Wrong Place, Wrong Time,

Right People

To the Editor:

Last Wednesday during the violent weather, my three children and I were subjected to the brutal, sometimes misanthropic reality of Mother Nature. While driving down Toddy Hill, a particularly harsh microburst, which is a phenomenon in which displaced air comes rushing down from the atmosphere and hits the ground with immense force, uprooted several trees and tossed them onto our vehicle. The then-airborne trees managed to completely rip power lines and a telephone poll onto the road. As I was trying to apply the brakes, I could see the huge trees falling and ripping the power lines down from their original position, which caused a very large flash. Originally my daughters thought that a bolt of lightning had felled the trees. Unfortunately, as “luck” would have it, we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A very large tree was thrown a mere foot from the front windshield and crashed onto the hood of our Toyota. Several more trees were thrown onto the top of our vehicle, causing substantial damage and smashing in a few windows. Thankfully, after the immediate accident, none of us were harmed.

When we were fully stopped, and quite trapped, because of the timber and live wires surrounding us, I nearly made a fatal error. I thought that the situation called for me to move my family out of the car and try to seek shelter in one of the neighboring houses. Fortunately my 16-year-old son spotted the downed power lines and told us to stay in the car. He kept his cool and reminded us all to stay calm and be still. A kind man assisted us in calling 911, and the Sandy Hook Fire Department showed up on the scene.

Soon, several other volunteer firefighters arrived. They were not able to get us out of the crash anytime soon, however, because of the live wires draped across our vehicle. They hastily called Connecticut Light and Power, who took more than an hour to arrive and shut off the power. For that entire time, a particularly brave firefighter, known to us only as Dick, stood as close as he could get and kept a careful watch on our situation. When CL&P finally did arrive and turn off the power, the firefighters quickly moved in on our crash and helped us out of it safely. An ambulance crew then checked us out and gave us a roof over our head so we were not soaked in the rain that persisted that afternoon. They then managed to cut our Toyota Minivan out of the trees and we took it away the next day.

I fully understand that this was not the only accident that Sandy Hook Fire Department dealt with that hectic day. I am entirely grateful that our town has such a reliable fire and rescue squad at their disposal and not only my family, but also all of the families afflicted that day with weather-related accidents, send out our deepest thanks for all those affiliated with the fire and rescue team. They did a truly wonderful job.

Sincerely,

Karen Phenix

40 Marlin Road, Sandy Hook                                           May 23, 2007