The next few days were a wash of occurences. My parents were devastated as you would imagine. I felt out of place, or more so displaced. My brother and I shared a room when I was at home. I lost my bedroom, it became a shrine to my brother. I was shunted out into the rec room and for the first while slept on the couch. I was not allowed in what used to be “my room”
The first few hours being at home I learned the details of what happened in the accident. My brother met up with friends, as it was Friday they were planning a party for the week-end. As per normal he met up with the guy who had the car. My brother along with four other people crammed them selves into a 1978 Chevy Malibu. My brother because he got to the car first and had the most gas money to offer had the priviledge of sitting shot gun Their first stop was Epicerie Dubeaus on the Quebec side to buy booze. then home.
Jan 25th, 1985 that day was a typical late January warm spell. Coolish winds fast enough to cause snow to drift, but the sun warm enough and bright enough thaT IF you were standing in a windbreak that was not shaded from the it was actually quite warm. An awesome day to be down hill skiing as long as you were wearing sunglasses so you were not blinded by the sun.
My brother as I said was sitting shot gun. Apparently sitting cross ways in the front seat to talk to the passengers in the rear. He was wearing his seat belt. This is a signifigant thing, my Brother absolutely hated wearing seat belts. He was a firm believer that seat belts take lives not save them. But for some reason this day he was wearing one, little did he know if indeed he had not been he might still be alive today.
As they travelled the road home they came up to the Five Mile crossing. A set of railroad tracks that were in a smallish valley in the road, it did not matter which side you approached it from you were going slightly downhill. It met the road on a 30 degree angle, and was not flush with the road meaning one side of the tracks sat flush the other side sat about two inches higher forming a slight bump. The only way to cross this set of tracks and not have your car pitch was to swerve slightly as you get to it and try to minimize the angle of going over them. This particualr day as mentioned earlier was warm with drifing snow. This stretch of road was snow covered slush that was about two inches deep. I do not know exaclty how but the driver of the car that Steve was in lost control of the car going over the tracks. It Spun side ways, Passenger side now facing the oncoming traffick hitting the K-Car coming from the opposite direction. I do not know if both cars were still doing highway speed at the time or not. I do know that the front passenger door of the malibu took the full impact of hitting the K-car across the front end. The malibu spun around the K-car its passenger side again hit the ass end of the K-car. The 4 occupants of the K-car died on scene. My Brother received a crushed pelvis, ruptured spleen and kidneys, broken arm, and head trauma. It took first responders a while to get my brother out of the car, he was trapped between the steering wheel and the passenger door which was now sitting almost at the middle of the car. The seat belt held him in place. If he had not been wearing it he may have had a chance because he would have pushed aside instead of being pinned by it.
All for now. this took nearly two hours to write….
Unplugged Pagan 