Death of a Friend

[cegerer]

I got one of those dreaded early-morning phone calls while out of town this weekend. A good friend of mine - 41 years old - was killed in a car accident. What makes this even more difficult to deal with is he was 'one of us'. A car guy. He knew how to drive. And how to drive well. Some years ago, he owned and raced his own SCCA rally car for christ's sake. He had a brand new Audi Quattro Coupe street car - back around 1982 when Quattro's were the latest rage and were winning all the FIA rallies - and I can remember some wild rides in that monster. He was a VW/Audi guy mainly but had a WRX and then sold that recently and bought a VW R32.

As the details have emerged, he rear-ended a flat bed truck stopped on the expressway for an accident further up the road. His car rolled several times and he was killed instantly. He was an aggressive driver and perhaps had not matured completely in that regard. In fact, the last time I saw him I was walking my dog and heard this car accelerating quickly down this winding road that comes out of a golf resort across from my house. I looked up and there he was in his brand new R32 with a big grin on his face ..... But whether that was a factor is only speculation on my part and maybe comes from a desire to somehow justify what happened. Nobody will ever know what happened. Did he momentarily take his eyes off the road only to find traffic unexpectedly stopped? The condition of the car indicates a high speed impact.

But last night we learned something that nobody who knew him can believe - he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He's the same type of guy as all of us. He's into driving cars and seatbelts are simply not something one chooses to wear part of the time. But a video on the news today showed body bags on both sides of the wrecked R32 .....

He was a local high school hockey coach for many years. He leaves his wife and 2 young daughters behind. I can't imagine how they'll deal with it.

[targa911S]

Ha dthe same thing happen to me in November. You have all my sympathy.

[ErVikingo]

Loosing a friend is always hard. Sorry for your loss.

Lets all be safe out there and use the safety features our cars provide.

God bless

[RickM]

Sorry to hear about the loss.

I wonder how much a seatbelt would help when rear ending a flatbed.
I lost a long time co-worker/friend the same way.

[Sarah]

So sorry to hear about your friend. What a loss for his family and friends. Hang in there.....

[osidak]

Sorry to hear it. Sucks to loose some one you care about

[84porsche]

Also my condolonces. Its never easy to lose someone especially in an automotive accident. I lost a cousin at Thanksgiving, just turned 18 years old in a car accident. Its so easy to think one is invincible so please drive safe out there guys.

[Z-man]

Sad to hear. My conolences.
-Z

[djmcmath]

Wow, in a painfully stunned sort of way. I'm really sorry to hear that, Ceg. This kind of thing really hits home.

[cegerer]

Thanks guys (and gal ). Much appreciated (although I'm not seeking out sympathy). I'm only writing this because I think it 1) helps me deal with the pain and 2) maybe it will cause some of us to do a reality check out on the road and make sure we really are driving within safe limits. I know I've taken my driving down a notch or 2 since Saturday.

Next time you're out driving 70MPH on the expressway and following the car/truck in front of you, try to envision that car suddenly swerving to avoid a stationary object. You've got 2/10ths of a second to react - can you stop?

[smoak]

Thanks for sharing the story. Makes you stop and think about how your normal daily activities can become deadly. Sorry for your loss.

[Oh Haha]

Holy SH#$
Is that the guy that was on 175 near Sashabaw?

It looked like a Tourag that he was driving when I saw it on the news that night.

My condolences on your loss, Kurt.

[obrut]

very sad news - condolences

i have done 4 or 5 driver training courses and have a wheel to wheel circuit license and a rally license. i still remember my 1st ever driving course activity: drive at the line at 60km/h (38 mph) and stop as quick as you can. when you know you will be stopping even 60 feels really FAST - yet we all still rumble along at 70-80 in the 'burbs (heck, my 930 can still be in 1st at those speeds)

the seatbelt issue is a tough one to understand for an aussie. wearing them has been compulsory here for over 20 years. its a good habit to have: get in, seatbelt on, start car...

again, very sorry for your loss

[kach22i]

Originally posted by cegerer
Next time you're out driving 70MPH on the expressway and following the car/truck in front of you, try to envision that car suddenly swerving to avoid a stationary object. You've got 2/10ths of a second to react - can you stop?

If I did stop the guy behind probably would not.

Sorry to hear about your friend.

[juanbenae]

god speed.

[mikester]

Something similar happened to a good friend of ours a couple of weeks ago. Great guy too - it's a shame to loose him at 44 years. He lived 88 in those 44...

I was an expert skier; was out with his 7 year old son and some friends at a local hill when his son fell and lost a ski into the "out of bounds." He went to get it and never came back.

It's affected me a bit because I have a son myself and I can see that happening with me. We do have to watch what we are doing.

My condolences.

[cegerer]

Yeah, he was the guy on Sashabaw road. The photos of the aftermath were sobering to say the very least.

[A Quiet Boom]

Funny thing about life, we are born dying and we are all just trying to get through this world together. I no longer mourn the dead as I've lost more friends than I care to remember, now I just pray for the people they've left behind and remember only the good parts of our friendships. Your friend just finished the journey a little earlier than the rest of us, now you must carry on until your journey is finished. The greatest thing about life is we do get better with practice, wisdom comes with age, experience or both. Joy comes at any age as does sadness, the key is to have more good days than bad. You friend sought joy like many of us behind the wheel of a car and if he truly was an enthusiast he probably enjoyed every mile of road he's ever driven. To use a cliche he died doing something he enjoyed, a far better fate than something like wasting away in a hospital bed from an incurable disease. Keep close ties with his family for they are now yours. Whatever you do enjoy everyday that you have in the world and at the end of the day spend some time to reflect on the good things that happened. Tonight my daughter asked me if she could earn an allowance to help a school charity, joy and pride washed over my face, 6 years old and she wants to work to help someone else, well that easily erased all the cr@p I dealt with at work today. Lastly take some time to cry, heck ball your eyes out if you have to, you'll be a better man for it.

[white87911]

Originally posted by cegerer

Next time you're out driving 70MPH on the expressway and following the car/truck in front of you, try to envision that car suddenly swerving to avoid a stationary object. You've got 2/10ths of a second to react - can you stop?

Sorry for your loss.

While it is true that 90% of people exceed the speed limit on the highway, you are so right about what you said. It does not bother me as much when I see someone speeding as when people tailgate.

A good friend of mine, 911 owner, and kart racer, has taught me to pay attention to what is happening far, far in front of you. what is happening right is front of us is to late to do anything about.

We should all be aware of this when driving.

[azasadny]

Curt,
I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I will say a prayer for his family and for you. Thanks again for your great posts!