Not a message about tractor pulling, (even though my son Matt and I have both enjoyed this web site over the last couple of years, we pull an IH400 and he just bought an IH300...if that will help you remember us)Last Tue at 3:30 in the afternoon, my son Matt was hit by an (allegedally, blood tests aren't back yet)drunk driver. Thank God he is ok, just stiff and sore but his car was totaled. He was less than a mile from high school when a 74 year old male, (I won't call him a man) made a left turn directly into on-comming traffic, hitting Matt almost head on. Luckly Matt jerked the wheel to avoid him at the last instant, so the impact was somewhat diverted. It was somewhat of a comfort that the cops at the scene assured us that this was no way Matt's fault and was totaly unavoidable. It could have been alot worse. If Matt hadn't stopped to play football with some friends, maybe he would have been hit a couple of miles outside of town when the speeds would have been much higher. Or, if Matt hadn't been there to take the hit, maybe the drunk would have hit the young lady (who was one witness of the accident) in another car who had just pulled up to a stop at the T intersection where the accident took place. Or, if the drunk had missed her too, maybe he would have hit the lady (another witness) and her small children who were walking near the intersection. If you are wondering why I keep referring to him as the "drunk", after the impact, Matt ran over to the pickup he was in, open the door to ask if he was OK, a beer can fell out and his speech was so slurred it was not understandable. He is being charge with open bottle, with other charges pending results on the blood tests sent to state labs. He supposidly was put in detox. Amazingly, he had car insurance, which means we will get most if not all of our deductible paid back to us. Matt's car alone will cost his (drunk's) insurance company $14000 plus some medical, (Matt was checked out at the hospital). He also, looked like to me, totaled his 1993 chev 1/2 ton pickup. We have had several people tell us things like "He's been a drunk for years....He had been an accident waiting to happen, I'm glad he didn't kill anyone....He starts drinking at 10 AM, drunk by 3PM".. All of this raises one question, where was his family in all of this????? It looks like the insurance companys are already lining up to get at this guy. I'm glad I'm not him. Sorry for the long post, thank you for letting me vent my anger and flustrations. Maybe some good will come of this mess, maybe this accident will make someone not get behind the wheel after drinking. We can only hope.
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