1000 Ways to Die
Chapter 1: Way to Die #136: Turkey Balled
Author's note: This story is inspired by the reality TV series, 1000 Ways to Die, only on Spike TV. This show features deaths that have been reenacted based on ways that people have actually died. The deaths portrayed in this story however are fictitious. Do not attempt the actions depicted in this story. YOU WILL DIE!
Disclaimer: I do not own 1000 Way to Die.
Death...is everywhere. Most of us try to avoid it, others can't get out of its way. Every day we fight a new war against GERMS, TOXINS, INJURY, ILLNESS, and CATASTROPHE. There are a lot of ways to wind up dead. The fact that we survive at all is a miracle, because every day we live, we face 1000 WAYS TO DIE.
Date: August 13, 2004
Time: 7:29 P.M.
Location: Highway 96, Houston, TX
(Note: This is based on a true story where a friend of mine almost died)
Chuck and Laurie are coming home from a bowling tournament. Happy with their victory, they head home to celebrate their accomplishment. Meanwhile, new driver, Melissa, was just heading home after a night on the town with her friends. Little did she know that she was being followed by a man named David, who had one too many beers. Being of inexperience and the fact that it was dark out, Melissa makes a right turn. Little does she know, she accidentally goes on the wrong side of the road.
Car crash collisions are mostly caused by teens and new drivers, they are extremely prone to error, even after they've gotten their driver's license.
In David's right state of mind, he would've known that Melissa was on the wrong side of the road, but the booze was making him unable to make any rational decision, so he continues to go on the same road as Melissa.
By fate, Chuck and Laurie are on the same road that the newbie driver, Melissa, and the drunken David are on. After a few minutes of being on the empty road, another car passes Melissa, making her come to her senses and pulling over on the left side of the road. David, not being able to see the other car due to his drunken state, continues in this direction. And in a split second, David collides into Chuck and Laurie head-on. The force of the impact caused Chuck and Laurie to bend forward with their faces meeting the airbags, at least they were wearing their seat belts. In the backseat however, both the men's bowling ball bags were unzipped and due to kinetic force, there was only one way for the balls to go.
The kinetic energy of an object is the extra energy which it possesses due to its motion. When traveling at a high velocity and you get stopped by an obstacle, anything that isn't held down properly will keep going forward at that same velocity. For example, if you were driving at 60 miles per hour and you crashed into something and weren't wearing your seat belt, nothing would be there to stop you, you would just keep going at the same speed your car was going and smash into the dashboard or right out the windshield and you could get seriously injured or die. When you do wear your seat belt, a locking mechanism tightens the belt when pulled fast, and if you do get into a crash, it stops you, but in the bowling balls cases, nothing was there to stop them, their bags were wide open, there were no restraints on them, so they could only keep moving forward.
The balls were forced out of their bags and were sent hurling forward, smashing through the head cushion of Laurie's seat and narrowly missing his head. The balls smash through the windshield of Chuck's car and into the windshield of David's car at a high velocity. Chuck's ball misses David's head his face meets the airbag, but when his body rocks back, Laurie's ball was able to pick up the spare.
The bowling ball smashed in David's face and the force of the ball crushed his brain. Death was instantaneous. Being on the left side of the road, Melissa immediately got out of the car and rushed over to the scene of the collision. She first checked out Chuck and Laurie to see if they were alright. Thankfully, they have only sustained minor injuries. However, much to her horror, David wasn't so lucky. The ball was lodged into his head, making him barely recognizable. Melissa immediately calls 911, and is extremely grateful that it wasn't her who got a bowling ball to the face, but now is probably more cautious on the road due to her and David's actions.
In driving, there is no such thing as accidents, only collisions. These collisions are caused by humans, and of course, "To err is to human, to forgive is divine." But would you be able to forgive someone for causing an accident and you being a part of it. Today, 95% of all accidents could have been preventable. Almost everything is preventable, all we need to do is take the extra time to take the necessary precautions, so we don't end up with any of the heartache from Chuck, Laurie, and Melissa. But more importantly, to prevent ending up like David.
---------
Thank you for taking the time to read this, hopefully this has made you more aware of the accidents that go on in our society, and a little wiser. The point of reality shows like 1000 Ways to Die and stories like mine based off of it is to scare you straight, so you don't end up dead. I'd like to personally thank my driving instructor, who has taught me so much about driving and the safety measures needed. I'd also like to thank my friend, who almost met her end due to an experience similar to this. She had a bowling ball in the back of her car, and if she had been an inch taller, she would be dead now. I am extremely grateful that she didn't die, that would have caused a lot of heartache for all of us. Now as this story goes on, I'm going to tell you of more ways to meet your end and how you can avoid it. Hopefully, you will be much wiser and much more careful.