Traci walked down to Oliver's office, only to find it empty.
"Looking for Oliver?", Andy said behind her.
Traci turned to greet her best friend. "Yeah, I just wanted to run something by him about the case we're working."
"The roommate drug dealers?"
"Yeah, that one. I'll give him a call."
"Oh, well, Oliver had to step out. He said he'd be right back though. Just had to run a quick errand."
"Something important, huh?"
"Ward and I along with Anderson and Dov just ahead a sit down with Detective Blackstone where he basically told us to walk away."
"So, you're looking to go over his head?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"Keep me posted, will you? Sam will be interested where this goes."
"You got it. How's he doing, anyway?"
"He's doing good. He's got an appointment with the shrink in a couple of days. He's got Mia today. I was just about to go out and meet them for lunch."
"In that case, I won't hold you up. Say 'hi' to both of them for me."
"Will do Trace."
Traci went back up to her office and Andy went out to the parking lot and got into her truck. She and Sam decided to meet at a restaurant near the edge of the city, closer to Hamilton. She had allotted enough time for her to get down there and still be a little early.
Before leaving she texted Sam 'Leaving 15 now.'
'See you soon,' Sam sent back almost immediately.
Andy pulled out and began the drive.
A few minutes into the Drive Andy pulled to a stop at a red light and looked around. A light snowfall had been underway for some time and it was just enough to make the roads and sidewalks a little messy. Andy yawned and sat waiting for the light to turn when she heard the telltale sound of brakes not grabbing behind her.
She looked in the rear view mirror and understood that she was about to be rear-ended. She braced herself and when the inevitable collision occurred, the vehicle had enough force paired with the slippery conditions that Andy's truck was pushed into the intersection. Right into the path of a bus that couldn't stop. Then everything went black.
Chloe looked at her watch, "What do you have in mind for lunch?"
Gail was about to answer when a loud screech and bang sounded from nearby.
"Did you hear that?", Chloe asked.
"That loud crash? Yeah. It sounded close," Gail replied
Gail approached Spadina and prepared to turn down it when the radio went.
"All units, we have a 10-50 involving 15S3 and a city bus. Queen and Spadina."
"Shit, It's Andy." Gail hit gas and sirens simultaneously and Chloe radioed in them responding.
"This is 1504, We're in the immediate vicinity."
A flood of other units responded as well.
On scene a few seconds later Gail could make out Andy's truck pressed up against the nose of the bus and the railing of the street car stop there. There was also a van with a hole in the windshield in the intersection. She got out and could hear sirens approaching from all directions.
"Chloe, check on the van. Looks like the driver may have been ejected." Grabbing her radio, "This is Peck, we're on scene. S3 is pinned between the nose of the bus and the street car stop. Also appears a van was involved. We need EMS rushed!"
Chris and Marcy pulled up next. Gail took control of the scene. "You two check out the bus, I got Andy." They rushed around to the other side of the bus and Gail raced over to Andy's truck.
"This is Price, van driver was ejected. She's unresponsive. I can't get a pulse."
"Price, this is Shaw, stay with the driver until the medics get there, I'm close."
Nick got there next and rushed to aid Gail at Andy's truck.
"1519, we have multiple injuries in the bus! Where are the medics?", Chris' voice echoed out of both Nick and Gail's radios.
"5 minutes out."
"Andy! Andy! Can you hear me?" Gail had climbed onto the hood of the truck and was looking through the cracked windshield. Andy's head was slumped forward into the airbag and her body was twisted awkwardly.
Nick ran around to the passenger door and tried to force the door open but it was jammed and he smashed open the window with his baton instead. "Gail! Come here. I'll boost you in."
She slid off the hood and planted a boot in his cupped hands. He lifted her up and she dove though the window. She tried the handle and the door only opened a little. She gave it a couple kicks and eventually she got it open enough that Nick was able to pull it the rest of the way.
"Andy? Andy?"
Andy's consciousness returned and she opened her eyes to more darkness. Then a serious pain in her right leg. Then she registered someone pressing into her neck, then Gail's voice. She lifted her head and immediately felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. Then she noticed the air bag and blood on it. Her blood. "What happened?", she managed to get out.
"Andy, you were in an accident. EMS is almost here, just sit tight."
"Sam…,"
"We'll call him, don't worry."
"This is Shaw I'm on scene. What's the status on Sergeant McNally?", Oliver's voice came over all of their radios.
"Collins here, she's awake for now. Pinned in, however. Awaiting medics."
"Don't worry Andy, you're gonna be okay. Just try to relax and breathe. We're right here," Gail said.
Dov came down from Guns and Gangs to a bustle of activity on the main floor. Officers were running around all over the place, mostly out towards the parking lot. He grabbed one of them. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Some big TC, Detective. One of ours and a bus."
"Who is it?"
"Sergeant McNally."
"Ah, hell." Dov ran back upstairs and barreled into Traci's office where she and Ward were still seated, discussing options.
"Forget something Epstein?", Juliet said.
"It's Andy. She was in an accident. It sounds bad."
They sprung up and raced down the hall with Dov.
Oliver was surveying fire rescue working to extricate McNally from her truck when Dov, Traci and Juliet got there. She was still conscious and aware of what was happening which was good. But she was banged up. Nobody on the bus had been killed but there were a few with serious injuries and many more with minor ones. The driver was in shock but otherwise unharmed beyond being sore all over. As Price said earlier, the medics confirmed the driver of the van was dead.
"What happened here?", Traci asked Oliver.
"Witness said the van rammed Andy from behind, forced her into the intersection where the bus t-boned her."
"Damn, how is she?", Dov asked.
"Alive but beat up. They just got her out and loaded up."
"I'm gonna go with her," Traci said and ran off to get in the ambulance.
"I'll go talk to the witness, Juliet said and walked over to a crowd of onlookers at the perimeter."
"Where's Chloe?", Dov asked.
"Uh, still with the dead body. She's sitting on it until forensics gets here."
"Got it," Dov said and went to check on his fiancé.
"Chloe, you guys were first on scene?"
"Yeah, Gail sent me to find the driver, she was ejected from there," Chloe pointed to the hole in the windshield. "She went to check on Andy. Is she out yet?"
"Yeah, they just loaded her up, Traci is going with her. She's alert."
"That's good." Chloe took a couple deep breaths.
Dov walked over to the driver's door of the van and pulled it open. The seat belt was in its fully retracted state, which made since considering the ejection. Dov looked around a bit more and was about to close the door when, in the floorboard, a cell phone vibrated. Dov picked it up and found that it didn't have any screen lock on it. The phone opened up to its text messaging app.
"Chloe, do you know what time the accident happened at?"
"Uh, yeah, it was 12:13. I know because I looked at my watch right before it happened. I was asking Gail about lunch when-"
"Look at this," Dov scrolled through the text's timestamps. "She was texting when she rammed into McNally. I got to go tell Shaw."
He jogged over to Oliver, still standing in the same spot. "Oliver, the driver of the van was texting when this happened.
Oliver sighed and rubbed his eyes. "So she's distracted, realizes too late that she needs to stop, and in these conditions has no chance."
"Yeah."
"Okay, bag the phone."
"Yep." Dov went to his car and opened the trunk.
"Staff?"
Oliver looked to see Nick walking over. "Andy's phone was in the cup holder. There's a bunch of texts and calls from Sam. It looks like she was going to meet him somewhere."
Oliver took her phone. "Okay, I'll call him, and let him know."
Nick nodded and headed back from where he came.
Oliver realized his phone was still in his truck so he went to get it only to find a couple missed calls from Sam on there too. He called his best friend back.
"Well, it's about time somebody answered me. Mia and I are-"
"Sam, it's Andy."