scary scene at a car accident

A single car accident in Raceville Tuesday got a little scary.

The woman was in shock after the impact and not listening to reason. She was intent on returning to her car for a pack of cigarettes.

First person on the scene was a man whose name I did not get.

The driver of the feed truck was graying, about six feet tall and solidly built.

That man saved a life Tuesday around noon.

Moments after the crash, the man who slowed rushing vehicles and directed traffic also kept shooing the driver away from her car as she tried again and again to go to it and retrieve her pack of cigarettes.

This man, whose name I have not been able to find, yet, left the scene once it was secured by firefighters and returned to his job driving off towards Vermont.

I was the second person on the scene and was approaching the woman to get a picture for the newspaper when it became clear the man had his hands full to over flowing.

While trying to slow traffic the man was at the same time dealing with the driver who had a young child of about three, it turned out to be a 2-year-old, in tow.

Upset and likely in shock, the woman tried to get me to hold the hand of her son while she went back to the car to get her cigarettes.

“Just hold my son’s hand for a minute while I get my cigarettes,” she said.

When I cautioned her against going back to the car because it could be touching what were likely live power wires, she told me not to worry because they were “right there” and she “wouldn’t have to touch anything.”

She was incredulous when I declined and again told her not to go to the car because there was a good chance she might be killed and orphan her son.

“Do any of you have a cigarette?” she asked.

When the answer was no she again insisted that I take the child.

The woman became quite upset while arguing that someone should take her child so she could go get a cigarette.

She could not be lured more than a few feet away from the car until uniformed personnel showed up on the scene and led her away.

Penrhyn Engine and Hose President Frank Riegert happened to be driving by and took the woman away from the wreckage and safely across the street before turning her over to State Police.