Las Vegas Thunder
August 20th, 2012. I was driving back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas.
20 minutes into being on Highway 15, the wind picked up. My car was having a hard time staying in the lane, and so were the others. I was on full alert mode, but with one hand occupied by my camera. Out of nowhere, what seemed to be a gigantic dust storm picked up from the south and engulfed the sky completely. About a mile ahead the brake lights from a semi shined and the others followed. It steered right, then quickly left, finally losing control and screeching to a halt in the center divider.
About 30 minutes had passed. Then the unexpected happened. From the opposite side of the road (which was at a higher elevation), a truck flew off of its lane and soared head onto mine. The driver managed to swerve back into the gravel, but it turned too quickly and began to flip uncontrollably. Luckily, it missed oncoming traffic, and I was about a quarter mile away. I photographed it while passing, now at a much slower speed, but I had an inherent urge to pull over and help.
Okay, fine. Truth is, I wanted to photograph any madness I could.
I pulled over, and ran towards the truck. A man was already prying the window off, and I felt uneasy holding my camera so I put it under my jacket. I helped pull the windshield off and two men emerged. They were hurt, but not critically. They walked away from it. The rain stopped.
In line with my true motive, I retrieved my camera and began to photograph them. I told them it was for proof. They were both in a confused state, and it didn't seem to phase them. I was astonished by the amount of people that stopped to help. More astonished with how they survived such a brutal accident.
I continued my drive home and the sun came out from hiding. All was well.
