Last night I went to a little place down the road that had a live band and was watching them and drinking a few brews. I love staying at a hotel with so many places in walking distances!
About half way through the set around 11:00 PM, my brother calls me. So I step outside and we just start shooting the shit... After a few minutes, my brother yells on the phone "OH SHIT! John, I gotta go!!" and quickly hangs up. To be honest, I had a few beers at that point and thought maybe something had happened to him, since he's a cop and all. Later that night he calls me back to tell me about a wreck that happened right in front of him where some guy turned in front of a pickup truck and the driver was ejected. You can read about the accident here. And here's the video that my brother caught from his dash-cam.
I know it's really small but if you look to the top-right, you can actually see the wreck happen. Fortunately, you can't see the guy getting ejected. David said that guy was dead as soon as he ran over to check on him. The driver of the pickup had injuries but luckily his daughter who was the passenger in the pickup was okay. Crazy stuff man!
Well, I'm going to head down to the beach. Holla!
UPDATE
The Nooga.com has a short story on the wreck my brother witnessed and mentions him.
William Christopher Cook, 27, Donaldson Drive, Chattanooga, was pronounced dead at the scene.There are also pictures of the vehicles.The driver of the pickup truck has been identified as Richard K. Roots of Merritt Island, Florida.
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ---- Around 11:00 p.m. Friday night, Chattanooga Police Traffic Investigators were called to the city’s 6th traffic fatality of the year at 1100 Riverside Drive, near the Boathouse Restaurant.
CPD officer David Mays was patrolling short distance behind one of the vehicles in the accident and saw it happen. He immediately jumped from his patrol car and ran to the most obviously injured, Cook, the driver of the 1997 Chrysler Sebring convertible. He had been ejected from the car on impact since he had not been wearing a seatbelt.
The officer checked for a pulse on Cook but found none while radioing for paramedics and additional officers. There were no victims entrapped.
Cook was pronounced dead at the scene by arriving Hamilton County EMS paramedics. His body was taken to the Hamilton County Forensics Center where an autopsy will determine the actual cause of death and if or not he was intoxicated.
Investigators report Cook's car was traveling north on Riverside Drive at when he apparently lost control at a high rate of speed, entered the curve to fast and lost control. He crashed into the front-drivers side of the truck and then came to a rest against a wooden fence.
The driver of the pickup truck, Richard K. Roots, was transported to Erlanger Hospital to be treated for broken ribs and an serious ankle injury. His 11-year-old daughter, a passenger in the truck, was not injured.
CPD traffic officers closed off Riverside Drive and spent several hours taking measurements of the crash scene as part of their investigation.
Chattanooga firefighters were also at the scene tending to the injured.