8232

I just had the most surreal experience of my life. I just left work, turned right out onto Thomas Road heading east and stopped at the light at Central Avenue. Traffic was still busy but there was a break so I was able to swing out to the left hand lane as to avoid cars turning right at the light. At this point I was probably eight cars back from the intersection, but with east/west traffic at a stop for the red light I had a clear view towards the northwest corner of the intersection. Given I was stopped, I was fiddling with the radio, tuning in to hear sports talk. Once I had the station tuned and volume at an acceptable level to hear the on-goings, I looked up to check the light and see if it had turned yet. Just at this moment I saw a body flying hood level through the air about a foot in front of the windshield of what appeared to be a Prius. The body continued to elevate in an arc until it disappeared from sight due to the cars in front of me. It took me a moment to realize what I had seen. I just saw a pedestrian get hit by a moving car. Hard. I was in shock. I couldn't move for a second. People started running from the bus stop towards the impact site. Cars began to move and block traffic and a crowd formed around where I assumed the body stopped, which was a good distance south of the intersection. Keep in mind the pedestrian was crossing westward in the north crosswalk. The body had to have flown at least 3/4 of the way through the intersection which is 6 lanes wide, three each direction with no turn lanes at this particular spot. Assuming that the average car lane is 9 feet, the body had to have been air born for at least 40' and then judging from the crowd slid down the road at least another 40 feet. It was hard to see because of the stopped cars and crowds of people. I numbly proceeded onward as a) I only caught a glimpse of what happened, b) I couldn't have made it over with the number of people already there, and c)the shock of seeing what had just happened clouded my thought process. The last thing I remember was seeing his backpack still in the crosswalk as I drove on. I'm still having trouble processing this. It keeps replaying in my mind over and over and I keep hoping that this person will be ok but based on what I saw I can't imagine this doesn't turn into a fatality. I probably won't be ok until my family is all home safe tonight. People, keep you loved ones close and safe. Look out for each other because obviously people aren't paying attention.