[Coco] The Lucky CoCoNut

[Roger Taylor]

With all kidding aside, there is a very lucky CoCoNut among us today...

This morning, I was on my way to work on Interstate 20 and I had a bad 
accident.  It was raining so I was doing 60-65 instead of the usual 70 
through this area and also watching the bridges for ice.  I later learned 
it was not cold enough for ice, but the slick roads were just as dangerous 
for vehicles with balding tires.  My back tires have been overinflated so 
the center surface was pretty slick.

When I came off of one of the bridges I noticed my truck fishtailing to the 
left just maybe a few inches.  It was small but noticeable.  I let off of 
the gas and kept the wheel straight to see if I was ok, but the truck 
fishtailed again in the other direction a tad.  At this point I knew I was 
probably hydroplaning but I didn't know what move to make next to keep from 
overcorrecting. The truck kept sliding back and forth at the rear until it 
got out of control and I started sliding off of the road, still doing 
65.  I was not about to steer towards the treeline at my speed.   When I 
knew I was bound for the trees across the ditch I braced for death.  I 
extended my arms out tight and dropped my head and started yelling No. When 
I hit the steep ditch my truck started flipping end over end.  The rear of 
the truck came up and over and I rolled this way until I slammed into the 
trees.

When I was rolling, I remember thinking just for a second "I'm about to 
die, here it comes".  There is no way to describe it but the picture is 
stuck in my head like it is still happening.  I impacted very hard and the 
truck came to a rest back on 4 wheels.  At this point I thought I was 
dead.  But the first instinct besides asking yourself are you really alive 
or dead is to get out of the truck quick in case a fire starts and you get 
trapped.  So I beat the door open and jumped out.  I used my cel to dial 911.

People, I walked away from this accident and I was not wearing a seat 
belt.  I normally do, but for some reason I forgot to put it on.  The truck 
was still running and my wipers were going, headlights on, etc. when the 
trooper and ambulance showed up.  I was in the E.R. from 4:30am to 8:30am 
doing xrays and the usual.  They sent me home with some prescriptions for 
pain but I haven't taken anything yet and I've been walking around trying 
to keep soreness from setting in.  But tonight I have a feeling it's gonna 
get me while I'm sleeping, so I'm going to take my medicine and hope I can 
get up and walk in the morning.  So, there won't be any CoCo work today or 
tomorrow most likely.

People, drive safe, wear your seat belts, and keep good tires on your vehicle.


-- 
Roger Taylor