By TODD GUILD
On Saturday night my two young sons, my wife and I were traveling along Harkins Slough Road on our way home from the Gilroy Gardens holiday lights event.
It was a drive I have taken countless times. This time would be very different.
In what felt like a fraction of a second, I heard my wife scream and a crunching-banging sound I later learned mostly came from the car’s airbags inflating.
I then found myself gasping for air with a searing pain in my chest. It was the first time I have feared for my life, let alone those of my wife and children.
The acrid smell of the airbag gas will forever be seared into my psyche as that of terror and confusion and chaos. As I write this I can still smell it.
I stumbled out of the door after forcing it open, still trying to get my bearings and take a breath.
Luckily, nobody was injured. Firefighters told us that the pain in our chests is normal for a crash in which shoulder restraints do their job.
I will not go into the details of the collision, as they are not relevant to this piece.
Instead, I am writing this as a thank you to the police and emergency workers who responded after I called 911.
In fact, I felt comforted from the outset, when the dispatcher who took my call told me she would stay on the line with me until firefighters arrived.
When they did, they immediately jumped into action, herding us off of the road and making sure we were uninjured.
We were then surrounded by a team of larger-than-life, yellow-jacketed men who exuded confidence and competence and kindness.
At one point, I saw my boys, 6 and 9, clutching stuffed animals emergency workers had given them, a touching, thoughtful gesture that comforted them immeasurably.
Later, after taking what we could from the car, two firefighters helped us carry our possessions two blocks to where our ride picked us up.
I declined both medical care and a trip to the hospital, as I was reluctant to leave my family alone without a way home. As it turns out, the paramedics were right: my pain was temporary.
The trauma from the admittedly minor wreck will stay with us for a while, but that, too will pass.
What will stay with me always are the people who helped us in our moment of need.
I have covered scores of vehicle collisions for this newspaper, and spoken with the responders at most of them. But never have I experienced first-hand the services they provide.
Thank you to the Watsonville Fire Department, Watsonville Police Department and American Medical Response. You make this community a better, safer place.
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Todd Guild can be reached at 761-7327 or [email protected].
