i leave work early on fridays

i stopped at my pop's house yesterday right after work. i had (yet another) eye doctor's appointment. i wanted to make a quick pit stop before continuing on to the center. when i walked in, popi had the tv on. it looked like some sort of accident. yes, avon mountain again. i've mentioned several times how i drove over that mountain for YEARS. i worked in avon park south and lived in west hartford. twice a day EVERY day. most days it was white knuckle driving even in good weather. it wasn't the 'mountain' as much as who else was driving around you. people are nuts. they speed, they follow too closely (even in horrid, snowy, icy or rainy weather) they put their makeup on or read the paper or talk on their cell phones. changes were made and they are GOOD changes but NOT enough changes. i still go out that way on occasion. my doctor is in avon and i have friends in that area. i want to be safe and i want everyone else to be safe too. oh another thing, you CAN'T keep trucks off of route 44. where are they going to go instead? they CAN'T all be sent through farmington center on route 4 (who the f**k decided to have a highway exit and entrance in farmington when everyone knew the town was NOT going to allow the 'historic' route 4 district through the center of town be widened??????). where else are they going to go?

Crash Brings Back Memories Of 2005 Avon Fatal Crashes

Friday’s crash on Avon Mountain has brought back memories from two tragic crashes nearby from 2005.
On Friday morning, a truck driven by Robert Rauch crashed into the Nassau's Furniture store near the intersection of Route 44 and Route 10.
Rauch was taken via Lifestar to Hartford Hospital, where is reported to be in guarded condition.
Mike Bondra, a witness to the crash, spoke with NBC 30's Tom Lewis and said that the recent crash brought back memories from the first crash in 2005.
"I couldn't believe it was happening again," he said.
Witnesses told NBC 30 that it is a miracle the truck did not hit any other cars.
Helen Silansky, a witness, said, "I Just saw all the commotion that was going on and then saw the truck going by and my son-in-law was in this accident that happened two years ago here, so I just got absolutely upset about the whole thing."
On July 29, 2005, a truck careened out of control down Avon Mountain Road, triggering a fiery crash that killed four people and injured dozens. The truck, owned by American Crushing & Recycling LLC of Bloomfield, had a history of brake problems..............

from what i've seen on the television news coverage, mr rauch is a hero. one person said she saw him driving on the mountain and he was proceeding cautiously. then when he realized his brakes went, he keep blaring his horn. he also went out of his way (obviously) to avoid the many cars all over the bottom of the mountain. i wish him well.

the first thing i did when i was at my popi's was to call my friend mark, at work. he was in the FIRST accident and was brought by life star to the hospital. mark is a very special person. he's writing a book about the accident (the FIRST one) with NONE of the money from that book going to him. i was privileged to read the first four chapters and it was amazing. i have to keep after him to FINISH though.

"In a split second it all happened" -- Witnesses describe latest Avon Mountain crash

Avon (WTNH) _ A big crash and a big puff of smoke -- that's what Mark Guimond heard and saw on Avon Mountain this morning as a tractor trailer crashed into the Nassau's Furniture store on Route 44 and Route 10.
"We looked to our right and there was buried, when the smoke cleared it was buried -- a tractor trailer. There was maybe 10-15 feet left of him hanging out of the building. It looked to me like he was carrying shingles," said Guimond, who works for a landscaping company.
The truck, driven by Robert Rauch of New Jersey, indeed was transporting roofing materials from Baltimore, Maryland to Canton.
Tammy Burns had just dropped her kids off at pre-school and was in traffic at the stop light when she saw the truck coming right at her............

yesterday was the second anniversay of the avon mountain crash

i've written about it several times. i travelled over that mountain for years and years. even on GOOD days, it was white knuckle driving. not so much if you were alone and no other cars were around you. it was when there WERE others on the road (which was 99.9% of the time). people are idiots. on your tail. even in snow and ice. they've taken steps to cut down on the idiocy. they've marked the road better. they've put up more signs. they have added police 'pull over areas'. it's STILL not pretty though.



my friend mark was in that accident. he was airlifted out. he doesn't remember anything about the accident at all. however, he is reconstructing it. he's talking to everyone he can that was involved. it's changed his life. not that he wasn't a good man before (he was), he just is a far better man now. he's writing a book. i was privileged to read the first four chapters. it's amazing. the amount of research he's put into it. the people he's talked to (including those that directly helped to save his life; a doctor on his way to work, someone who was working at avon old farms inn who heard the accident and rushed out. several firefighters and police and on and on) and the places he's been. oh, one more thing. all of the profits from the book are going to the families of those affected by this tragedy.



2nd anniversary of Avon Mountain crash



Sunday Marks 2-Year Anniversary Of Avon Crash