General News
20 May, 2021
Accident highlights common act of kindness
A TRAFFIC accident involving Western District Newspapers journalist Trent Holland last week has helped to shine light on an important element of traffic incidents, which we often do not get to tell.
A TRAFFIC accident involving Western District Newspapers journalist Trent Holland last week has helped to shine light on an important element of traffic incidents, which we often do not get to tell.
Last Wednesday morning I made the turn on to the Princes Highway in Terang along my usual route to work when the glare from the rising sun lit up my windshield.
Within seconds of driving down the road the visibility had worsened and I realised the air flowing through the ventilation was cold and fogging up the windscreen.
I’m not entirely sure what my next move would have been. A few seconds can be all it takes. Bang.
I’d drifted about a metre outside the lines and impacted the rear trailer of a truck which was parked on the side of the road. I hadn’t even seen it to know to brake.
I heard the cacophony of the vehicles colliding, metal twisting and glass shattering. Through the cracks in the windscreen, I could see the rear corner of a truck trailer and smoke rising from an engine now exposed beneath the mangled remains of the bonnet.
The smell of gas was overwhelming and the sight of smoke conjured thoughts of imminent combustion. I pushed open the door, got to the side of the road and began trying to process what had just happened.
An accident is newsworthy, so this had to be reported. I had taken pictures at the scene but the question was if I would write the story myself or pass it along to a colleague.
After speaking with my editor, we agreed this was an opportunity to show our readers something we seldom have the opportunityto show.
Journalism follows a specific formula in the event of a traffic accident. We contact police and speak with the responding officer, who provides relevant information from the police report and generally concludes with a road safety message.
In the event we’re able to reach the scene of the accident for photographs, we try not to speak with those involved to avoid adding any undue stress or hurt during such a vulnerable time. Despite belief to the contrary, we hate those call outs. And we hate feeding the narrative of journalists as heartless vultures seeking bones to pick clean.
But this approach fails to draw attention to a common truth which is well known but underappreciated – when it counts, people act.
The two women travelling behind me that morning pulled their cars over and jumped out to check on me.
I felt better as soon as I saw someone else. Whatever process came next, I was not alone in handling it.
Are you okay? Do you need to sit down? Should I call an ambulance? Can I get you some water? Do you want a cigarette? Is there anyone I can call for you?
A truck driver had pulled aside and, along with the help of the driver of the truck I’d hit, began directing traffic with a been-there-before precision to keep other motorists safe before police arrived.
Another woman who pulled over said she was a local nurse and offered assistance as her young family curiously peered through the open window from their car seats.
One of the women who had first pulled over said she was on her way in to work but would come back shortly and give me a lift anywhere I needed to go, should I still be there.
The responding officer, Cobden Police Senior Constable Rachel Wass, approached the situation with a positive and jovial tone. It isn’t breaking news that police, like the rest of us, breathe a sigh of relief when everyone is okay. Everything else is secondary.
These people all shared a common link – they acted when someone else needed it, without regard for the interruption to their own schedule. It is what people do, especially in small country towns.
There were at least six people who went out of their way to help, and nobody waited around for any thanks or recognition. I didn’t even catch most of their names.
Multiple people have checked in during the week since, shared stories of their own crashes and even mentioned their own luck in narrowly avoiding the same impact that morning. People have shown as much care for my mental health as they did my physical health.
We’ve since learnt Wednesday was a nightmare day for south west roads. A collision involving three grain trucks on the Glenelg Highway near Carranballac resulted in the death of one man, and in another incident a truck rolled on the Princes Highway near Drumborg at about the same time.
I was fortunate to largely avoid injury. The ego took a harder hit than the body, but it all balances out when given the opportunity to be humbled by the kindness and compassion complete strangers show in a moment of need.
Now, about that road safety message we try to conclude with: without a seatbelt, I would have taken a swan dive through the windscreen and into the back of a trailer. This publication wouldn’t feature this story. Just an obituary.
Buckle up.
