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Been reading a few articles after hearing about the death of 2 young guys on the Old Pacific Hwy.
Here is a post written 3 years ago after a death on the same stretch of road.
This really hits home:
Its not a crime to die doing something you love...
Here is a post written 3 years ago after a death on the same stretch of road.
This really hits home:
BANG
I open my eyes in shock its 1-04am Sunday morning
In my mind I think not another accident, then confusion, I hear a car reving hard, other cars doing U turns , has a car droped its clutch and broken a axel, thats what I was hoping for. But I know better, a car has hit a tree and hit it hard, I know this sound, for this is not the first time Ive heard this. I live on the Old Pacific hwy Mt White.
A good number of cars where aroung maybe 20 or so, I wasted valuable seconds thinking that there was enough people to help, seconds that I now regret. People were yelling and crying out, so getting dressed now with some urgency I grabed our First Aid kit , Phone, headed out for the ute, up the driveway and onto the road.
I scan the road to make out whats going on. About 10 cars are stopped along the road , both sides, and driving up about 100 mts, a few people running aroung in a frenzy. Just as I approach the car smash, I see flames a small fire has started in the left hand side of the rear parcel shelf. This fire forced out some one who was trying to free the trapped driver. This person who ever it was and known to this blog, is a HERO. Trying to save the life of someone else. The horror of the situation was becoming a reality. Fire ,smoke , yelling and screaming, the car still reving as fast as it could. All in the dark.
FIRE what could I do. No one else could do anything, a small fire extinguisher .9 kg hade been used and was lying on the road emtpy. We had to get that fire out. Someone ran up and asked yelling do I have any fire extinguishers on me , No , but in my shed , so as fast as I could go I was reversing back down the road , heading to the shed. All this happened in about 40 seconds.
Down in the shed looking for as many extinguishers as I could find, how much time did I have, two 9kgs, I had more but scattered around the place, no time, two will do and come back if needed. I roared back up the driveway onto the road and back to the car. About 90 -120 seconds passed.
My heart sank, the car was will alight, I could not believe it , I did not want to believe what I saw. How could the fire spread so quick HOW WHY. In hope I jumped out of my ute one fire extingisher in hand , pin out and away , the first few seconds not much happened just a lot of power, then I remembered , sweep low at the base of the fire , so I did , the fire was abating to a small degree, no one else was near me except the hero, asking what to do , the second fire extinguisher , he grabed it out the ute, first extingisher empty, pin out of number two. I thougth we were getting this fire under control, the car was down off the side of the road and I was praying and hoping that the fire was only on one side of the car, that the driver was still safe. As I lifted up the second extinguisher and looked , the fire had regained all its fury , so into it again , knowing this was all I had, This was all I couid do, In close , I was thinking in desperation, the driver, the driver, the driver. Trying now for fire inside the car again some abatment of the flames was made until I seen a sight that I froze me on the spot , froze my hand on the trigger . A mental picture I wish I could forget.
Life drained from me and I cant remember how I moved away from the car, I think that the other hero bloke helped me. It was still reving and we stood back and watched it burn, knowing what just happened but still not believing it.
Some of the car group were crying , some were angry that they could do no more. The ambulance was first to arrive, fire still ablaze, it hit me that no more could be done, it was over. Fire arrived, then Police. After a short statment I went home.
Not that I could sleep, running the scene over and over in my head, those seconds I lost , no fire exttinguisher on my ute, we had a water truck but it was empty. I know it was not my fault but I feel responsable.
7am I am asked back up to the accident, The car has been pulled up from the roadside and the roof is being cut off. Simon was being removed from his car for the last time. Those forensic police used great care and with the upmost respect went about there job. Seeing the car in the daylight, you could see what happened, corner to fast , oversteered and off the road. The car was loaded on a tilt tray , everyone packed up and went, road reopen. The forensic police were going down to Gosford to debrief the parents.
9am Two 4wds do a u turn in our driveway, I assume it was Simons parents. From my house I could hear crying. May of you have been since, a lot of people must of loved Simon. I cant even imagine the grief, the sorrow, the loss, the waste of this young life.
Im sorry Simon that I failed you , Im sorry that I could do no more for you, Sorry Simon.
I open my eyes in shock its 1-04am Sunday morning
In my mind I think not another accident, then confusion, I hear a car reving hard, other cars doing U turns , has a car droped its clutch and broken a axel, thats what I was hoping for. But I know better, a car has hit a tree and hit it hard, I know this sound, for this is not the first time Ive heard this. I live on the Old Pacific hwy Mt White.
A good number of cars where aroung maybe 20 or so, I wasted valuable seconds thinking that there was enough people to help, seconds that I now regret. People were yelling and crying out, so getting dressed now with some urgency I grabed our First Aid kit , Phone, headed out for the ute, up the driveway and onto the road.
I scan the road to make out whats going on. About 10 cars are stopped along the road , both sides, and driving up about 100 mts, a few people running aroung in a frenzy. Just as I approach the car smash, I see flames a small fire has started in the left hand side of the rear parcel shelf. This fire forced out some one who was trying to free the trapped driver. This person who ever it was and known to this blog, is a HERO. Trying to save the life of someone else. The horror of the situation was becoming a reality. Fire ,smoke , yelling and screaming, the car still reving as fast as it could. All in the dark.
FIRE what could I do. No one else could do anything, a small fire extinguisher .9 kg hade been used and was lying on the road emtpy. We had to get that fire out. Someone ran up and asked yelling do I have any fire extinguishers on me , No , but in my shed , so as fast as I could go I was reversing back down the road , heading to the shed. All this happened in about 40 seconds.
Down in the shed looking for as many extinguishers as I could find, how much time did I have, two 9kgs, I had more but scattered around the place, no time, two will do and come back if needed. I roared back up the driveway onto the road and back to the car. About 90 -120 seconds passed.
My heart sank, the car was will alight, I could not believe it , I did not want to believe what I saw. How could the fire spread so quick HOW WHY. In hope I jumped out of my ute one fire extingisher in hand , pin out and away , the first few seconds not much happened just a lot of power, then I remembered , sweep low at the base of the fire , so I did , the fire was abating to a small degree, no one else was near me except the hero, asking what to do , the second fire extinguisher , he grabed it out the ute, first extingisher empty, pin out of number two. I thougth we were getting this fire under control, the car was down off the side of the road and I was praying and hoping that the fire was only on one side of the car, that the driver was still safe. As I lifted up the second extinguisher and looked , the fire had regained all its fury , so into it again , knowing this was all I had, This was all I couid do, In close , I was thinking in desperation, the driver, the driver, the driver. Trying now for fire inside the car again some abatment of the flames was made until I seen a sight that I froze me on the spot , froze my hand on the trigger . A mental picture I wish I could forget.
Life drained from me and I cant remember how I moved away from the car, I think that the other hero bloke helped me. It was still reving and we stood back and watched it burn, knowing what just happened but still not believing it.
Some of the car group were crying , some were angry that they could do no more. The ambulance was first to arrive, fire still ablaze, it hit me that no more could be done, it was over. Fire arrived, then Police. After a short statment I went home.
Not that I could sleep, running the scene over and over in my head, those seconds I lost , no fire exttinguisher on my ute, we had a water truck but it was empty. I know it was not my fault but I feel responsable.
7am I am asked back up to the accident, The car has been pulled up from the roadside and the roof is being cut off. Simon was being removed from his car for the last time. Those forensic police used great care and with the upmost respect went about there job. Seeing the car in the daylight, you could see what happened, corner to fast , oversteered and off the road. The car was loaded on a tilt tray , everyone packed up and went, road reopen. The forensic police were going down to Gosford to debrief the parents.
9am Two 4wds do a u turn in our driveway, I assume it was Simons parents. From my house I could hear crying. May of you have been since, a lot of people must of loved Simon. I cant even imagine the grief, the sorrow, the loss, the waste of this young life.
Im sorry Simon that I failed you , Im sorry that I could do no more for you, Sorry Simon.
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