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11-23-2009
Preparedness Facts of the Week
by Elizabeth Hall, Emergency Response Assistant
Kings County Office of Emergency Management
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  Remember - Do Not Take Your Eyes Off
The Road While Driving in the Fog!
 		 
 
February 11, 2008, Hanford, California: A woman was driving four of her family members including two of her grandchildren ages 12 years old and 3 months old to the train station on what was the foggiest day Hanford had seen that season. It was 6:00 a.m. and the stretch of road was 12 3/4 Avenue where it t's into Excelsior. This wasn't an unfamiliar road to her. She had driven this path all her life. 		 
     
 

While driving she took her eyes off of the road for a brief moment as she was looking down to turn on her windshield wipers. Unbeknownst to her, she was approaching the stop sign up ahead. Disoriented in the fog, she apparently didn't think she was that close yet. She was hit by an on-coming semi-truck.

Her vehicle was hit hard on the driver side, spun around at what seemed like eternity. All the suitcases, clothes in them, diaper bag with all its belongings, books, and papers were strewn all over the road and nearby fields. All of the occupants were wearing their seatbelts. The two children made it out ok, the other two adults were transported by ambulance to Community Hospital, where they were released a few hours later.

The driver wasn't so lucky. The force was so great that she was ejected. She was thrown to the side of the road. Cars were speeding by and running over all the debris, close to hitting her as she lay on the side of the road while the family scrambled for assistance. Her body was broken, ear barely attached, and barely alive.

She was rushed by ambulance to Fresno where she underwent surgery. During surgery she was revived twice. For the following 3 months, she was in a coma, and so unrecognizable. Along with all the brokenness, she suffered a brain injury. How severe, would not be determined until she came out of the coma and could start rehabilitation. Experts had no idea what the future would hold for her, and wouldn't even venture to guess. She was in the hospital until June of that year. She had several seizures, brain bleeds, and more surgeries.

Now approaching the 2 year anniversary since the accident, this woman lives in a Hanford nursing home where she is bound to either bed or wheelchair, and needs assistance for everything except feeding herself.

She can recognize everyone from her past, and remembers things from a long time ago, but can't remember much of anything within the past 15 years. Her behavior is sporadic and she is on various medications to control violent behavior as well as paranoia. At first her family was very hopeful because she had seemed to come along way considering what she went through, but over the past two years, there seems to be no signs of improvement and it looks as if she will live out the rest of her life in the nursing home in this state of mind.

This story is true. This woman was born and raised in Hanford. This woman is my mother-in-law.

Many of us were raised here and have driven in this fog all of our lives, that doesn't make us untouchable from accidents. We should treat each foggy day with a sense of awareness…at all times. That one brief moment of unawareness changed the lives of many people forever. Something so simple, but with drastic, devastating and permanent results!

 
 
  Safety Tips

Below are some safety tips provided by Caltrans that may at first seem obvious to the casual reader. Unfortunately, many drivers tend to disregard these simple educational notes when barreling through dense fog. I hope you take the time to review these tips often, and then practice them with diligence when your visibility becomes impaired while driving.
  1. Reduce speed to allow safe stopping distance.
  2. Drive with your headlights on low-beam. NEVER drive using only your parking or fog lights.
  3. Use extreme caution when crossing traffic or busy intersections during dense fog conditions.
  4. Listen for traffic you cannot see. (No matter how cold it is, I always crack open a window so that I can hear traffic. I also turn the radio completely off.
  5. Use windshield wipers and your defroster to improve visibility; BUT FIRST…make sure you know where they are by feel. DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF THE ROAD!
  6. Be patient! Don’t pass long lines of traffic in the fog.
  7. If visibility diminishes to a point that you no longer feel safe driving, don't stop in the traffic lanes.
  8. Attempt to utilize the closest off-ramp so you can stop at a safe location and wait for the fog to clear.
  9. Call the Caltrans Highway Information Network at
    1-800-427-ROAD for the latest highway condition information.
  
Do your part for safety awareness by passing this information along to anyone you can think of who would benefit.

Remember...Slow your pace. It's not a race. Have a great week!
Your Emergency Preparedness Team Sabrina Bustamante & Elizabeth Hall
Office of Emergency Management
280 Campus Drive Hanford, CA 93230
(559) 582-3211, Ext. 2634
www.kingscountyoem.com
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