Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.
- Nov 25, 2018

Blown Off The Icy Roads On The Way Home From Work

The onset of this winter reminds me of years ago when I was blown off an icy winter road on the way home from work. I was traveling between Bloomington, Illinois where I lived and Assumption, Illinois where I worked as a technical writer of mechanical and electrical processes for GSI, “the world's largest manufacturer of steel farm bins, commercial storage grain bins and grain silos, providing farmers and processing facilities a single source for all of their grain equipment needs, providing quality equipment and services to over 70 countries worldwide.” My travel time each way was 75 miles · Light traffic · 1 hr 39 min. In winter snow my travel time doubled. I sometimes cried with tension as I drove home.

I was driving with a white-knuckle grip on my steering wheel, going about 15-20 mph in the slow right lane, when suddenly I found myself helplessly sailing sideways off of the interstate highway and down into the field below. A police car had happened to be driving behind me, and the officer stopped to help me. I asked him how I ended up in a field when I had been driving so slowly and carefully. He told me that a heavy Suburban SUV had blasted by me at 40-50 mph and just blew me off the road. While I waited for a tow truck I took this photograph.

How I dread the winter drives I must make this year between Bloomington, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois for my late father’s loss of leg due to nursing home neglect lawsuit.