On Monday April 6th, I was unable to sleep I felt wide awake even though the hours were advancing quickly and midnight came and passed quickly. Something felt off about the night.
At exactly 1:37 a.m. I received a text from my friend Shane the first text read “hey Corey” I looked out the window as they often park next to me and what I realized was they weren’t there. I replied and then they said something that made my stomach drop and my adrenaline rush.
Shane and Cindy got into a really bad wreck my friend Shane n Cindy actually live in their truck they sleep in their truck they work in their truck. it is their Lifeline to earning an income. As is mine. Of course I asked if they were okay and Shane said he was just about to be released from the hospital while Cindy had to stay I quickly rushed down the empty deserted streets because of the quarantine. I found the hospital Dell Seton in Austin Texas about a mile from where we were staying and where Shane and Cyndee usually park at night after a long shift I realized that I could not go into the emergency room and I could not find the right entrance and going into the hospital would be frivolous at best at this time. So instead I went back to my spot after finding out exactly where I needed to go and let Shane know that I’d be able to be there to pick him up. At 2:51 a.m. on Monday April 6th Shane was released from the hospital and making his way down 12th Street I quickly got into my car and rushed down to the hospital area to find Shane when I found him he was on the other side of a long intersection and the light had just turned red.
I had to watch him with excruciating tensity because he was walking slow and seemed hurt while the light simply did not seem to change. I wanted to rush through the red light right there since the city was deserted and the traffic lights were next to useless and I really wanted to help my friend. Shane got in the car and there was a moment of silence and then he looked at me and he asked me one question he said “where do you want to eat?”
Let’s go back a few weeks and look at where I met Shane and Cindy I met them down by the river underneath the interstate bridge where I like to fish and take photos and feed the Ducks they like to camp down there at night and they met us meaning me and my friend Dan because their battery was dead and they had to approache me to get a jump which I had no problem doing because someone had helped me jump my battery as I had battery troubles too. I realized that Shane and Cindy were in a similar position that I was. Shane and Cindy were delivery drivers and they delivered for Uber Eats I delivered for other delivery apps but we shared the same mentality and laughed at stories we told to each other about navigating the weird world of food delivery. when Shane texted me that his car got in a wreck my stomach sank because I truly understood what he had lost.
Back to April 6th,
I spent the entire day helping Shane n cyndee get back on their feet after a very long and dramatic experience trying to put their life back together it started with finding a place to eat which during a quarantine can be a difficult task and once we found a Lone Jack in the Box and got meals we decided to pull over and rest for a minute at that point it was only Shane in my car and he was somebody I sort of knew and we began sharing stories not just about the accident but about our lives Shane had a troubled past and getting in a car accident like this was actually his second time. what had happened was Shane and Cindy were getting off the highway and traversing onto a service road when a dark work truck with a ladder on top hit the back driver side end of the car and it went veering into a cement barrier where it careened and rolled over three times Shane recounted only what he could deduce from the debris after the car was already upside down he said that passerby had tried to help him and Cindy out of the truck. Cindy was still in the hospital and we would only find out her status later in the day. Shane fell asleep rather quickly after having a meal and talking about his traumatic experience I got some shut-eye too and we regrouped at around 9 a.m. Neither of us slept very long when I woke up I woke up Shane as well I told him to check his phone Cindy had not responded yet and I decided to go take a shower. At around 11 a.m. after about an hour on the phone talking to various different people
I found Shane outside kneeling down tears in his eyes because he was talking to Cindy his dear girlfriend who was still in ICU except she was heavily sedated with painkillers and they had told her that she suffered injuries of a torn ligament in her neck and also endured several scrapes and bruises on her face and neck. as soon as we got word that Cindy was being released I immediately offered to drive my car to the hospital and pick her up. Shane was very grateful and we stopped at the hospital and waited for Cindy in the meantime Shane gave the shirt off his back to a nurse who brought it to Cindy who was inside as he was not allowed to go into the hospital because of the covid-19 pandemic
Shane gave the shirt off his back to a nurse who brought it to Cindy who was inside because he was not allowed to go into the hospital because of the covid-19 pandemic
and no visitors were allowed Cindy needed a shirt because the EMS paramedics cut her shirt and bra while trying to get her out of the totaled truck at the crash site.
Once Cindy finally came out it was an emotional reunions for Shane and Cindy as she broke down in tears Shane hugged her and we got her into the car. The first stop was Walmart to get new clothes because Cindy was not only in great pain but she was uncomfortable.
As we finished as we finished up at checkout Shane found the address to where their truck had been towed which was a priority now because Cindy and Shane had all of their things in the truck and they were hoping and talking about their belongings all day long and how everything had flown out of the truck or maybe it didn’t it was very fuzzy for them. Shane once again found the location of the towing company and gasped at how far away “it’s 20 miles away!” he yelled. I didn’t hesitate to say I absolutely would take them to there we drove possibly on the same Highway and service road that they had been in the accident on the night before.
when we got to the towing company the man at the desk took us inside the towing yard and that is where we found Shane and Cindy’s treasured truck the truck was Cindy’s first vehicle. it had sentimental value to her as well as Shane too. The truck meant a lot to them and seeing it in total disrepair and realizing how lucky they were to be alive was a very emotional experience to be a part of. As we gathered their belongings and put them in the back of my car I worried about Shane and Cindy because they needed that car but they had each other and the trouble they were going through was very difficult and they were experiencing the same waves of sadness and loss and Trauma together as a couple it was hard to watch though in another way it was beautiful because as Cindy was very very scared and heartbroken to see her car in disrepair Shane didn’t stop consoling her and letting her know that things are going to be okay.
The rolling over 3 times 
This is presumably where the man in the black work truck with a ladder on top hit Shane and Cindy 
The materials gathered by first responders were put int the back of the truck along with debris 
Evidence of the vehicle scraping on the road 
The key was lodged in the ignition and stuck there. 
Shane and Cindy are lucky to still have each other.
we gathered the things from the car took many pictures of the damages as shown above and we went on our way it was about 4 or 5 in the afternoon then and Shane had Loosely gathered a plan of what they were going to do. one of the first thoughts he had when he woke up was to plan the next thing to do. Cindy was in a lot of pain it was hard for her to walk she had a neck brace, scrapes on her head and Shane also had signs of concussion and he was still there for Cindy. Shane and Cindy live about an hour drive outside of Austin, Texas and they did what they could to get a ride from Austin to their hometown. At the time of this writing my friend Cindy will stay with her parents and Shane will stay with a good friend neither is well. They have no idea how they’re going to keep making money because of the situation. It is harder to find work during a quarantine I assume they will try to rest for the coming months. Throughout the day they wondered about the person who hit them and kept driving. What seemed like a minor impact for the speeding driver who didn’t stop had significantly changed the course of Cindy and Shane’s life forever.
Get well soon Shane and Cindy!
Skills Give Life To Dreams 