I came around the corner as a little pickup truck and a semi slid to a stop on a cold, snowy but sunny morning. The little truck lost traction going up a slight hill entering the semi's path hitting him head on. The semi truck had tried to avoid the situation making him jacknife. I went to the little pickup and found a nice looking old couple just as though they were resting, Both had the life knocked out of them but looked ok from my point of view, As I headed to the other truck I looked back and what I saw from the other direction was what I wish I could unsee. That's where the big rig hit them. What a mess they were on that side. Truck driver was complaining of neck pain which is understandable if you've ever seen a violent jacknife.
Such a beautiful day to die was all I thought of that whole day. Kinda wrecked my whole week.
Then the following week I witnessed an early 90's suv (you know the ones that roll when you look crooked at them) over correct and roll off a cliff. Actually I almost passed it as it rolled down the road next to me as I slowed down watching it's lights spin pointed at me as it dissapeared over the gardrail. It was two in the morning and I looked for the car as my wife drove the little 72 targa into town to call for help. Pitch black with no moon and no clouds. I could see the suv way down there but couldn't safely get to it, couldn't see. As help arived we headed down with lights and found a lady matching the shape of a rock. She was bent backward around it. I won't go into detail since it's something I don't want to reimagine but I remember her nylons were worked over pretty badly. We brought her up on a board and she was mush. She stayed alive for organ donation. One other passenger also found his way out the moonroof but went the rest of the way to the river rocks beside the car. He went alone though head first clearly. Driver was alive and had massive bruises from the seatbelt. It was all about speed. They had passed me right before the accedent at about 90. I had been driving about 60 and I guess I was in the way or something. Speed limit was 55 and in the curves of that canyon it was recomended to go 50. That freaked me out! Sureal.

girl about 9...
raped & throat cut and then left in a ditch to die..
she didn't...
always remember that look in her eyes & gurgling sound she made....

Rika

Freshman year in college, riding my bike to baseball practice I was t-boned by a Honda Accord. Compound, complex fracture of my tib and fib, also lots of foot arch damage.

I had played enough sports and had been knocked around enough to still be in the data gathering phase before shock took over.

I remember distinctly looking at the sole of my sneaker, pondering how that could be with a straight left leg.

New sneakers, Adidas high tops with the rubber toes. Changed my life.

I've witnessed a lot of other events I'd rather have not, but on a personal note, I'd have preferred the top of the sneaker.

"Disaster Movie"

There have been a few things, but fortunately, most of them have been via photo or the web, not in person like many of you.

Viet Nam. 69-70 Infantry....the whole freakin 14 months

Less a sight and more a sound...
The gurgle of a SCW. ...
Really never expected to hear it near home...

I wish I could un smell what our two bedroom place smelled like after my room mate shagged this one particular big chick. I have no clue how he got the job done! I had to leave the windows open for a full day to get the smell out!

I was about 12 years old, walking home from school on a dirt path. Came across a cat that had been sawed in two. Only the front portion was still there. and completely cleaned out inside. it was fresh with blood all over. I remember thinking it was like a cartoon. I watched my back the whole way home.

Aside from that there's much, much worse things I'd rather not share.

BTDT more than once

When I was in college I was working at a gas station. I was out at the pumps and could hear some hyper small block winding it up on the 30 mph speed limit road the station was located on.

A woman travelling in the opposite direction turned left in front of a little Boss 302 Mustang that was travelling at an estimated 100 mph. She couldn't tell and didn't expect there would be a car travelling 3 times faster than the speed limit.

Horrific crash. I remember the windshield from the Mustang seemed to hang in mid air for what seemed like minutes. I ran inside the station shut off the pumps, called 911 and grabbed the fire extinguisher and ran out to the ruined cars.

Walking around the Mustang the guy in the front passenger seat fell onto the road through the door opening and I just knew he was dead. It was, as it turned out, his 18th birthday. The passenger in the back seat died too. The driver walked away.

The other car there were some injuries too. The woman driving and her two children in the car all survived.

I worked my way through college as an ambulance driver and saw my share of bad things (a 747 that crashed into a block of flats, a trainwreck, motorcyclists against a lampost etc) but the thing that stuck most was the probably 10 year old girl that was hit by a car and suffered severe brain trauma.

I worked alongside state police doing post-accident investigations when they involved large trucks. Big trucks will mess you up real, real bad, and I've seen (and smelled) plenty of horrible things related to that job.

But as bad as they were, there are none that I have the desire to un-see. What I would like to un-see is the medical events that proceeded my Father's death. He died of COPD (emphysema from smoking). The last year and a half of his life was a spiraling series of brutal respiratory failure episodes where he was conscious, in pain, and absolutely terrified. Some of the attacks would last just an hour or so but toward the end, they would be ten days or even two weeks. Then he'd stabilize and come home from the hospital and a month or two would pass before another serious attack. I imagine it to be like water-boarding only it doesn't stop in a few hours...it goes on for days or even weeks. The look of absolute terror - that is what I wish I could un-see.

angela

Weird coincidence...

Was just yesterday browsing a bunch of files looking for sterile/boring info on truck bombs (VBIEDs). Uninteresting things like blast impulse and fragments that are currently important to me.

Lots of "after action" reports from the EOD crowd. Truck bombs and suicide vests everywhere.

I always knew that I didn't want to know what's left of the people involved.

Yup. I didn't want to know.

They mark those files with all of the appropriate classifications and caveats - but somehow forgot the NSFL...

I'd like to add to my list the dash cam video from Russia (I think) where the SUV hits an icy patch and gets sideways, drifts into oncoming traffic and is hit by the 18 wheeler that's going 80mph. The video was posted here on Pelican. The SUV seemed to just disappear into a parts storm. Right as the truck hit the passenger's side of the SUV, the driver's side window blew out from the pressure and you could see the red mist, presumably coming from the poor soul sitting in the passenger's seat. Yeah... I'd like to un-see that.

nothing compares to watching a loved one pass away. nothing.

i wish i could erase that part of my memory.

Once my girlfriend made me watch "the notebook" special edition DVD, and we were out of booze.

I wish I could un-see the 2016 Miata....

A small confession...

When I was about 13 I was poking around the back of the swimming pool at school and I heard girls voices so I dragged some junk over and climbed up and realised I could see into the girls changing rooms. Whooo. There were a couple of real honeys in my class called Karen Fitzgerald and Karen Hyde (hi Karen if you are reading this) so I staked out my little hiding place a few minutes before the two Karens and the rest of the girls had swimming lessons. As I peeped through the ventilation gap I saw the PE teacher, nick name Big Bra McGrath, getting changed. Jeez. Thick mass of black hair, huge fat guts and tits to the navel. OMG. I'm 55 and have never had anything to do with a fat chick in my life. Thanks, but no thanks, as I see Big Bra McGath before my eyes.