Crystal Pistol
December 4th, 2005, 01:26
:type: It's midnight shift and it's raining for the third night straight and temps are near the 30 mark, just hovering above it. In short ... it's one nasty night and I had a bunch of paperwork to catch up on (a sex offender investigation to write up, several accident reports to do, and I still had that reconstruction report to do ) and was hoping since it was Saturday night / Sunday morning that tonight would be the night. :terminator:
I mark on duty at about 10 pm, drive to the watering hole and meet the evening guys for a couple cups, :chug: and then I hit the interstate as they all head to their homes (evening shift gets off at 11pm), and I make my first full 100 mile lap and head to the office to top off gas tank and settle in to do those reports, it's going to take several hours and it's altready 1:30 am when I pull in. :cool:
I gas up & park the car, drag all my files for the sex offender investigation I want to close out, and the reconstruction that's due Monday, and my accident field notes book in, get all situated, stuff layed out on the desk, get the AM set to a talk channel at the office, and then ... just as the coffee pot is ready ... I get the call. :wacko:
There's a tractor trailer 10-46 (disabled) reported, it's north bound off the left side about 22 miles north of the office. Crap! :ninja:
Well, I gather up all my stuff in an orderly fashion, and turn off the coffee pot (after filling my car cup up), load up my stuff in the car, grab another box of flares, turn out the lights, set the alarm, and head out in the cold rain knowing that I'll have to come back and do it all this night, or the next. I get to the truck 25 minutes later and ... what is that dummy done now? :wtf:
The truck is located off the left side of the interstate about 30 feet from the roadway out in the wet, muddy median. The tractor is partially pulled out from under the trailer it looks like, so I don my rain gear and hat and get out in the cold rain and walk over to the truck (my car is pulled just off the interstate, in more solid graveled area, with emergency lights going). There are two brothers there, they soon explain that they were coming north and the one driving swerved to miss a dear (translation ... he "fell asleep"). There were gradual leaving the interstate when they ran out of it on the left, not sudden like. Then, after not hitting anything after traveling 2 -300 feet in mud, they were stuck, and they said another truck driver stopped and suggested dropping the landing gear and driving the tractor out from under the trailer. It worked until the trailer slid off the 5th wheel and onto the tractor rear tires and stopped the tractor, and the trailer then slid over to the low side almost turning over. They said this "good samaritain" left to go get help. He never showed back up? :HMM:
Call truck stop, they send one wrecker who in turn calls for two more big wreckers to both pull and stabilize the trailer and stuck tractor. The trailer must be lifted and pulled back onto the road tractor without turning over, then the whole rig winched out. Three wreckers there by 3am, can't get VDOT for a lane closure so I will have to stay to divert traffic as they have to have the left lane of the interstate. It's Sunday morning, best get it now while traffic is lightest. :angry:
Did I mention it's cold and wet? :wtf:
After 7am, I'm late getting home wet and tired and hungry and sleepy (normally get off at 6am) and daylight is "up" making it hard to go to sleep (body clock thing).
Cost to the brothers, about $2400 I was told later. :rofl:
I made an hour "comp time" (whoopie sh*t) :hmph:... and I ended up having to do all that paperwork the next night when it was warmer, dryer, and more traffic when I really wanted to work some radar. :fishing:
Yeah, it could have been worse ... :yes: ... I'll count my blessings! ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make Courtesy Your "Code of the Road" ......
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid193/pa539bf407ff5003d04a25c21d178cb00/f1910140.jpg
...... and whatever you do ... Have a Safe Trip!
I mark on duty at about 10 pm, drive to the watering hole and meet the evening guys for a couple cups, :chug: and then I hit the interstate as they all head to their homes (evening shift gets off at 11pm), and I make my first full 100 mile lap and head to the office to top off gas tank and settle in to do those reports, it's going to take several hours and it's altready 1:30 am when I pull in. :cool:
I gas up & park the car, drag all my files for the sex offender investigation I want to close out, and the reconstruction that's due Monday, and my accident field notes book in, get all situated, stuff layed out on the desk, get the AM set to a talk channel at the office, and then ... just as the coffee pot is ready ... I get the call. :wacko:
There's a tractor trailer 10-46 (disabled) reported, it's north bound off the left side about 22 miles north of the office. Crap! :ninja:
Well, I gather up all my stuff in an orderly fashion, and turn off the coffee pot (after filling my car cup up), load up my stuff in the car, grab another box of flares, turn out the lights, set the alarm, and head out in the cold rain knowing that I'll have to come back and do it all this night, or the next. I get to the truck 25 minutes later and ... what is that dummy done now? :wtf:
The truck is located off the left side of the interstate about 30 feet from the roadway out in the wet, muddy median. The tractor is partially pulled out from under the trailer it looks like, so I don my rain gear and hat and get out in the cold rain and walk over to the truck (my car is pulled just off the interstate, in more solid graveled area, with emergency lights going). There are two brothers there, they soon explain that they were coming north and the one driving swerved to miss a dear (translation ... he "fell asleep"). There were gradual leaving the interstate when they ran out of it on the left, not sudden like. Then, after not hitting anything after traveling 2 -300 feet in mud, they were stuck, and they said another truck driver stopped and suggested dropping the landing gear and driving the tractor out from under the trailer. It worked until the trailer slid off the 5th wheel and onto the tractor rear tires and stopped the tractor, and the trailer then slid over to the low side almost turning over. They said this "good samaritain" left to go get help. He never showed back up? :HMM:
Call truck stop, they send one wrecker who in turn calls for two more big wreckers to both pull and stabilize the trailer and stuck tractor. The trailer must be lifted and pulled back onto the road tractor without turning over, then the whole rig winched out. Three wreckers there by 3am, can't get VDOT for a lane closure so I will have to stay to divert traffic as they have to have the left lane of the interstate. It's Sunday morning, best get it now while traffic is lightest. :angry:
Did I mention it's cold and wet? :wtf:
After 7am, I'm late getting home wet and tired and hungry and sleepy (normally get off at 6am) and daylight is "up" making it hard to go to sleep (body clock thing).
Cost to the brothers, about $2400 I was told later. :rofl:
I made an hour "comp time" (whoopie sh*t) :hmph:... and I ended up having to do all that paperwork the next night when it was warmer, dryer, and more traffic when I really wanted to work some radar. :fishing:
Yeah, it could have been worse ... :yes: ... I'll count my blessings! ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make Courtesy Your "Code of the Road" ......
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid193/pa539bf407ff5003d04a25c21d178cb00/f1910140.jpg
...... and whatever you do ... Have a Safe Trip!