Timing is everything

Last night was quite dramatic! Our yard backs up to Ave. U, which runs east and west. The setting sun can be brutal to drivers, especially this time of year. The sun may have contributed to the crash that happened last night. I think it reflected in the driver's rear view mirror, causing the 78-year-old female driver to loose control of her Chrysler. The car clipped a large oleander bush on my next-door neighbor's back fence line, flipped over, then hit an oak tree.

I was in the sunroom on the computer when I heard the crash. Joe and Eddie were just pulling up in the garage. The driver was going east on Ave. U, and Joe and Eddie were going west. She had just passed them when she lost control. If Joe and Eddie were 2-3 seconds earlier, she would have hit them head on.

Even though I could see the crash from the sun room, I didn't know what had happened. I ran out to the garage and onto the street, where I found the car up-side-down. I couldn't see too well into the car because of the smoke from the deployed air bags. Eddie called 9-1-1. I soon saw a leg from the driver's side. Someone opened the driver's side back door, and I crawled partially in to see a lady was inside. Thankfully she was able to move and tell me her name. I held her hand and continued to talk to her until EMS took over. Emergency crews arrived quickly; police blocked off traffic, fire trucks and an ambulance were at the scene. The woman was soon taken away in an ambulance.

Police questioned Joseph, since he saw the car drive into the oleander bush just as Eddie was pulling into our garage. Eddie and I gave our statements. Our neighbor was not at home; boy, is she going to be surprised.

The car crashed into the fence, which was mostly down already because of the storm. Both of us are getting our fences replaced, and I had just been on the phone with the fence company rep, who was as city hall pulling our permits.

Timing is everything. Again, we are all very lucky.