Red means STOP.
DEAREST GUARDIAN ANGEL,
My apologies for the delay in sending this thank you note. But sometimes it takes awhile for these things to sink in, to understand the gravity of the situation and what may have been.
For me, it was my husband stating, “He could have taken any one of us out.”
That comment slapped me like a sub-zero January morning. Rarely does Randy express such a strong opinion.
But he was right to assess just how bad this could have been—had I not glimpsed the white pick-up truck from the corner of my eye and yelled for my husband to stop, just as our 1995 Chrysler Concorde entered the intersection.
They always say it happens in an instant. How true. The glimpse of white. The realization that the truck was not slowing to stop for the red light on the four-lane. The thought formulating into words. The warning spewed from my lips. The foot to brake. The truck whizzing past, never slowing. The driver, totally clueless.
You, dearest angel, I am convinced, were hovering at Minnesota Highways 60 and 21, one of the busiest intersections in Faribault, around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. There is no other explanation. I could easily have been looking the other way, not spoken soon enough. My husband could have delayed his reaction.
Had Randy not stopped when he did, the truck would have t-boned our car, a direct hit to the driver’s side. I don’t even want to think about the serious injuries that would have been inflicted upon my loved ones, including our 19-year-old son sitting behind his dad and just home from Fargo for Easter.
I do not go through life unnecessarily pondering the “what ifs.” But sometimes particular events stick with you for a few days as reminders of how life truly can change, just like that. I suppose this incident lingers even more given my future son-in-law’s car was totaled by a red light runner in St. Paul several months ago.
My family’s near-collision Thursday evening was reinforced two days later by two drivers, both distracted by cell phones, who pulled out in front of us. One driver stopped just in time. The other, a woman in a van, head bent either texting or dialing, paused at a stop sign and drove straight into our path, not even noticing our approaching van.
To be honest, it scares the hell out of me sometimes how distracted and clueless many drivers are today.
My apologies, dear guardian angel, for referencing my concern with that overused phrase. But sometimes even writers struggle to define stupidity.
Gratefully,
Audrey
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
How scary! I’m glad your family was o.k. Our family witnessed a rear end accident on Hwy 15 four years ago. A man was waiting at the red light to turn left and a drunk driver hit him from behind and spun him in to traffic. It was a frightening experience for us and I have never felt so helpless in my life. It truly does make you pause and think about how precious life is!
That had to be scary. So scary. You know, at the time this happened on Thursday evening, I really was not all that scared. No time for that. My husband says he knows the pick-up truck, that he caught a glimpse of words on the side but cannot remember all of the words except perhaps “Creek.” He’s seen the business truck around town and will know it if he sees it again. Interestingly enough, just blocks from this intersection, we met a police car heading that direction, lights flashing. We wondered if the truck driver had been fleeing the cops or someone called after witnessing the near collision. Likely, it was mere coincidence.
Our children were 4 and 7 at the time and sit in the back of our van, so they were very scared to ride again after seeing the back end of the car pushed to the back of the driver’s seat. Interesting that a police car was near the scene shortly after your near-accident as there was an ambulance that drove by within minutes of the crash but it was on another run. After the reports came out, the drunk driver had previously spent time in jail for drunk driving and numerous calls about a possible drunk driver had been reported to the county but they were unable to track him down. It’s so unfortunate that a life was lost to such stupidity!
A friend of mine and her little boy were just rear-ended last week. When the police was taking the report he commented that that they had received other complaints about a reckless driver but they were unable to locate him. She also did not realize the emotional impact until a few days later.
I’m so sorry your family had to witness that fatal crash. And your friend and her little boy, to have to go through their experience…
Amen!
And I know you write that “Amen” from personal experience, having lost your precious and beloved daughter, Rachel, in a crash that involved a drunk driver.
Wow! So grateful you saw that truck! I think there are a zillion distractions all the time when we drive—- crying kids, eating and drinking, looking at scenery, etc. it is a wonder anyone makes it anywhere safely! So glad your guardian angel was alert! 🙂
I totally agree that there are always distractions. But with cell phone usage, the situation has gotten even worse. And, yes, most grateful for an alert guardian angel.
Blessed be!!! Glad you are all doing fine. I HATE all the people driving while on the phone. There is nothing that is that important that they need to be on the phone. Cell phone use causes more deaths/accidents than drunk drivers. Wake up people and remember it may be you who ends up dead, try calling your loved ones then.
You should have written this post. Your last sentence, “Wake up people and remember it may be you who ends up dead, try calling your loved ones then,” succinctly summarizes the situation. This could be a tag line sentence for a media campaign. Excellent, sister.
I do not like restrictions made by lawmakers anywhere in our great Nation, but, I think the Automobile Manufactureres should make it impossible to use a cell phone in a car that is MOVING! This would not be a difficult accessory to add. There is absolutely no reason to use a phone while driving, PERIOD! If one’s car would stall, or be involved in an accident, then the phone would work, as long as the car is not moving. How many years did we drive before cell phones, and how many times did we even think about having such a device? Cell phones are a wonderful thing, and I use it daily, but never while driving, at any public eating area, theater, or public PERIOD! Most people talking on cells are rude, and have no respect for the people around them. I will go another step further, how many hours of cell use is wasted on “Junk Jabber”? I was in the Supermarket the other day, and a woman was talking louder than normal on her cell to a friend. The subject? What happened on the Soap Opera they have been watching. The woman was getting “the look” from more people than just me. By the way, no cell phone, even the passengers phones, would work in a moving vehicle. So there! That is my soap box oration for today! I better not type anymore since I am driving. JUST KIDDING!! God Bless America!
I hear, ya, Allan. I can’t believe how many people walk around talking on their cells, sharing info the rest of us shouldn’t hear or talking on cells in public places when they should not be. But discussing a Soap Opera. Crazy.
Your post gave me CHILLS reading it – so true and so sad that it is true pertaining to distracted drivers!!! You certainly have a guardian angel watching over you and your family, especially while on the road. Nothing is MORE IMPORTANT than DRIVING & the rest can WAIT!!! Happy Tuesday:)
And if you read the comments of the other commenters, you will get even more chills.
Oh, boy, yes, chills all the way around from both your post and comments. I’ve been rear-ended – two years ago by a guy who had his phone’s headset on, but seemed to have fallen asleep and ran into us not once, but twice when he mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal in his own panic. Luckily, we had just dropped my daughter off at the high school for a Saturday morning theater crew set-building job, so no one was in our back seat as we waited at a stoplight for the left turn signal just before getting hit. A really wonderful couple who saw the whole accident drove around the block and came back so they could give a statement to the Roseville police officer who arrived on the scene very quickly. The man who hit us admitted to inattentive driving, got a ticket, and we later learned he had no insurance. My Rav4 was totaled, but my husband and I were okay. I think about that accident every time I’m back at that intersection on Snelling Avenue. I wait for the left turn signal with my teeth clenched more often than I care to admit.
We need to pay attention. And we need to sleep somewhere other than behind the wheel.
Glad you and your family are okay!
Oh, Kathleen, what a horrible, horrible experience. I am thankful you all were apparently not seriously injured and thankful your daughter was not with you. Interestingly enough, our son, after we picked him up, specifically chose to sit behind his dad for more leg room. He’d just ridden five hours jammed into a VW Beetle and wanted to stretch his legs. That placed him precisely in the spot to be nailed by the red light runner.
That you were hit TWICE by that driver is just crazy.
Oy, vey. I’m so thankful that Randy reacted to you – and you saw – and everything was ok. Wow.
Me, too. Be sure to read the readers comments. Lots of scary things happening out there on the roads.
I will, thanks.
It’s against the law here.. but crazy how everyone just ignores it.. and drives without looking! Unbelievable, I’m so glad you’ve got that angel!
Yes, we are quite grateful for our guardian angel. For sure.
So glad you are all ok. Goodness people get a grip and start paying attention!!!
“Start paying attention.” Excellent advice.
Same intersection, 12:00 noon 6 months ago, I was a rearseat passenger looking at the on-coming grill of a car running the same red light. Same merciful results; same angel? PTL
I expect we are not the only two to experience such close calls at that intersection. Yes, perhaps the same guardian angel. The intersection of Second Avenue and Fourth Street/Highway 60 marks another spot where I’ve seen many red light runners. And with a building snugged right to the corner there, the line of vision is not clear when you’re headed north.
I think we all have had our experiences with distracted drivers and you are right, it scares the hell out of you.
Yes, too many close calls for all of us.