This afternoon I had stopped in Templeton to get a few things I needed, and then I headed back to Paso Robles. I could not help but notice that traffic was backed up much more than usual. Going east on Highway 46 West I had to wait through several lights at the signal on Theater Drive. I took this picture and the others in this post from my car. Do you see the dog's head sticking out of the truck ahead of me? You can make the photo bigger if you click on it.
Once past that light, I had to wait for a couple more light cycles at the intersection of South Vine and 101 before getting on the freeway to head north. I assumed it was all traffic for the Mid State Fair, even though it seemed to be a bit early for that. This freeway is more crowded than it usually is at this time on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM.
As I tried to keep a safe distance behind the cars in front of me in this slow traffic, I finally saw what was causing the jam. You can see part of it in this photo. First I saw the flashing lights, and as I passed, the emergency vehicles came into view. There were two Highway Patrol cars, a fire engine, and an ambulance on the scene when I got there. The ambulance isn't in the photo. I did not feel right about taking a picture of whomever was being loaded into it as a white bundle. I hope the person was still alive. I assume so, since I think there would have been more active officers on the scene if there were any fatalities. I think I would have felt better if it had been fair traffic slowing things down. Perhaps I'll know more about this tomorrow when the news reports come out.
I hate it when things like that happen. Not the traffic jam... just the person being hurt in an accident. I've passed sad scenes like that too many times.
ReplyDeleteI usually pray for that hurt person as I go by -- or even if I hear a siren. It always means someone is in trouble.
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