Stopped to help a driver who had pulled over with a flat tire.
But there's more to the story.
I was coming home from work last night (12:30am) and I was passed like I was standing still. It was a 45mph zone, I was going 55, and this guy blew right by me. No biggie, happens a lot in our rural area. A couple miles later, I come around a bend in the road to encounter a wall of dust that was so bad that I had to slam on the brakes hard enough to activate the anitlock. I couldn't see a foot in front of my hood, so I was VERY concerned about a car or animal being in my path. I creep through the dust, pull over and begin assessing what happened. I see tire tracks in the dirt on the shoulder, very obviously the guy lost control and turned sideways. But no car. Just a wall of dust and tracks in the dirt. So I start beating the thick mesquite brush on the side of road, just to be sure that he didn't flip and go out of sight. No luck, so I get back in my truck and continue home.
Four miles later, there's the car sitting on the side of the road, the interior light on, and the front driver's tire and fender just shredded. Engine is still ticking, hood is still warm, so I'm a bit concerned. I called our local Sheriff's office, and request a deputy to at least do a report based on what I had seen. While I'm on the phone, a guy walks up to my truck ( I had seen him walking toward me on the road) and starts asking if I can give him a ride to an area 20 miles away. I pause my conversation with the SO operator, and start talking to him to be sure that he's OK. He leans in , and it's obvious that he's blitzed out of his mind. He's not hurt at all, just drunk and really setting off a bad vibe for me. I decline to 'just give him a ride' or to let him call someone on my phone, and go back to talking to the SO operator. Once she gives me an ETA of 10 minutes for the deputy, I hang up, tell the guy to stick around, and that someone will be by shortly to take care of things.
Had it just been a simple case of stupidity and bad driving, I may have indulged the phone call, but this guy was shitty drunk. Sorry dude, you done fucked up. Now you get to live with your choices.
Stopped to help a driver who had pulled over with a flat tire.
But there's more to the story.
I was coming home from work last night (12:30am) and I was passed like I was standing still. It was a 45mph zone, I was going 55, and this guy blew right by me. No biggie, happens a lot in our rural area. A couple miles later, I come around a bend in the road to encounter a wall of dust that was so bad that I had to slam on the brakes hard enough to activate the anitlock. I couldn't see a foot in front of my hood, so I was VERY concerned about a car or animal being in my path. I creep through the dust, pull over and begin assessing what happened. I see tire tracks in the dirt on the shoulder, very obviously the guy lost control and turned sideways. But no car. Just a wall of dust and tracks in the dirt. So I start beating the thick mesquite brush on the side of road, just to be sure that he didn't flip and go out of sight. No luck, so I get back in my truck and continue home.
Four miles later, there's the car sitting on the side of the road, the interior light on, and the front driver's tire and fender just shredded. Engine is still ticking, hood is still warm, so I'm a bit concerned. I called our local Sheriff's office, and request a deputy to at least do a report based on what I had seen. While I'm on the phone, a guy walks up to my truck ( I had seen him walking toward me on the road) and starts asking if I can give him a ride to an area 20 miles away. I pause my conversation with the SO operator, and start talking to him to be sure that he's OK. He leans in , and it's obvious that he's blitzed out of his mind. He's not hurt at all, just drunk and really setting off a bad vibe for me. I decline to 'just give him a ride' or to let him call someone on my phone, and go back to talking to the SO operator. Once she gives me an ETA of 10 minutes for the deputy, I hang up, tell the guy to stick around, and that someone will be by shortly to take care of things.
Had it just been a simple case of stupidity and bad driving, I may have indulged the phone call, but this guy was shitty drunk. Sorry dude, you done fucked up. Now you get to live with your choices.