What Really Happened.

Living with my grandparents was posh. As noted here, after Turtle's visit, I moved to Smithfield to find new work. Cache Valley was supposedly the place with the lowest unemployment rate in Utah. Cool. I had my own room, my own bathroom, I totally felt at home. Even better was Grandma's cooking. Authentic, old-school, home-style cooking. Bread from scratch. Real eggs for breakfast. Real fruits and veggies from the garden. Three full sit-down meals a day. Doesn't get better than that.

Job hunting was tedious, but I applied myself anyway. Had some leads, was interviewing, and then it happened. 5pm on a Friday. I didn't realize it was already 5pm, and was thinking that the library was open til 5:30. The Librarian told me it was time to close up shop. I scrambled with all my stuff, and then headed out. Walked a block south, and then looked at traffic. Busy. I pulled off my left glove to send a quick text message. When I snapped my phone shut, I looked again. Clear. So I went. Crossed the two lanes, the middle, and the fourth lane. I was moving into the 5th lane when a white Buick materialized, seemingly from nowhere. And she didn't stop. Or even slow down. 45mph. BAM. The last thing I remember is turning my head, seeing something white, and then a sickening crunch noise.

Black.

The official police report reads thusly:

"Sergeant Jake Walker - I was contacted by dispatch and notified of an accident that involved a vehicle and a pedestrian. I was told that the injuries to the pedestrian were sounding significant. Chief McCoy was notified and given updated information during the incident.

"Weather/Road/Traffic conditions are winter with snow covered ground, cold (approximately 25 degrees), clear with sun beginning to set, dry clear roads on a 4 lane highway posted 45mph zone, well-marked crosswalk, and heavy traffic flow.

"I called for several units for traffic control. I had units placed at 100 S Main to shut down traffic northbound, Center and 100 E to shut down traffic eastbound towards Main, and Main and Center to stop any vehicles attempting to make a left turn off of Main onto Center.

"I was the first to arrive on the scene and noticed a person laying in the road. Several people were surrounding and helping the person. I noticed a backpack and glasses on the ground. The glasses were demolished. I asked what happened and I was told by two people that they were witnesses. These people are [names removed to protect the innocent, although one had my first AND middle name! What are the chances of that?] Both stated that they seen what happened and were willing to give statements concerning the accident. Both stated that they noticed the white car was the only vehicle northbound at the time. They both stated that he was flipped over the car after being struck. Both stated that the white car was in the outside lane of travel. One stated that the pedestrian was clear on the other side of the road and that [the witness] was in the southbound outside lane. He flipped around quickly and started to attend the victim. [Witness #2] had left the scene and came back to see how the incident was going. He stated that he did see the pedestrian running from east to west. Snow covered the ground on the sidewalk and surrounding area around the sidewalk. I looked and could not see any fresh tracks that would indicate anyone running. The tracks all appeared to be old. I did take note of one track that was small in size and appeared to be iced. The tracks were tennis shoe type tread with small zig-zag type tread. I also asked Sgt. Seamons to go and ask the clerk at the 7-11 to see if she could identify this man as coming in the store. He was told by the clerk that this person had not been in the store.

"I asked where the vehicle was that hit the pedestrian and I was directed north of the intersection to a white buick. I looked at the car briefly and could see damage to the hood and windshield. I could see an elderly female inside the car in the driver's seat and she appeared to be in shock. I asked her if she was ok and she stated that she was feeling ill from just getting over the flu. I asked what medications she was on, if any, and she stated that she is on diabetic medication and is currently on them.

"I then turned my attention to the victim on the road. I noticed that it was a male and that he would come in and out of consciousness. When he did become conscious, he would become combative. He was bleeding from his head on the left side. He was laying on the left side of his body. He also had scrapes on his lower back right side. Volunteers and medical persons had to restrain him and hold him down. While this was happening, I looked for a wallet and or any identifying factors to assist in identifying the man. I located a name badge from a hotel with the first name of D on it. When he was asked if he was D, he stated that he was. He would also respond to the name of D when he was asked to stay still or other questions from medical persons.

"Once he was under complete care of medical, I then started to work on the crime scene. I located two skid marks in the northbound right lane of travel. The right skid was longer than the left. They ended south of the crosswalk. The body was north of the crosswalk and slightly to the east of the right skid mark. Trooper T. Mouritsen was contacted and asked to come and diagram the scene. He has all the measurements and will be making a computer diagram and will return that to me. I will place this in the case file for reference. Photos were taken and downloaded to case.

"Both the driver and pedestrian were transported to Logan ER for further care. All the belongings to the pedestrian were placed in my car. The vehicle was safe kept on an owners request to Preston Auto.

"[...]

"I responded to the ER and spoke with D. He was conscious and able to comprehend what was being asked of him by nurses. I was able to ask him what his birth date was and he answered correctly. The nurses stated that he was doing much better than when he was brought in. I asked him if he remembered what happened and he stated that he was walking across the crosswalk going home from the library and that is when he was hit, He stated that he did not see where the car came from. He stated that before he crossed the road he looked and it appeared clear. He stated that he had been at the library from 1400 to 1700. He stated that he was going to be home at 1700. I asked him if he was running and he stated no. He stated that he was in the crosswalk. I noticed that his left hand and arm were bruised and his right leg was damaged on the shin area. I learned that his right leg in the shin area was broken. Both bones were broke. I looked what type of footwear D had on and it was boot type with large square patterns. This would have been easily seen in the snow.

"I was able to speak with [woman who hit me] and get her statement. I was told she was going northbound on Main approaching the intersection. She stated she was going about 40mph and seen the pedestrian at the last minute and hit her brakes. According to her, there was cars in the left lane next to her. She stated this is why she could not swerve that way and miss from hitting the pedestrian. She stated that she heard a bang and then the windshield broke. She stated that it shook her up very bad.

"I explained to her that she is at fault for the accident to fail to yield to a pedestrian. I told her that I was not going to issue a citation but it was clear that the pedestrian was in the crosswalk and had gotten across the southbound lanes and almost through the northbound lanes. All thought the pedestrian was wearing an ipod and it was going, but the face is that the driver of the vehicle did not slow or stop as stated in the 41-6a-1002 code for pedestrians rights when crossing in a crosswalk."

K, so the facts. I was wearing my ipod, and it was on. The running makes no sense to me though. Nor can I figure out how the heck I got hit. Had I been crossing and seen the car, knowing it wouldn't stop, I would have stopped in the middle of the road and waited for it to go by before moving on. My only thought would be that I misjudged the speed of the car and tried to hurry by before it got there? I have no idea. Then again, I really didn't see it, until it was already hitting me. So...

My favorite part, aside from the officer's grammar, is where she said there were other cars, when BOTH witnesses said she was the only one. The only one. I'm still pissed she didn't get cited, but talked to my uncle who's a cop, and he says it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Also, I remember nothing from the time I got hit until I woke up in the ER and started responding to the nurses and what not. So the whole having to be restrained and all that... yeah, no clue. I also think it's cool that people stopped and helped me. I am thanking them still in my heart. And then there's the whole miracle part. Another miracle though. My glasses, as stated, demolished. My phone, which was in my left hand when I got hit, broke in two; completely unusable. My backpack, containing my laptop... well, one of the angels catching me stopped to catch that obviously because there's no way my laptop shouldn't have broken into a million pieces. The lid is super scratched and all, but miraculously, it still works. Cools.

My memories of the ER are patchy at best, but I remember one of the nurses wearing red was really nice. I can't remember if I was there before surgery or after, and I definitely didn't see my leg. My grandparents were there, and I remember the cop, too, but not much else.