Fight of the Life

There's nothing more horrible than the sound of a sobbing father or the wails of the mother of a child just killed in an accident. Too many times have I been there to tell the parents the news of their child's untimely death and it never gets any easier. It's all that I can do not to join the family in their cries of sorrow. But nothing can compare to this story.

It was around two in the morning when I got the call. It was a Saturday in the middle of fall. The cold weather was beginning to set in and there was a thick frost coating the grass. I reached up and grasped the radio and listened to the dispatcher.

"We have a 1057 on highway 85. Two vehicles involved, one soul in each vehicle. EMS and fire crews are en route now. Officer needed on scene, please respond." I lifted the radio to my mouth and said,

"This is officer Williams, I can respond. I'll be there in 15."

"Copy that, Williams; let us know when you're on site."

I rolled out of my bed and placed my bare feet on the cold, hard wood floor. I rubbed my arms to stay warm as I crossed the room and threw on my uniform. I kissed my wife on her forehead, whispered "I love you" in her ear and sped off in my squad car.

I zipped through the countryside, the sirens waking the sleeping creatures in the chill forests and my lights lit up the crystaline ice building up on the still grass with a spectacular show of red and blue. All I wanted was to get this all over and done with so I could get back home to my warm bed and cuddle with my wife. I had no idea how bad this accident would be.

As I approached the scene of the crash, I could see an orange glow that lit up the cotton-like fog that embraced the valley like a snake choking its prey. A tell-tale sign of a fire. I rounded the corner and what I saw before me was a scene of horror. Pieces of cars lay scattered all about the road and on the shoulder. I slowed my patrol car to a stop and stepped out into the moist, chill air. Fire and EMS were already on site. Fire teams were surpressing a fire in the engine block of a red pick up truck. EMS was attening to a battered man sitting on the road. He had some cuts and bruises, but as far as I could tell, he was responsive and wasn't seriously hurt. On the other side of the highway, there was a silver Kia. Its front end was smashed nearly flat to the cabin. Its entire engine was flung nearly 400 feet in front of the car. It was flipped up on its driver side and judging by the debris, the car had rolled several times. The cabin was smashed all the way in and glass was thrown all about. I stopped in the center of the highway to take in the horror when Felisha approached me.

"Officer Williams, we have a person still trapped in the silver car. Could you please talk to the person until we get them free?" I knew what that meant... Anyone in that car was surely doomed.

"Yeah, I can do that." I gave her a nod of acknowledment and trotted over to the wreckage.

I observed the wreckage, trying to find a place where I could climb in and get to the poor soul still inside. As I continued to shuffle around the wreck, I called out, "Can you hear my voice? If you can, I need you to tell me how you're feeling." I heard a small and choked female voice emerge from the wreckage.

"I'm right here in the driver's seat. My leg is pinned and I can't move."

"That's why I'm here. We're gonna get you out of there safe and sound." I scurried up the wreckage and looked through the shattered passenger window. The opening was just big enough for me to squeeze through. I couldn't see anything inside the vehicle. The darkness was cast over the driver's side like a veil. I reached for my flashlight and clicked it on. The light emmitting from the bulb scattered about inside the cabin. Down where the driver's door would have been was a dark haired girl who was twisted and broken. The seat was crushing both of her legs and pelvis into the pavement. The seatbelt was still wrapped around her neck and left a gaping wound on the side of her neck. Her left arm was badly broken. The radius was protruding from her skin and blood coated the entire inside of the car. I clasped my hand over my mouth in shock. Despite her situation, the girl still cast a smile my way.