Little did I know how silly that was. They were still in Concord, roughly half an hour away. How could that be? At first they thought they were stuck in traffic caused by the holiday and the fact that the fall foliage is in high bloom; they even commented that since we were so ridiculous as to travel on a holiday weekend, we had to deal with the consequences of such poor planning.
Then after they got off the highway and took a back route on the assumption that the high volume of traffic was jammed up at the toll booth, upon getting back on the highway they found themselves once again in the midst of a parking lot. It took them inching along a bit longer to discover that where the highway split (and the way they wanted to go as well as probably MOST of the people stuck on the highway) was closed. There were several cop cars blocking and one of those signs saying the highway was closed. Because they didn't go by it, they had no idea that the road was closed due to an accident (though they guessed.)
Close to an hour after we had landed and close to two since they had embarked on their 45 minute drive; they finally arrived to pick us up. There was another person waiting for a ride too; he had just run the Chicago marathon and he was waiting curbside, with his metal hanging proudly from his neck; for his parents to pick him up. When his parents drove in, they said they had been in traffic for three hours.
I also had noticed that there were cars absolutely FLYING by me to get to the other end of the terminal (departures).
So, we headed home and once we got on the highway, we noticed that there was a small stream of traffic flowing on the other side. Since they hadn't actually been on that highway, they had no idea where the jam began; but we came across it fairly soon. A tractor trailer truck was laying across the road and there was another car all smashed up sitting on a wrecker. They were letting people go through one lane, but only those who were entering the highway from a higher point than where it was closed after the toll booth.
Then we watched in awe as we drove five, ten, fifteen, twenty, close to thirty miles with nearly stopped traffic on the other side. I've never seen anything like it. The highway that we would have exited on to to head home was also backed up; the kids said that it had started a few miles back before they even merged onto the most grievously affected stretch. When we went by the rest area, I've never seen anything like it. And that is really saying something considering I commuted on that stretch for many, many years and had seen quite a bit!
There was a non-moving line of cars exiting the rest area and there was not a parking place to be found within the parking lot; and there were people parking on the side of the road before the entrance and walking in. It looked like Woodstock, I swear. It was really something.
I say this, because this is New Hampshire and we don't live and breathe traffic like many parts of the country (and cities) do. It's really a rarity to get caught in traffic of any substance, and to see something like this was truly seeing something.
I waited up until 11:00 so I could see the news. I had seen the local news station van at the crash scene, and assumed they would fill in the blanks.
I was so wrong. I was so disgusted that I had to write about it myself; just to send out into the ether a somewhat comprehensible and fact-driven account of what had taken place. An event that affected hundreds, if not thousands (I truly have never seen that many cars backed up on a highway in my life) of people today who deserve a little recognition for their pain.
For crying out loud, is that so hard?
Channel 9 reported that there was an accident. It was so non-newsworthy that they lumped it in with two other crashes that had taken place in the state over the weekend. They called it a deadly weekend on the road. It seems that the driver of a Suburban crossed over the median and ran head-on into a tractor trailer truck. End of that story; we then were launched into a tale of how federal requirements state that if there is less than a ten foot median between the highways, there needs to be some kind of barrier.
They then reported that exactly one year ago there was a fatal crash in that very spot, when a car had crossed over the median and crashed into a mini van, killing a mother and child. That is awful, but I was most curious as to how long that traffic had held up like that. When had the lanes opened and released the dam of cars that had been trapped?
They then flashed to some Dept. of Transportation bigwig who said that there have been a number of crashes there, true, but it was a straight piece of road and didn't really indicate a need for a barrier. But it is only nine feet wide, *(which is not true, it is more like 20 feet) and well ... federal regulations and all ... whatever. My question is, what about the NEWS STORY?
Did these moronic reporters not drive around and see what was taking place? Did they not go to the rest area and interview people; ask them how long they had been stuck in traffic? Did they miss their flight? Because if we couldn't get picked up, there sure as hell had to be people who missed their planes. Is that NOT a story? Because forgive me, but if a snowflake hits the air, they rush to this very same rest area and ask people how big, bad and scary the driving is.
As a former reporter, I was salivating at the thought of hearing people's stories. Not that they missed their flight or they were gravely inconvenienced; but you can't jam up that many people without there being SOMETHING to talk about! Were there any babies born in cars during that time? Did those people who pulled off the highway to wait for it to open have to wait one, two, three, four, maybe even five hours for it to re-open? How come there was absolutely NO INFORMATION for those on the highways. They have those black flashing signs, I assume that something like a "minor inconvenience" such as a major highway being closed for multiple hours on a holiday weekend would be a good enough reason to put the thing to decent use!
I don't want to hear why people no longer get their news the traditional way anymore; that newspapers and and newscasts are losing their following. Why? Because they suck, that's why! I was being lazy; I didn't feel like being on my computer (where I could have found the news in a heartbeat) I wanted to lay on my couch and be informed. And I was sorely disappointed.
Why did no one tell this stupid reporter that this story had more than one angle? Why is this person a reporter at all?
Who.
What.
Where.
When.
Why.
I got bupkus I tell ya. BUPKUS!
This I found on the internet (ahhh, the lovely world of news on demand!)
The person driving the vehicle marked the Blazer Transportation Group never braked and was driving about 100 miles an hour- I was driving next to the tractor trailer truck that was hit. My 2 daughters, a friend and I narrowly missed being hit. We were hit with debris from the car and trailer.
We witnessed the SUV cross the median slip at top speed and cross infront off our car and smash directly into the truck. The SUV burst into smoke and flames for a minute and spun across the highway as the tractor trailer ended up on its side.
We pulled over once we got out of the way and what we saw was horrible. This could have been far worse. There was quite a bit of traffice. Thank god for 3 lanes that allowed drivers in the surrounding area like myself to manouver.
We never saw the driver of the van but - who ever it was seemed to be directly aiming at the traffic in a manner almost as if wanting to make a direct hit at high speed.
This scene is haunting and if anyone else witnessed this please add your comments!
We are praying for the family of the individual that died and the tractor trailer driver.
The tractor trailer driver tried very hard to avoid the collision. Thank
God he is ok!!!
- anonymous, Dover,MA
We witnessed the SUV cross the median slip at top speed and cross infront off our car and smash directly into the truck. The SUV burst into smoke and flames for a minute and spun across the highway as the tractor trailer ended up on its side.
We pulled over once we got out of the way and what we saw was horrible. This could have been far worse. There was quite a bit of traffice. Thank god for 3 lanes that allowed drivers in the surrounding area like myself to manouver.
We never saw the driver of the van but - who ever it was seemed to be directly aiming at the traffic in a manner almost as if wanting to make a direct hit at high speed.
This scene is haunting and if anyone else witnessed this please add your comments!
We are praying for the family of the individual that died and the tractor trailer driver.
The tractor trailer driver tried very hard to avoid the collision. Thank
God he is ok!!!
- anonymous, Dover,MA
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