Caution: Major Bummer Inside

I really hesitate to blog this because there's just very little point to bringing everyone else down with me, but I can't work and I can't think so there you go: you get to hear it, if you care to.  Just move along if you're not up for a bummer.  It's not something you need to know about.  Local stuff.  Sad stuff.

I drove into work today and passed by a dead body outside my office building, which is the main administration building on a college campus.  A student, very possibly from this campus, riding a bicycle, was struck and killed by a Brinks (actually, it was a company called AT) truck.  I didn't see it happen but the body was there.  This is all RIGHT outside my window, though thankfully I'm on the third floor.  Right now they're taking measurements of the mangled bicycle and--ugh--washing the blood off the road.

This is a quiet town, in the scheme of things; it's a stunningly gorgeous fall day, and the student wasn't even on the road--the truck had turned into a campus access road where it must have collided with the bicyclist.  I'm just sick about it.  How can this have happened here?  Of course, it can happen anywhere.

I keep trying to concentrate on research and rankings and the outcomes associated with a liberal arts education, but it's hard not to think about how none of this matters to one family.  I work a lot with the person who is probably making a phone call no one wants to make.  It's difficult to fathom.

I want to hug my babies.  I have been planning to go to a fun thing tonight, but now I'm reconsidering.  I'll probably go, but, well, there's a tragic edge to this brisk fall day.

ETA at 2:30 pm:  I found out that it was NOT a student at this college, which, for those of you who know where I work, is the college in the same town in which I live.  I just don't want to name names because of the google factor.  So Wenders, Caroline, Lee Ann, it wasn't your place.  Mafia, it was yours but like I said, it wasn't a student.  I'm strangely relieved to know that fact, which is sort of odd because I've lived here much longer than I've worked here and it was someone who lived, or at least rode a bike, in my community.  Rumors about her identity are rife--she was either a 24-year-old or an older gray-haired woman and there's some question as to whether she has connections to yet another area institution.  I'm sure we'll find out soon.

The fire trucks and the policelinedonotcross tape and the bike and the truck and its driver and what was left of the bicycle are gone and the bits of life she left behind have been washed down the storm drain with a fire hose and some bleach.  It was all very efficient.  Someone I don't know is making the hard phone calls, and that is also a strange sort of relief.

I'm still going out to play because, well, my babies are safe and I need a night out.  But I will hug them tight tonight.  And remember how lucky I truly am.

Comments

[Carole]

Oh, Cate. I'm so sad for you. My husband saw someone hit and killed by a car last year at a parade it's a horrible thing to have to go through. Hug your kids. Maybe do that fun thing after all. Whatever feels right.

[Jeanette]

I feel for you. I had a similar experience last week and all you want is your children near to know that they are all right. But you need a hug too. Be nice to yourself.

[Juno]

Maybe this is odd. but I keep thinking not jsut about the family, but about the driver. You can bet he didn't get up with morning thinking that he would kill someone.

Life is so fragile, and can change in that instant, the near miss at a traffic light that leaves you shivering.

Definately go home and hug your babies. The fun thing will understand.....

I'm so sorry this happened - for you, for the driver, for the kid, for his family, for everyone touched by this wrong turn at the wrong moment.

[wenders]

Cate, you don't say what school...my best friend's sister goes to MHC, I hope to high heaven this isn't someone she knows.

[Sneaksleep]

Omigod. I knew where you lived, but I didn't realize you worked at my alma mater. I know that town like the back of my hand, and if I knew what building you were talking about, I'm sure I could picture the scene down to the gravel on the road. Now I'm feeling woozy. Thank you for passing on this news, though, as hard to stomach as it is. I've almost been hit more than once while bicycling around the place I live now, but you never think that anyone would actually get killed that way, especially in what's supposed to be a low-speed, pedestrian and cyclist-friendly area. Feel free to e-mail me if you need to vent more...

[--Deb]

Oh, that's so sad! For all parties concerned.

[PumpkinMama]

How horrible. Its so shocking to see something like that, and does indeed make you think how precious and brief our moments here are. Hug those little ones and be good to yourself.

[Lee Ann]

Big hugs to you, Cate, because you need them too.

God, how awful. Death is hard, no matter who it is, no matter who has to make the call.

Whatever you decide to do tonight, take good care of yourself.

[Colleen]

Awful news. Between this, and the scooter-rider who was killed by a truck on Mass. Ave, I'm not sure about the biking.

[Stacie]

That really is sad. I saw the body of a young woman that was thrown from the back of a truck, so I really know how you feel. I'm sorry you had to witness such a horrible thing. Poor girl, I hope she didn't suffer badly :(

[Jessica]

Very sorry to hear this. I recently nearly witnessed a violent act myself and it really shakes you. Hug your babies when you get home for sure. And don't appologize for blogging it. These things happen in the world and there is no reason to pretend that they don't. Take care.

[Thorn]

I haven't got anything to add that hasn't already been added. Hug your kiddoos, hug Rhys, and make them hug you back.

Best,
Thorn

[JoVE]

Crappy start to the day, for sure. Always remember that bikes don't kill, big armored vehicles do. And life is short so we shouldn't put too much off. I'll stop before I offend someone but I agree this is sad/disturbing.

[Kim]

:(((((

[amysue]

Oh Cate, I'm so sorry, especially for the family and loved ones of this woman. Events like this remind us all how precious life is and how capricious. Hug your babies and your loved ones and treasure every day. Which includes fun time, play time and quiet time.

[Kathy]

I am so sorry to read this. Hug the little ones, for sure.

[The Feminist Mafia]

Whoah. Its so traumatizing to witness such horror. I hope you were able to relax last night.

There was a major car accident in front of my house a few months back. It was the first time I realized how blogging about something horrible can feel cathartic. I had nightmares about it for weeks afterward and still cringe at the unmistakeable smell of hot twisted metal. But blogging about it helped. I hope you found some relief in sharing with us all.

My wish for you -- that your mind is able to purge those images and that the babes are super snuggly tonight.

[CarolineF]

I feel so selfish thinking I'm glad it wasn't a MHC student, I know how that hard that would have hit the entire campus in my day and I'm sure it's no different now. I agree, thinking of some dean having to make that phone call is such an awful thought, or being the person someplace far away to get that phone call.

[Liz]

Oh my goodness. This is so sad. I'm so sorry!

[Kat with a K]

I know we talked about it a bit last night, but I just read this, and I wanted to say again how sorry I am. Anything like that is bound to have repurcussions in a small community, regardless of whether it's a student.

(I feel a bit callous or something writing some unrelated here, but it was great meeting you last night. And I wanted to tell you that when I finally got home and went to bed last night I had a dream that you were teaching me to block a sweater - at SRC. Amusing.)

[patrice]

my older sister saw a motorcyclist run over one night about a year ago now. she is a nurse so she got out of the car to see if anything could be done but since it was a 16-wheeler it wasn't at all good or pretty. she says it doesn't bother her but she got a bit weird and clingy afterwards and when my twin and i told her of our plans to leave miami for jacksonvill for a couple of years she kinda flipped a bit. i guess thats part of life.

[Jody]

I'm so sorry, Cate. That's always a shaky thing, and on campuses, it seems more intimate somehow, no matter where the person came from.