Notes on a Car Accident

On Saturday, driving from Frank Campbell's Funeral Home in Midtown up the Bronx River Parkway our funeral procession was damn near taken out in a car accident.

We heard a loud BANG and saw the limo in front of us come to a quick stop and then a white car go flying off the road.  We slammed on the breaks and managed to maintain a safe distance, as did our brother-in-law behind us. Good thing we were a funeral procession doing about 45 MPH rather than normal commuters doing 65 or 70. Mrs. Stroock, herself rattled as we were, pointed out that our parents were up ahead.

After everyone in our vehicle was calmed down we got out and ran forward to check if anyone in our procession was in the wreck. Thankfully no one in our party was caught in the accident.

But before us we say a large red pickup on it's side. It's bed cap was overturned and there was landscaping equipment all over the parkway. Others were out of their cars helping. One young man called 9-11 while another checked on the white car we saw and a smashed black car next to it. Both drivers were out and unharmed. We looked inside the pickup and saw a man staring back at us. He was pressed up against the door and his airbag was deployed. We waved. He looked understandably confused and scared and waved back. 

A man standing next to me said, 'What's that smoke coming out of the cabin?'

Another said, 'It's just from the airbag.'

Phew. No fire to deal with.

The truck's passenger side was pointed to the sky and here a man was attempting to climb out over the air bag. We saw a hand, reached out and grabbed it to show that others were there to help. I asked if he wanted me to pop the airbag and he said he was using it to climb up. 'It's helping me,' were his exact words.

Somehow a bunch of plain clothes cops were already on scene and swarming all over the pickup. We saw their handcuffs and guns. They climbed on top of the bed cap and asked me to stand on it to keep it steady. They got both men out. It seemed each had a some broken bones but were otherwise ok.

Afterword we recall picking up junk and hauling it to the side of the road. One lane was open but covered in glass. A car was trying to go through but we waved and pointed and shouted, 'It's glass, you'll pop your tires!'

The unformed cops were there by then and trying to shut the parkway down. I said, 'That's a funeral procession over there.' The cop said hurry up before the fire department arrived and shut the whole parkway down.

Cars were starting to move through the one open lane. We got back in the car and drove ahead. beyond the accident the good men from Frank Campbell's waited to re-assemble the procession. Away we went to Ferncliffe Cemetery.

We don't remember anything about the rest of the ride.