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Jesse · 07-18-2005, 01:32 AM

So yea. I've never had an experience like that before. Never. This is going to be a lengthy post, so, get ready.

Ozzfest.
Ozzfest was awesome. Arch Enemy and In Flames put on AWESOME sets, and I also got to meet them. Both bands signed my Swedish flag. Then of course Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath put on PHENOMONAL sets. Easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

So anyway. After Ozzfest, we get some food, and rest up and everything. And then we set out for North Carolina. I get on the interstate in Mansfield, Mass. And drive all the way to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and get a ways down interstate 81. (By the time I stopped driving at 6:30 AM, I had been awake for over 43 hours). So then my friend Zach and I get into the back seat to sleep, while our friends Miah and Brad take over the driving/navigation.

I'm not even asleep for..30 minutes, when I'm woken up by the sound of tires squealing, as Miah is trying to avoid smashing into a car at the tail-end of a traffic jam. I look out the window, and I can't see anything. The fog was so thick, that he drove right up on this traffic jam, and couldn't see anything until he was like 30-40 feet from it. So yea, he slams on the breaks, and manages to dodge all the cars. Zach and I are in the back, coming to, when a huge RV towing a car comes to a screeching halt to the left of us. And then seconds later, a Ford F-150 has to swerve to the right of us to dodge our Blazer. At that point I tell Miah to pull ahead some so we don't get hit, because there are going to be lots more cars coming.

So then he pulls ahead. And I look behind us to see if anything else is coming. And, of course, there was. A huge semi truck, hauling a mid-size trailor is about 30 feet behind us, and he's traveling at a nice rate of speed. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 50 MPH. But before he hits us, he smashes into the car being towed by the RV, and then rips through the back of the RV, just about ripping off the whole rear end of it. And then, just after I grab onto the driver's seat to brace myself, the semi smashes into our vehicle, completely totalling it. The force from the semi sends our vehicle somewhat air-borne, into the F-150, smashing that all to shit. And then we finally come to rest, and we check eachother out and what not, make sure we're all ok.

Then as we're getting out, we can hear cars behind us driving into the traffic jam. Car after car, we hear just smash into another vehicle. We couldn't see that far down the road, because of the super thick fog, but we could hear countless collisions. Then eventually 2 18-wheelers got tangled up together. And then things finally started to calm down.

I guess what started it all, was an 18 wheeler flipped over about 1+ mile up the road from where we crashed. And that's what triggered the traffic jam. I'm amazed that there were no city officials or anything trying to warn the drivers of the traffic jam. There were no cops on site anywhere. Even in the 1+ mile traffic jam caused by the accident, there were no cops or anything.

But yea. I'm definitely lucky to be alive.

Eventually we made it back to Ravine, PA. Completely fucked. No ride home, cops weren't helping us at all. The worker at a local restaurant was getting tired of us using the business phone, as we were desperately trying to figure out what the hell we were going to do. I knew there were some TTT members from the PA/VA area. And if I had internet access, I was seriously going to try getting ahold of you guys to see if there was any way you could help my friends and I.

We ended up waiting around this shitty gas station til about 3:30 or so, and our friend's mom made a reservation at an Econo Lodge in Pine Grove, and we stayed there for the night, and she came down at 3:30 AM, slept there, and then we left the next afternoon.

But yea, I think that's it. It was quite the fucking experience. When I looked out the back window of the Blazer we were in, and saw the grill and headlights of the semi truck coming for us, I was 110% convinced that we were all going to die. I don't know how we lived.

That's my story. Pics/video to come of the aftermath.

07-18-2005, 01:32 AM	#9
Jesse Administrator Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 812	So yea. I've never had an experience like that before. Never. This is going to be a lengthy post, so, get ready. Ozzfest. Ozzfest was awesome. Arch Enemy and In Flames put on AWESOME sets, and I also got to meet them. Both bands signed my Swedish flag. Then of course Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath put on PHENOMONAL sets. Easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. So anyway. After Ozzfest, we get some food, and rest up and everything. And then we set out for North Carolina. I get on the interstate in Mansfield, Mass. And drive all the way to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and get a ways down interstate 81. (By the time I stopped driving at 6:30 AM, I had been awake for over 43 hours). So then my friend Zach and I get into the back seat to sleep, while our friends Miah and Brad take over the driving/navigation. I'm not even asleep for..30 minutes, when I'm woken up by the sound of tires squealing, as Miah is trying to avoid smashing into a car at the tail-end of a traffic jam. I look out the window, and I can't see anything. The fog was so thick, that he drove right up on this traffic jam, and couldn't see anything until he was like 30-40 feet from it. So yea, he slams on the breaks, and manages to dodge all the cars. Zach and I are in the back, coming to, when a huge RV towing a car comes to a screeching halt to the left of us. And then seconds later, a Ford F-150 has to swerve to the right of us to dodge our Blazer. At that point I tell Miah to pull ahead some so we don't get hit, because there are going to be lots more cars coming. So then he pulls ahead. And I look behind us to see if anything else is coming. And, of course, there was. A huge semi truck, hauling a mid-size trailor is about 30 feet behind us, and he's traveling at a nice rate of speed. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 50 MPH. But before he hits us, he smashes into the car being towed by the RV, and then rips through the back of the RV, just about ripping off the whole rear end of it. And then, just after I grab onto the driver's seat to brace myself, the semi smashes into our vehicle, completely totalling it. The force from the semi sends our vehicle somewhat air-borne, into the F-150, smashing that all to shit. And then we finally come to rest, and we check eachother out and what not, make sure we're all ok. Then as we're getting out, we can hear cars behind us driving into the traffic jam. Car after car, we hear just smash into another vehicle. We couldn't see that far down the road, because of the super thick fog, but we could hear countless collisions. Then eventually 2 18-wheelers got tangled up together. And then things finally started to calm down. I guess what started it all, was an 18 wheeler flipped over about 1+ mile up the road from where we crashed. And that's what triggered the traffic jam. I'm amazed that there were no city officials or anything trying to warn the drivers of the traffic jam. There were no cops on site anywhere. Even in the 1+ mile traffic jam caused by the accident, there were no cops or anything. But yea. I'm definitely lucky to be alive. Eventually we made it back to Ravine, PA. Completely fucked. No ride home, cops weren't helping us at all. The worker at a local restaurant was getting tired of us using the business phone, as we were desperately trying to figure out what the hell we were going to do. I knew there were some TTT members from the PA/VA area. And if I had internet access, I was seriously going to try getting ahold of you guys to see if there was any way you could help my friends and I. We ended up waiting around this shitty gas station til about 3:30 or so, and our friend's mom made a reservation at an Econo Lodge in Pine Grove, and we stayed there for the night, and she came down at 3:30 AM, slept there, and then we left the next afternoon. But yea, I think that's it. It was quite the fucking experience. When I looked out the back window of the Blazer we were in, and saw the grill and headlights of the semi truck coming for us, I was 110% convinced that we were all going to die. I don't know how we lived. That's my story. Pics/video to come of the aftermath.