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August 06, 2010
My Dad Was Lucky To Walk Away
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---- My Dad was driving on the highway - single lane both directions and not divided - when a car in the oncoming traffic moved out to pass. The problem was that he went to pass almost immediately before coming upon my Dad, leaving no time for him to react at all. It was a head-on collision at full highway speed (100 Km/h for both vehicles). Dad survived with a sprained right ankle, sprained left knee, and a whole lot of bruises all over. The other driver died on impact. We learned later that the other driver was 86 years old, and should not have been driving.... he was living in a care home because his diabetes was so bad he needed insulin shots, which to me implies that his vision was probably very bad. We were also told that the RCMP had taken his driver's license away a few times in the past decade, only to have his family appeal and have it re-instated every time. In the small town where he lives, it seems to be quite well known that he was a horrible driver, having almost run over pedestrians a few times, and almost put his car through the front window of a local business. I guess it was finally time, given the odds, that he would stop having near-accidents and finally end up in a bad accident... unfortunately also involving my Father. A few days after the accident, my Dad sent me some pictures that he received of the scene of the accident. Here is what his truck looked like:
That's a pretty messed up truck. The ambulance people and the tow truck driver both said they were amazed that my Dad survived. Me, I'm just thankful. Posted by Hammer at August 6, 2010 08:52 PM |
On Friday July 30, 2010, my sister called me at work. "Dad's been in an accident!" were not the words I expected to hear from her. Over the next few hours she sent me updates, eventually from the hospital where the ambulance took him. The final word was that he was going to be okay.
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Comments
Holy crap. I've seen 20 year olds walk away from shit like that - but not 60 year old men. I stand by my opinion that you should not be able to renew your license unless you've passed a driver's test within the last 5 years. The trouble is that our society treats the suspension of a driver's license like it's some form of castration. To permanently remove someone's license, even after they've killed and maimed others, is like a huge human rights violation or something.