Guardian Angel
Was riding with my Bullriding grandson yesterday outside Hardin MT. I had spoke with him less than 10 minutes before as he was headed south on I-90.
He ran into the dust storm but was able to see people wrecking in front of him, so he took the borrow pit clear to the fence to avoid this jackknifed pickup and car.
This picture is from a posted video, it shows Riley’s van in proximity of the carnage.
He said when he left the pavement, he could hear cars crashing behind him. Damn lucky he made the choice to get out of the line of fire.
Six people lost their lives, and we Thank God for protecting our Riley and prayers to the families of those not so lucky.
He got held up for an hour and then continued to the Rodeo in Sheridan where his luck failed and bucked off his bull.
Today he is in route to Nephi Utah to give one a go tonight.
Mule
Comments
Good to hear he came out of it alright....that would be a frightening thing to lose the ability to see around you..
I’ve been in complete whiteouts and several zero visibility dust storms in several places across the globe, eerie and somewhat disorienting, but never a dust storm on an interstate highway at speed, I’m guessing it was downright scary for him at the moment.
I’ll get to quiz him in depth for details in person tomorrow.
Mule
Quick thinking and situational awareness saved him . Smart man.
I was coming back from the last trip to Whidbey Island for the first time in a long time from family reunion. A semi-trucker passed me with a triple trailer and the last trailer was fishtailing so bad the one side or the other was off the pavement. He was doing 70 miles an hour and I slowed down to 50 because I wanted no part of that wreck about to happen.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
Folks, Riley is no dummy. This incident highlights his situational awareness.
So many people just drive along, complacent and oblivious. Smart ones are always thinking "What's the worst thing that could happen right now?" and "What will I do if it does?"
Thank you Rocky, I will show him your comment tomorrow, I’m quite sure it will elicit a smile.
Mule
Guardian Angels are for real and one needs to stay on good terms with them.....I know that fact first hand. After reading this I can't get George Strait's "Amarillo by Morning" out of my head. I wish your Grandson well and good luck riding
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
Wow, that's something right there. Glad the young man is ok, and prayers for all who were not. Luck to him on his bull ride too.
Quick thinking
@dpmule Is that your son's white van in this news video?
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/16/us/hardin-montana-dust-storm-crash/index.html
Yes, that’s the Grandsons van by the fence in the borrow pit just below the jackknifed flatbed and pickup in the video..
Mule
@dpmule One is never too old to learn new things, thus I inquire, what is a "borrow pit"?
Well done to the parents for the raising of a fine grandson. His ability to be situationally aware and act accordingly didn't come naturally.
Susie, area along the roadways where they “borrowed” the dirt/material to build the road base.
We call anything off the shoulder is generally called the borrow pit or borrow ditch.
Geographic area generalization I guess.
Mule