Most people have probably heard on the news about the horrific accident that occurred south of Cloverdale on Sunday morning April 28, 2013 at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Avenue that resulted in 5 deaths and one person airlifted to hospital.
I did not witness the accident and I did not see the scattered debris aftermath.
A stop at McDonald's for the last day to purchase snack sized smoothies for $1 probably stopped us from being in the middle of the action and gave us about a 10 minute grace period from being at or near the accident.
Just after 11am we headed south on 176th Street, going to an address in Hazelmere on 184th Street. As we neared 40th Avenue it was clear that traffic had come to a stop and there was a police car with lights on blocking the intersection so no traffic could continue south. There was no northbound traffic coming down 176th and we could see flashing lights of emergency vehicles ahead at the 32nd Avenue intersection. Seeing as how we were going to 184th Street anyway we got into the left hand turn lane at 40th Avenue. The police officer was waving all the cars to turn right down 40th towards 168th Street. The police officer stopped us from turning left but that was because an ambulance and two buses were in the southbound lanes of 176th heading north to Cloverdale and he wanted them to get back into the correct lane of traffic. The ambulance was not lit up.
We drove down 40th to 184th and continued southbound. When we got to the intersection at 32nd Avenue and 184th, there was a police officer blocking the lanes there so no one could travel west along 32nd towards 176th Street. When we arrived at the 4 way stop at 24th Avenue there was a lot of traffic coming down that street and turning left to go down 184th Street. At this point we knew there must have been a very bad accident at the intersection at 32nd Avenue and 176th Street because the police had set up a large perimeter to keep traffic out of that area. We had no delays on our route.
We reached our friend's house a little further down 184th and weren't there very long. Now we had to decide how to get back to Cloverdale. I'd have been inclined to get away from the traffic and head north on 192nd Street except I remember seeing a sign that the road is closed for a few weeks around the train tracks, 50th Avenue. We decided to take our chances and go north down 184th Street. When we got to the 4 way stop at 24th Avenue there was a lot of traffic heading west bound. They were backed up nearly a block away from 184th Street. Crazy. Those people should have headed a little further south to 20th Avenue or even 16th or 12th or 8th to avoid that long line up. When we neared the lights at 184th and 32nd a car got into the left hand turn lane. You couldn't see the police car from this direction until you were nearly on top of it taking a turn. He didn't get too far. We didn't have to wait at the lights. We decided to head west on 40th back to 176th Street taking a guess that a lot of cars wouldn't know to turn there. That meant all the detoured cars would end up at the lights at 184th and Highway 10 and because the lights are short there it would take awhile to get through.
And that's what happened. Nobody ahead of us turned left at 40th. When we arrived at the 176th Street intersection the police officer was no longer there, replaced by a road flagger crew.
Like everyone else we watched the news and found out about the devastating accident.
Today I drove past the scene of the accident. There was a camera crew van parked outside the gas station under construction at 176th and 32nd. A cameraman was walking around the parking lot. Across the street at the bottom of the hill a cameraman was interviewing a woman. All the debris from the crash had been removed except for a couple of busted rental fences at the gas station.
I don't know how many people drive these roads but I'm on them daily. The speed limit on Highway 10 is 80km between Cloverdale and 32nd Avenue. From 32nd to just south of 8th its 70km. All the other roads in the area - 184th Street, 168th Street, 40th Avenue 32nd Avenue, 24th Avenue, etc are all 60km. The problem with driving along 184th is that some people think its their own personal autobahn and drive whatever speed they want. I've been passed like I was standing still.
Condolences to the family and friends who lost their loved ones. Very sad.
“The problem… is that some people think it’s their own personal autobahn and drive whatever speed they want.”—And the result, another fatal accident. Sometimes, we’re looking for someone to blame, when in reality, it was our by our own hand that we found ourselves in that situation.
ReplyDeleteMaggie @Mastragelo Law Offices