Got that dreaded phone call

I agree, wade Hampton Blvd is dangerous. And yes, Easley has damn near out grown itself.

 

Here’s one! Back in 1976 I had a 73 Challenger 340. I had just washed and waxed it. Even put vinyl top dressing on the dash. It was freezing cold the next day. Driving my girlfriend from school to her job, sun was out and windows up. Blower on high. Coming up to a railroad crossing. Both sides of track had trees and brush blocking any thing on both sides. Sun shine on the dash, I never saw the crossing lights flashing. No cross bars there. Moving about 60 mph and the train pops out of the bushes on the right side. I hesitated between flooring it or hitting the brakes. I locked up all four and slammed into the front engine. He was going 65 mph and hit at the front tandems. The fuel tank on the engine caught the car and spun me off to a 45 degree with the road. It pushed the front end of the car to the left. I was sitting there watching the train pass by in the “front row seat”. I managed to back it up away from the tracks. My girlfriend said it was on fire. It was cold and busted the radiator so it was just steam, but I bailed out of the car. She crawled over the console and came out the drivers door. 65 cars went by before he got stopped. The caboose operator walked up and said “ you are the first ones we’ve hit that had ever survived”. A farmer that lived nearby came over. He took my girl friend to use his house phone. ( No cell phones then) Her dad, was an Information Officer in the Air Force and was in a top brass meeting. His secretary barged in and got him and told him what happened. He rushed out there. But, he was on the other side of the tracks. He could see the car through the freight cars and did not look good. They broke the cars apart at the street so emergency vehicles could get there. We both were walking with out any injuries at all! Except a couple hours afterward the realization of what could have happened hit me harder than the train.

Years later after having kids we got call for all four having bad wrecks. One was my step-son that had been in a head-on in a little Toyota pick up. That was was bad too but he survived. The other lady was messed up pretty bad.
Step daughter was pregnant and got T-boned in a MazdaB4000. She and the baby were fine.
The other two kids were minor collisions until my daughter called last May after buying a new Ram. A kid turned in front of her and she T-boned him. Totaled her new truck. All were ok.