The Accident

I’m going to dash this one off as quickly as possible. The Scout was in a car accident yesterday. He had just pulled into the No. 1 lane on the 101. He was going about 3 mph and pulled in front of a car that was at a dead stop.

Out of nowhere, a motorcyclist came up behind him and hit his left rear bumper. That’s right, the left. Took off the side panel of the bumper and broke the tail light cover. No one was hurt.

The motorcycle ended up on the dry grass in the median and somehow started a fire. Lots of smoke and a few flames attracted immediate attention from other passers-by. Some guy in a truck handed The Scout a fire extinguisher, so while waiting for the cops to show up, he put out the fire. Mr. Fire-Extinguisher never left his vehicle. Once the fire was out, The Scout returned the empty cannister to the truck’s cargo area, and the guy drove away.

(Ed. note: This bizarre part of the story cracks me up. Imagine that you’ve just been hit, you’re waiting for the cops to show up, and Whoa! There’s a fire!! An stranger pulls up and hands you a fire extinguisher. So you put the fire out, of course.)

Meanwhile, lots of folks called 911. Three fire trucks appeared. Three cops were on site to interview The Scout and the motorcyclist separately.

Even though it was relatively minor, traffic accidents are traumatic. There are all the “what if” questions. The Scout, who is a very careful driver, who is a paid-up member of Teamsters Local 399 (Studio Transportation Drivers), could not stop wondering how this happened.

So kiddos, the lesson for the day is look in both the side view AND the rear view mirrors when doing a lane change. Even if your max speed in only 3 mph. You never know who may be weaving in and out of lanes.