Close Call

I was at work when a co-worker and I heard a loud crash. No tire screech, just a loud impact. I commented to my co-worker, “That was a car crash” and was getting ready to continue working when all of a sudden we heard a blood curling scream. Since I keep a first aid kit in my vehicle, I went to see if someone was seriously injured and if I could be of assistance.

When I arrived at the scene I was able to determine the screaming I heard was a frightened child in the back seat of the vehicle that was hit. The accident took place right in front of on of the parking lot entrances to where I work, which is directly across the street from a parking lot entrance to a gas station. It appears the front car was waiting to turn left into the gas station when it was hit from behind by the other vehicle. Thankfully, there did not appear to be any injuries…

However, the driver of the second vehicle was out of his vehicle and storming around wildly, yelling and cussing at a person that was around 270 feet away from the scene of the accident (see image above). At this point I was standing more or less between the two individuals. The other person was also yelling and cussing at the driver. I am not sure what the issue was between the two individuals, but all of a sudden the agitated driver picked up a piece of debris from the wreckage and started wielding it like a baseball bat and moving towards the other individual.

Since I was standing between them I yelled to the individual with the makeshift weapon to “Stop” and “drop it” in a very firm voice. He then turned to me and said something to the effect of “get out of my way”. I yelled again to stop and drop it. I also let him know the police were on the way and to let them handle it. I also told him to chill and wait. He finally dropped his makeshift weapon, but was still very agitated. This person was about my same size, weight and build, but for a brief moment I thought I might have to draw my concealed gun. However, after he dropped the weapon I felt a huge relief that I might not have to draw after all, but he kept advancing towards the other individual.

I tried to keep him back but he got past me at which point I called the police to let them know the situation with the agitated driver. As I was preparing to give a description to the 911 operator, officers arrived on the scene and we let them take care of it from there.

I sincerely hope this is the closest I ever have to come to drawing my concealed weapon. I carry to protect myself (and others around me as necessary), but at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is have to use it. The one thought that really played out in my mind was “am I in fear for my life”. When I couldn’t say yes, the thought of drawing my handgun moved to the “plan B” column unless the situation changed.

All of this happened very quickly and yet at the same time everything seemed to slow down around me. Much like being in an accident. Everything around you seems to slow down and you have time to think. The biggest take away for me is to train yourself not only in how to draw, but when to draw. Make sure you are considering everything that is going on in the situation and above all, only draw if your life is absolutely in danger.