Monday, April 26, 2021

My mistake in a dire situation

Hello, I am Doug Vogel, the District Superintendent in District Four, which covers the
southeast portion of Kansas. I have been the District Superintendent since 1999. Overall, I have had the opportunity to work within District Four for 34 years.

Doug Vogel
While working for KDOT in multiple positions, I have experienced a lot of good and a lot of not-so-good occurrences. In 1997, I was a new Subarea Supervisor in Area Three, which covers Elk, Wilson, Chautauqua and Montgomery counties. That Subarea office sits right off U.S. 75. I remember that particular day was mid-summer, around 5:30 p.m. The crew had already left for the day, and I stayed behind finishing up some paperwork.

As I was getting ready to leave, I heard a loud ‘BOOM,’ to the south of the office. My curiosity led me to hopping into a state pickup to try and find the cause of the noise. About a mile or so into my drive, I start seeing smoke. As I drove closer towards the smoke, I noticed a chair sitting in the southbound lane. Someone was sitting in the seat, still buckled in. 

I drove closer and stopped the truck about 20 yards from the person. I angled the pickup to cover him from traffic view. Nearby, I noticed there was a conversion van, or what was left of it, 50 yards to the west along the fence line. I shifted my eyesight south. There was a semi angled in the ditch. The rest of it was on the shoulder.

As I exited the pickup, I looked up the hill. I saw a car coming towards me from the north. When the car got closer to me, it stopped around 50 yards from my parked pickup. I approached him, and I asked if he could block traffic further down the highway, call 911 and not let anyone through. As he drove off, a second vehicle approached. I asked that vehicle to stop traffic coming from the north. He backed up, and he started blocking traffic as well.

I started walking towards the man in the captain’s chair, sitting in the highway. Unfortunately, he was deceased. I knew I needed more KDOT assistance to secure this site before going to the van. I went around the front of pickup, which was pointing to the centerline of the highway, to get my cell phone from the front seat. I remember looking forward only. A car that was not supposed to be there raced by and the mirror of his car hit my vest as it went by me. My vest slapped my side and left a nice welt, which later turn into a bruise.

I do not think the car ever saw me. If they did see me, they chose to just continue speeding down the highway. I never saw the brake lights lit. If I had taken one more step, my career would have ended a lot sooner.

I always considered myself to be a safe person - one who knows better to look twice when working on the highway. That late afternoon, I made a mistake that could have cost me my life. I let the stress of the situation distract me from being more aware of my surroundings.

No matter how safe you may think you are in a situation, you need to always be alert to your surroundings, no matter how dire a situation might be.

 

7 comments:

  1. What a powerful story Doug. Situational awareness is critical when working on or near the roadway at all times. Dire consequences can result when you lose focus for even a moment.

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  2. Patricia MiddletonApril 26, 2021 at 9:00 AM

    It seems that driver made the mistake by not seeing and reacting appropriately to what was clearly an emergency situation. Those moments before first responders arrive are risky for everyone involved - just because first responders aren't there yet doesn't mean drivers can or should whiz by without a care for anything but their own convenience.

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  3. It hard to fathom what would be going though someone’s mind to speed past a horrific crash without slowing. Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us about being vigilant when working in the proximity of a roadway.

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  4. Wow...what a close call. This was clearly and emergency situation and I can't help but wonder what was so important to the driver that he almost hit you and ignored the vehicles in the road. He missed the obvious signals. Thank you for sharing your story to help others understand to always be alert and cautious.

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  5. Powerful story and well told. Amazing how the detail and memory of such an incident sticks with you for nearly 25 years. Hopefully this recounting will "stick" with others and have a positive impact. Thanks, Doug.

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  6. PTL! God has more for you to do!!

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  7. So glad you're ok. What a story.

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