Delivery story 393 Doug writes: In ten years of pizza delivery, I've picked up one or two stories. This is the most tragic. I was delivering for Pizza Hut in Middleton, WI in 2002. I had just left on a run in my '92 Acura Integra (a small car, important detail) and was approaching an intersection of two main thoroughfares. A line of about five vehicles was stopped in the left lane for a red light. The first two were SUVs (another important detail.) The right lane, which I was in, was clear. I was slowing to stop when, about 2 or 3 car lengths from the intersection, the light turned green, so I began to accelerate. By the time I was about 1 car length from the intersection, I noticed the left lane hadn't started moving yet. I assumed it was merely a case of the lead driver daydreaming and missing the light change. It wasn't. A 13-year-old girl darted out from in front of the lead SUV. I slammed on the brakes and veered to the left as far as I dared (remember, there were vehicles in that lane) in the hope she would make it past me before I reached her. Unfortunately, we were both a little too slow. As she was a mere foot or so away from clearing me, I clipped her, and she went tumbling over my hood, landing in the street. I immediately hit my flashers and parking brake. I rushed from my vehicle to her, finding her, much to my chagrin, pushing herself to the terrace. (Yes, I was relieved she was conscious, but you should NEVER move after a serious accident as you can make your injuries worse.) "Are you okay?" I asked frantically. Crying and obviously in shock and a great deal of pain, she replied, "No!" "Alright, I'm going to go call 911. DON'T. MOVE!!" My cell phone was dead, so I ran to a nearby business to call 911. They informed me that someone else had already called it in, so I just gave a couple minor details about my identity and involvement. Next I called the store to tell them what had happened and to send someone to take my runs. I returned to the scene, checked on the girl, telling her the ambulance was on the way, and moved my car to get it out of traffic. (I also removed my topper.) I don't remember the exact order of events, but the other Hut driver showed up for my runs. The girl's parents arrived. They told me she had suffered minor brain damage from, ironically, being hit by a car about eight years earlier and shouldn't have been crossing the street alone. Then the police and ambulance arrived. I gave the officer my statement last, being as detailed as possible and mentioning the obstructed view and rapidity of the girl's appearance. He told me that, luckily, another witness (I believe it was the lead SUV driver) had corroborated my story and the victim herself said she was trying to "beat the green," so I wasn't at fault. He also said that, judging by the skid marks, I wasn't going much faster than 15 mph when I hit the brakes. Cold comfort, indeed. I learned that the worst of the girl's injuries was her leg getting messed up pretty badly, but a blood clot had nearly killed her. She did make a full recovery, though, and was able to get back to her life, thank God. As for me, I was taken off the road and never put back on because the girl knew one of the owner's daughters. (Just as well. That episode had kind of soured me on driving.) They couldn't fire me as I had done nothing wrong but they eventually sent me to work as a cook at another store. About a year later, my career at Pizza Hut of Southern WI ended, thank God. return to top