BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH
by about 8 inches…
Written by the administrator of Christian Adoption.
(Her husband is a train engineer for the Union Pacific RR.)
12/15/00
My husband, Eddie, doesn't cry very often. So, when the phone rang earlier this week, and a tearful Eddie was speaking, I knew something really bad had happened.
"Honey, please pray. We just hit a woman and baby in her car with the train. We were doing almost 50 MPH upon impact. We don't know if they are dead, we have to walk back and find them. Please pray for them. There are diapers, baby wipes, toys, and the contents of her purse everywhere. I figure the baby was/is Samuel's age, a year old."
"Where was the point of impact Eddie?"
"The back right passenger's side--where the baby was in the car seat. I could see the baby just as we hit. Please pray. I can't believe it. Please pray for their health and safety. Oh, and by the way, don't take Danny to school or the kids anywhere today. When I get home later, all I want to do is hold them."
"Okay, I'll make some calls and Danny and I will pray right away." And we did. As Danielle and I prayed on our knees, the gravity of the call 'hit' me and Danny finally prayed "for Mom to not cry anymore." I called the church, I called Debbie and Sandy. I called my Prayer Sister, I called the school to tell them Danielle would be absent and asked for more prayers. It was a quiet morning in my mind. A pensive and prayerful morning, as I waited to hear more details from Eddie.
Eddie called a couple hours later. The sheriff had been out to file reports, the RR had sent their investigation team, and counselors were on hand to help Eddie and his conductor.
The woman driver never looked before crossing the tracks and she never heard the train whistle. She just drove RIGHT in front of the oncoming train. The conductor saw her coming and starting yelling in the engine, "Stop, please stop, oh lady, please stop." Then Eddie "plugged" the train. He threw it into emergency brake mode and it took them just over 15 train car lengths to stop the train, past the point of impact. The train was clipping along at 46 MPH and SHE NEVER EVEN GLANCED UP TO SEE THEM COMING.
(Did you know it is the law for each and every driver to slow down and look before crossing any railroad tracks? Even if there are safety barriers, lights, and signs?)
Eddie called several hours later, "We're moving again, I'll be home in about an hour. I don't know anymore about the condition of the woman and baby. They were gone from the scene by the time we walked back there. A passer-by in a car saw the accident and picked her up to take her home. He said she was bleeding and the baby was crying. Keep praying. I'll make some calls when I get home."
Well over an hour later, a bewildered and exhausted Eddie came through the door and grabbed up 2 kids and fell onto the bed with them. As is his way, he didn't talk for quite awhile. I gave him the space he needed and kept working on Holiday packages. Then the phone calls began. First the RR calling for a full report on how Eddie ran the train as the engineer. "What mile post did you start the horn sequence? Where was the car in relation to the head end? Where was the point of impact?…" They pulled the tapes and Eddie was cleared of any and all responsibility. Of course it wasn't his fault, the woman drove right in front of the train, but they have to check and clear him anyway. Then the sheriff called for their report and Eddie re-hashed the details one more time. Finally Eddie had the opportunity to make some calls to inquire about the woman and baby. We didn't know all the details for another day or so…as we pieced together the details, here is what happened…
The 17-year old Mom was in a hurry to get somewhere with baby on board. She never looked, never heard the horn, and never saw the faces of the men that hit her with a 46-MPH train. Just after the moment of impact, the car windows shattered and the car began to spin around in front of the train. It then spun off the tracks and kind of hung in the air in suspended motion, like a flying saucer. Then gravity sucked it straight down into a ravine that had a load of railroad ties lying in the bottom of it. The car landed upright and all the tires were blown out or off. The woman had a scratch on her arm from the glass and said her arm hurt from the impact. She then removed the baby from the car seat and began grappling up the ravine, which was covered with large rock that was iced over from the frigid temperatures. She was carrying her crying baby that appeared to be okay. The passer-by took her and the baby to her home just 1/4-mile away from the tracks and the ambulance arrived. She had a surface scratch and a bruise on her arm. The baby was taken to the hospital for further examination and released with NOT A SINGLE INJURY!
NO INJURIES--NOT EVEN A BRUISE! PRAISE GOD!
The car was hoisted out of the ravine and upon examination; the 'cow catcher AKA snow plow' had impacted at the point of the baby's car seat, as Eddie described. The impressions of the steel plow were imbedded into the door and the pushed in door stopped about 8 INCHES FROM THE BABY'S BODY IN THE CAR SEAT. The draw bar impaled the car just behind the car seat and entered into the trunk area. (Had she been driving 10 seconds faster, they never would have hit her, but if she had been driving 2 seconds slower, the draw bar would have impaled the baby in the car seat. But then, that is the 5 senses analysis, isn't it?)
UNBELIEVABLE, BUT BELIEVABLE BECAUSE OF GOD'S GRACE AND MERCY!
WE SERVE A LIVING, A REAL, A SAVING, A DELIVERING GOD!
God is still on the throne!
A 46-MPH train impacts a car broadside and the impacted metal stops a mere 8 inches from even touching a 1-year old baby. A woman is spun around in countless circles, dropped however many feet into a ravine with shattered glass flying and torn up tires. She walks away with a surface scratch, carrying her baby that is unharmed in any way.
A miracle of God. A witness of God's goodness. A testimony to the power of prayer and the benefits of tithing.
How mighty is our God?
How able and willing is HE to deliver?
Why don't we trust HIM fully?
LET US DRAW OUR STRENGTH FROM HIM!
Can you possibly explain God's grace and mercy? Can you even begin to fathom His ways? Can you imagine the ramifications of this miracle upon this baby girl's life? What is in store for this child's life? Will she be a great leader for God? Will she be the mother to a Christ-like Christian president for our United States--50 years from now? Can you comprehend God's ways or His loving kindness?
Later in the evening, a very emotionally drained and wiped out Eddie came into our CA office and said, "You know, her driver's license was laying on the ground and I got her name and address. She probably won't get all the baby stuff back that was scattered all over the tracks. Do you think we could put together a box of baby clothes and toys to send to her for Christmas?"
"Yes, that's a wonderful idea honey."
And we did.
Between life and death by about 8 inches…
For more information please read Empty and Gift. We encourage you to prayerfully consider registering with our service, and/or writing to us.
adoption@christianadoption.com
A non-profit Christian and Internet
service ministry. We're helping others in the adoption
process.
1.800.277.7006 620.251.4405
Eddie & Deborah S. Hill P.O. Box 243 Coffeyville, KS 67337
www.christianadoption.com adoption@christianadoption.com
