The Crazy Train
May. 24th, 2021 05:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouse Mason had to go into school today because his senior honor's project is starting a garden club. He was organizing his team to build the planters today. But, since I had no idea how long that was going to take him, I drove home.
The fastest route takes me down university, along side the light rail.
When the light rail was built, my neighborhood lobbied for a stop. We got one, but on Fairview. We managed to talk them into a crossing area on my street, but if I wanted to turn left into my neighborhood, I actually have to go down to Fairview, turn a u-turn, and loop back two blocks to my house.
While I was waiting to turn around on Fairview in the turn lane, I watched someone run right into the train.
Like, physically, a human--on foot.
Like, not run in front of the train and die, but like run into the side of the moving train and get knocked back. The craziest thing is that this white guy first dodged a car almost getting run over, and then, having safely made it to the other side of the street proceeded to keep moving, despite a train obviously in front of him.
At first I thought he stopped short of the train. Papers he'd been carrying when flying everywhere, and he stumbled back. If the train's emergency breaks hadn't instantly engaged, I would have assumed he'd had a really close call. Some part of him must have hit the train, but he got up and started collecting his papers. Clearly everyone was worried, because someone who was making a right turn onto University stopped to try to talk to him and see if he was okay. He hung out chatting with that person for a long time. I suspect the train conductor was dialing 911.
Since the train wasn't moving, I decided to just go down to the next intersection to make my u-turn. There wasn't anything I could do for the guy, anyway, since he was clearly upright, moving, and talking to people. But, as I was waiting at that light, two emergency vehicles screamed down to where the train was still stopped. By the time I made it back to that intersection, I could see from the other side that three first responders were trying to convince this guy, who was now sitting on the platform, to get into the stretcher they had ready for him. I have no idea if they convinced him, but I was sorely tempted to shout out to the police officer who was talking to the train conductor that the conductor was in NO WAY at fault. This guy literally ran into the side of a train, seemingly fully aware of it? Or distracted by the narrow miss of the car??
It was weird.
I hope everyone involved is okay.
The fastest route takes me down university, along side the light rail.
When the light rail was built, my neighborhood lobbied for a stop. We got one, but on Fairview. We managed to talk them into a crossing area on my street, but if I wanted to turn left into my neighborhood, I actually have to go down to Fairview, turn a u-turn, and loop back two blocks to my house.
While I was waiting to turn around on Fairview in the turn lane, I watched someone run right into the train.
Like, physically, a human--on foot.
Like, not run in front of the train and die, but like run into the side of the moving train and get knocked back. The craziest thing is that this white guy first dodged a car almost getting run over, and then, having safely made it to the other side of the street proceeded to keep moving, despite a train obviously in front of him.
At first I thought he stopped short of the train. Papers he'd been carrying when flying everywhere, and he stumbled back. If the train's emergency breaks hadn't instantly engaged, I would have assumed he'd had a really close call. Some part of him must have hit the train, but he got up and started collecting his papers. Clearly everyone was worried, because someone who was making a right turn onto University stopped to try to talk to him and see if he was okay. He hung out chatting with that person for a long time. I suspect the train conductor was dialing 911.
Since the train wasn't moving, I decided to just go down to the next intersection to make my u-turn. There wasn't anything I could do for the guy, anyway, since he was clearly upright, moving, and talking to people. But, as I was waiting at that light, two emergency vehicles screamed down to where the train was still stopped. By the time I made it back to that intersection, I could see from the other side that three first responders were trying to convince this guy, who was now sitting on the platform, to get into the stretcher they had ready for him. I have no idea if they convinced him, but I was sorely tempted to shout out to the police officer who was talking to the train conductor that the conductor was in NO WAY at fault. This guy literally ran into the side of a train, seemingly fully aware of it? Or distracted by the narrow miss of the car??
It was weird.
I hope everyone involved is okay.
no subject
Date: 2021-05-25 01:58 am (UTC)Hope you are as well. I once was in the vicinity of a shooting (I didn't see anything, and the person lived) and I remember I was running on crazy adrenaline for the next few days.
no subject
Date: 2021-05-25 02:08 am (UTC)I don't know if I wrote about it here, or not, but I was also in a store when it was robbed at gun point. That was far more freaky, like your shooting incident. It keep me jumping for days.
I think this one, THANKFULLY, will be just a head scratcher.
no subject
Date: 2021-05-26 05:32 pm (UTC)