Brandon Allin
07/30/06, 11:09 PM
Big D and the Kids Table (http://www.bigdandthekidstable.com) recently witnessed a very tragic incident while on the road. You can read what the band had to say below.
This is one tour update that I wish I didn’t have to write. I don’t actually have to, but I think it will bring some resolution and closure into my life, so here goes.
Yesterday, we were driving from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Colorado Springs, Colorado and we saw something terrible. The highway was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless plains and amazing mountains in the distance.
JR was driving. Out of nowhere, the Jeep Liberty in front of us swerved left and then back right. Then the car flipped. I felt like I was watching a high-speed car chase in a movie. The car bounced three or four times with three or four barrel rolls in between each impact. JR avoided all debris, including the rear axle. I yelled for him to pull over as fast as he could. I wanted to help but I didn’t see how anyone could survive that crash.
Steve called 911 before we came to a full stop. The second that the van came to a stop, I jumped out, scanned the highway for more traffic and then bolted to the demolished car. There was a small fire in the engine and I wasn’t sure if it would blow up. I was scared.
I made it to the driver’s side and saw the passenger. She was totally unconscious and the luckily the only passenger. By this time a trucker had stopped. Somebody yelled for him to get his fire extinguisher. He did. ‘
I was dumbstruck when I saw the woman. More people kept showing up. The scene was intense. The fire was put out, but the woman was still not responsive. I won’t go in detail to what I saw in the car, because it was…and still is really disturbing. I checked for her pulse, it was barely there.
I didn’t want to move her from the car because her neck was clearly broken and she had an extremely bad head injury. She was buckled up, so we unbuckled her hoping that some sort of emergency response unit would show up. Nothing. It was just a few strangers, this woman and us. I found her pocket book about twenty yards away from her car and got her license. Her name was Sherri.
After a couple of minutes at the scene, still trying to keep Sherri with us, she was gone. Unfortunately, I was right thinking that nobody could survive that crash.
25 minutes later, an ambulance showed up. They couldn’t do anything.
A few minutes later a fire truck showed up. They spayed the engine down for a few minutes to be safe. I also told them about the car battery that I found, also twenty yards from the car, next to the rear axle, that was leaking battery acid. They spayed that too.
It was a crazy day. Everyone tried to help in whatever way possible. People come together in times like this and selfishness is nowhere to be found. Unfortunately we couldn’t help or save her, but we tried.
The rescue team told us that we had to wait for the police to show up since it was a fatality. When they did, we gave them our description of what happened. JR explained the crash and I had to explain what I saw since I was the first one with her.
After we had given our reports, the officer thanked us and we were on our way. Our van had never been so quiet. We were all in our own states of disbelief, shock, grief and mourning.
We made it to the show right before the doors opened. I was in a haze. When it was our turn to play, I wanted anything but to perform. I think some of the guys felt the same way. But we played and it turned out to be a great show. I definitely felt better once the set started. I felt comfortable again. Dave dedicated a song to Sherri and to us, it meant a lot.
It’s now the next morning. I still can’t shake those images from my head. I don’t know exactly why I’m writing this, but I think it’s all part of the healing process. It’s crazy how one minute you can be driving down the highway and the next you’re gone. Life is totally unpredictable and yesterday was just another reminder to not take any of our time here for granted.
We drive more than most people…this is our life. I hope to never have to see something like that again. I also will feel a little different when I see crosses or flower bouquets by the side of a road because they are reminders of people who lost their lives in situations probably similar to Sherri’s.
I guess that’s my story, or rather our story. There’s not much else to write so I’ll end it here.
Sean P. Rogan
This is one tour update that I wish I didn’t have to write. I don’t actually have to, but I think it will bring some resolution and closure into my life, so here goes.
Yesterday, we were driving from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Colorado Springs, Colorado and we saw something terrible. The highway was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless plains and amazing mountains in the distance.
JR was driving. Out of nowhere, the Jeep Liberty in front of us swerved left and then back right. Then the car flipped. I felt like I was watching a high-speed car chase in a movie. The car bounced three or four times with three or four barrel rolls in between each impact. JR avoided all debris, including the rear axle. I yelled for him to pull over as fast as he could. I wanted to help but I didn’t see how anyone could survive that crash.
Steve called 911 before we came to a full stop. The second that the van came to a stop, I jumped out, scanned the highway for more traffic and then bolted to the demolished car. There was a small fire in the engine and I wasn’t sure if it would blow up. I was scared.
I made it to the driver’s side and saw the passenger. She was totally unconscious and the luckily the only passenger. By this time a trucker had stopped. Somebody yelled for him to get his fire extinguisher. He did. ‘
I was dumbstruck when I saw the woman. More people kept showing up. The scene was intense. The fire was put out, but the woman was still not responsive. I won’t go in detail to what I saw in the car, because it was…and still is really disturbing. I checked for her pulse, it was barely there.
I didn’t want to move her from the car because her neck was clearly broken and she had an extremely bad head injury. She was buckled up, so we unbuckled her hoping that some sort of emergency response unit would show up. Nothing. It was just a few strangers, this woman and us. I found her pocket book about twenty yards away from her car and got her license. Her name was Sherri.
After a couple of minutes at the scene, still trying to keep Sherri with us, she was gone. Unfortunately, I was right thinking that nobody could survive that crash.
25 minutes later, an ambulance showed up. They couldn’t do anything.
A few minutes later a fire truck showed up. They spayed the engine down for a few minutes to be safe. I also told them about the car battery that I found, also twenty yards from the car, next to the rear axle, that was leaking battery acid. They spayed that too.
It was a crazy day. Everyone tried to help in whatever way possible. People come together in times like this and selfishness is nowhere to be found. Unfortunately we couldn’t help or save her, but we tried.
The rescue team told us that we had to wait for the police to show up since it was a fatality. When they did, we gave them our description of what happened. JR explained the crash and I had to explain what I saw since I was the first one with her.
After we had given our reports, the officer thanked us and we were on our way. Our van had never been so quiet. We were all in our own states of disbelief, shock, grief and mourning.
We made it to the show right before the doors opened. I was in a haze. When it was our turn to play, I wanted anything but to perform. I think some of the guys felt the same way. But we played and it turned out to be a great show. I definitely felt better once the set started. I felt comfortable again. Dave dedicated a song to Sherri and to us, it meant a lot.
It’s now the next morning. I still can’t shake those images from my head. I don’t know exactly why I’m writing this, but I think it’s all part of the healing process. It’s crazy how one minute you can be driving down the highway and the next you’re gone. Life is totally unpredictable and yesterday was just another reminder to not take any of our time here for granted.
We drive more than most people…this is our life. I hope to never have to see something like that again. I also will feel a little different when I see crosses or flower bouquets by the side of a road because they are reminders of people who lost their lives in situations probably similar to Sherri’s.
I guess that’s my story, or rather our story. There’s not much else to write so I’ll end it here.
Sean P. Rogan