Accident on I80

First, I’m safe.

It was a long and stressful drive home from Elko County. It made our other issues seem like nothing. More later about why Honey Badger came home zip-tied together, the mini tornado that hit only my tent and the invasion of scorpions.🤪

The wind out of Winnemucca was crazy, and had already flipped one semi on I80. On the west side of town, it was blinding sand gusts. Semis were swinging from side to side like crazy. Honey Badger is scientifically proven to be less aerodynamic than a cow 🐄. Keeping her in line and watching out for semis was very stressful, and my anxiety levels were high. I thought if it was like that all the way home, I’d pull over and find a hotel till the storm blew through.

Thankfully 20 miles out of Winnemucca, the worst of the storm dropped off. Austin of Nevada Expeditions was in the lead, and between us was a tight group of 2 semis and a trailer pulled by a minivan. Due to the wind, I hung back, waiting to pass until they all moved over.
A gust of wind hit the trailer, and the driver overcorrected. It was not bad but enough to start a small fishtail. I slowed down, fell farther behind, and flipped on my hazard lights. Thankfully, there was a large open space behind me. I called Austin to say I was backing off and worried the trailer might flip. For those not familiar with that area, the speed limit is 80 mph, and people drive 90 plus. There are always a ton of semi-trucks with 2 to 3 trailers.
It felt surreal watching the trailer. Part of me thought they might pull out of the fishtail. The other part of my brain was thinking about what would happen with a collision of 2 semis, a minivan and a trailer at 80 mph with more oncoming traffic. I thought of my trauma kit on the headrest in each of my vehicles and did a mental inventory of supplies. A couple of tourniquets and bandages wouldn’t go far with multiple victims. I was prioritizing I would need to help first. While I am a psychotherapist, I have worked in hospitals and hospices, including traumas brought into emergency rooms.

The entire incident felt like it took forever, but it was probably less than 30 seconds.
The fishtail went from not bad to a critical mass and an “Oh S**t” moment when I knew they would crash. It was a very strange feeling knowing what would happen and not being able to do anything to prevent the accident. It is the proverbial watching a train wreck.

The trailer went from swerving a little to going back and forth across both lanes. Then, the minivan started swerving back and forth opposite of the trailer. I hit the brakes and got off the road on the opposite side just as the minivan and trailer started turning circles and ended up backward on the freeway, blocking a lane and a half.

An angel was looking over the driver. She avoided both semis, didn’t flip and no one was close enough behind that couldn’t avoid the accident. She jumped out of her car and ran onto the highway to collect a window for the trailer. I was thinking the broken window was the least of her worries at that point. I called across the road to see if she had called 911, and she hadn’t.
Austin heard what was happening before I disconnected to call 911. Thankfully, I had service and was connected to the local dispatch and then the Nevada Highway Patrol. Austin turned around on the freeway as soon as possible, doubled back till he was behind us, and then tried to slow traffic headed our way.

The woman was understandably shaken, but she kept trying to cross the freeway, once walking out in front of a semi. She was able to get her rig straightened and partially off the freeway, but still over the yellow line. Traffic didn’t seem to care; they kept blowing by at full speed. The van had at least 1 flat tire. The angle of the vehicle and trailer was off; I don’t know if the trailer was too heavy for her vehicle or if she did more damage.
Meanwhile, on the phone with dispatch, I learned that as crazy as it seems, the closest NHP officer was 80 miles away. He talked with the driver and decided she should call AAA. We debated what to do with her vehicle, but didn’t want to risk moving it in the heavy traffic. The driver didn’t have a cell phone or any other means of communication. She used my phone to call AAA but didn’t know how to do it, so Austin helped her through the process. We found out she had no food, water or supplies. She didn’t even have a spare tire.
It took time, but we got her settled, and AAA came from Winnemucca. Thanks to Officer Bajaras, who talked us through what to do.

I was pretty shaken up the rest of the drive. Both the NHP officer and AAA called me several times for more information.
Not far out of Fernley, I passed a trailer where the wind had ripped off their siding and insulation. Then I saw 2 cars and a U-Haul off the side of the road with a flat tire. I feel a little bad for not stopping, but they were less than a mile from town, had three people and I was alone at that point. Then I saw they were trying to inflate the flat tire with an old-fashioned bike pump. Honestly, I laughed so hard that it broke my tension.

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