22, I was driving a work truck for the Ky State parks with a co worker in the passenger seat. We had picked the truck up at the rest area in Florence and were headed to the rest area on the other side of the highway.
We had to get off at the Richwood Exit and head back north to get there. At any rate, as I am ready to get off the exit I tap the brake to slow down. Well, what no one had told us was the trucks brakes had been cut to do repairs. Uh, absolutely no brakes whatsoever. If you know this particular exit, it's straight downhill.
This was happening so fast and we are picking up speed, and at the end of the ramp is a semi waiting for the light to turn. My co-worker instinctively grabs the will for some reason, which of course wasn't going to help this very bad situation. Remember, this is 1987 or so, and neither of us are wearing seat belts.
At this point, about halfway down the ramp, the light turns, and a thousand thoughts are going through my mind, I decide that our only option is to go through the intersection and try to make a sharp turn to go up the ramp that goes south from the exit, but now we're going so fast that I realize I would flip the truck if I turned the wheel that sharply going this fast.
So, we fly through the light and through the intersection toward a big ditch on the other side.
The truck goes airborne, and the next thing I hear is the breaking of glass and the loud sound of metal.
I realize I am on the ground, and I look back and see the truck totally demolished. I don't know how bad I'm hurt, and I'm feeling my face, checking for blood. I'm also looking for my coworker.
Now, I'm starting to realize that I'm bleeding from my face, but I'm not in a lot of pain. About this time I start to yell for my buddy. Tons of people are now arriving on the scene, and I can hear the sound of an ambulance. This is about 3 am, as our jobs were basically to keep the two rest areas clean, and provide security overnight.
Finally, I stumble to my friend and realize the seriousness of his condition. He was so badly swollen, that I didn't recognize him. I realize that we needed that ambulance, and fast. Many people are on the scene at this point, and a couple minutes later the paramedics are there.
Two ambulances arrive about the same time, and as the first one gets there, I am hollering for them to take my coworker and get him to the hospital. They of course do. A minute or so later I am in the back of an ambulance and headed to the nearest hospital, which is just a few miles away.
As I am laying down, I'm still not sure how bad I am injured. I know I'm bleeding from my face and my leg.
Finally, the paramedic says that I'm going to need a few stitches for the gash to my nose, and that my leg would also need some stitching.
I get to the hospital, and after a few X-rays and extensive evaluation, it's determined that the stitches are all I need.
As I am getting released, my only concern is the welfare of my friend.
My girlfriend at the time is picking me up, and I'm asking the nurses how my friend is doing. That's when they informed me that he had passed away from his injuries.
To this day, I still think of him often, and wonder if I am responsible for his death.
