The meeting began with a reception tonight at a lovely farm just a few miles outside of New Orleans, past the Bywater and the Lower Ninth Ward. I've driven by here several times on various adventures to St. Bernard and East Plaquemines Parish-- there is a nice pecan grove across the street from the barn, and trees line the highway, creating a beautiful arch over the road. I love driving down roads like that.
I was keeping an eye on the mileage on my car-- Google Maps had said the place I was going was 15 miles from my last turn, and I was only about ten. I decided to go to Taize worship at Lakeview Presbyterian Church before hand. It's peaceful and contemplative and private. And peaceful. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was enjoying my music. The second car ahead of me slowed and put on their signal to turn into a farm, which got me questioning if I had the right farm in mind or not, whether or not I really had a few miles to go still. The car right in front of me didn't slow down at all, and rear-ended them as they turned, sending them sailing into the drainage ditch alongside the road.
I had a split second to decide whether to follow that car as it sped off, or see if the people in the car were ok. I pulled over. One woman in the back seat broke her wrist. That was not exactly pleasant to see. Everyone was ok though.
I offered to stick around and help with the 911 call, and getting everyone out of the car. After busting down the fence, the car stopped precariously perched over the ditch, which probably had about two feet of water over soft ground. Everyone but the woman with the broken wrist could get out though. I got water to help settle everyone's shock. The driver asked me to take some pictures for her insurance company.
Turns out, this was a car full of speakers and panelists for the meeting this week-- I would have missed the farm if not for pulling over to check on them. Not the ideal way to meet, but they were all very pleasant and surprisingly calm people. After talking with police and getting cleared by paramedics, we had a nice evening talking over some great local food. I met a few new people working in the natural resources field, which is always helpful.
I was so mad at the driver who hit them, who sped off. Part of me felt horrible for not following them to get a license plate-- I could only offer a description of a white car with Louisiana plates. Helpful. Not. But seriously, if someone slams a car off the road into a ditch and then speeds off, it's probably not a good idea to follow them anyway.
Amazing sometimes how close you can be to disaster, and yet still feel like you were in the right place at the right time.
More on this meeting, Mardi Gras, Abi's visit, and other adventures soon. I've been keeping busy.
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