really?  Where do you go at 3am that you are back in 5 minutes? Our neighbor had words with the people in the car blocking his driveway and then left towards the drug dealer's house.  

 

All of this JUST before the police and fire trucks arrived. Coincidence?  Nothing is a coincidence in our neighborhood.  Especially at 3am!

 

After talking to the Farmer and his wife he asked the State Police to leave the truck there and he would have it removed, because they wanted to cut down the trees to get it.  The trees are his defense against a wreck of this type ending up in his house.  He's now thinking about installing a concrete barrier in the woods, too.

 

The State Police also said that a local company called this morning to report that one of their employees didn't show up for work and that one of their trucks was missing.  The police said "White truck? Yeah, we know exactly were it is." They believe the driver was high (which, amazingly, probably saved his life) and knowing the recent activity in our neighborhood, he was probably going to get another fix.

 

We can't get these people to move soon enough to suit us.