A True Life Horror Story

Following is an account of the events of Saturday, June 17, 2006.

On Saturday morning, June 17th, my wife Liz and I discussed going to Maryland to spend some time on our sailboat. It was the day before Fathers Day and we had invited my brothers and sister and their families for a cookout on Sunday. Liz suggested that since it was Fathers Day weekend, I go alone to relax and work on the boat, spend the night, then drive back home on Sunday in time for our 3 o’clock family cookout. Her suggestion sounded like a good idea, so that morning I drove to Rock Hall, a small fishing and boating town on the Chesapeake, where our boat is kept.

After an afternoon of sanding and varnishing teak on the boat, I decided to call it quits around 6 o’clock. I showered and drove into town to grab dinner. The Harbour View restaurant had just opened, so I decided to give it a try. I had a crab cake sandwich and two drinks then, at about 8:45 P.M., I left. As I walked to my car my cell phone rang. It was Liz. She was calling to see how I was doing. After a brief conversation about the events of the day we wished each other good night.

I thought about going back to the boat to relax but it was such a beautiful evening that I decided to take a drive to Eastern Neck Island Wildlife Refuge, located about seven miles from Rock Hall. This particular area of the Chesapeake is a remote but beautiful sanctuary for herons, eagles, swans, foxes and a variety of plants and other wildlife. It is surrounded on one side by the Chesapeake Bay and on the other by the Chester River.

By the time I reached the island darkness was setting in. I drove into the park and stopped at Tubby Cove, a designated lookout area that offers a panoramic view of the Chesapeake. I remember thinking how beautiful the bay looked and how fortunate I was to be there that evening. After about fifteen minutes I made the quarter mile trek back to my car. By now it was almost pitch black.

I am a driving enthusiast. The car I was driving that night was a BMW 540i equipped with a sports package. It was a fast car with a specially tuned suspension. Simply put, it was a “blast” to drive. And here I was in a park, no one else around with smooth winding roads… a drivers dream.

While zipping down the main park road I noticed a side street that looked inviting. Its name should have given me fair warning but I paid little attention. As far as I was concerned Bogles Warf Road was there for my driving enjoyment. I neglected to look at the speedometer but I must have been going pretty fast when I came upon the last two curves. The first curve veered to the right which the car handled without a flinch. It was immediately followed by a curve to the left. As I eased the wheel to follow the road to the left I remember seeing several waist-high pilings directly in front of me. To avoid hitting them I jerked the wheel hard left assuming that the road followed but in an instant I realized that the paved road had turned to gravel. I slammed on the breaks only to hear the crunching sound of the tires skidding on crushed stone. In a split second I saw rocks then shimmering moonlight on water. I could feel the car grind over the rocks, then… I was air born.

The car landed smoothly about thirty feet out into the Chester River. The sensation was much like coming down a log plume at an amusement park. No air bags, no hard jolt, just a nice smooth entry. I’m not sure if the driver’s side window was down or if I put it down instinctively, probably the latter. I unbuckled my seat belt, kicked off my docksides and dove through the window. I knew at that point that I could swim to shore. I was going to survive.

Upon entering the river I realized that it was only about four feet deep so I began wading toward a wooden bulkhead. I climbed up to the gravel parking area and stood there looking at my sunken car in disbelief. It was three quarters submerged in the river having come to rest on the bottom. The tail lights and headlights were still on under water and I watched as waves from the incoming tide broke against the windshield and over the car. It was a very eerie sight.

As I stood soaking wet and bare foot, I looked out at the submerged car and realized that I was several miles from town. I had a cell phone in my pocket but the water had “fried” it. The thought of walking the distance back to Rock Hall without shoes made me shiver. I looked at the car for several minutes. The lights remained on. I decided that I could wade back to the car, retrieve my shoes, wallet and briefcase and then start back. At least I would have shoes on my feet.

I climbed back down the wooden bulkhead into the river. I reached the car without any trouble and leaned in to see what I could find. Then I made a critical mistake. I climbed through the remaining open window back into the car and slid into the passenger seat. I grabbed my docksides and began putting them on, when, to my horror, I watched the window through which I had just entered automatically close. Immediately I heard the clicking sound of all the door locks engaging at once. I tried to open each door and window but the electrical system had shut down. The car was sealed tight and there was no way of getting in or out without breaking a window.

Those who know me know that I am a survivor. I have had more than my share of difficulties over the past ten years and I pride myself on my ability to solve problems and get out of difficult situations. Now that I had my shoes on, I felt confident that I could easily kick out the window.

At this point the water was up to my chest. I could see the waves breaking over the top of the windshield as I tried to kick it out, but the angle prevented me from getting a good shot at it. Realizing my predicament I climbed into the back seat and began kicking on the rear driver’s side window. I focused all my strength kicking at the center of the glass as hard as I could for as long as I could but the window wouldn’t break. Not even a small crack. I kicked until I couldn’t raise my leg any longer. I was totally exhausted and realized that I was trapped. Terror overcame me. I climbed back into the front passenger seat, tried all of the windows and doors once more and then said a prayer. I truly believed my life was over. I was both terrified and frustrated that God would take me on the eve of Fathers Day. I felt it wasn’t fair to my wife and five children, especially my ten year old daughter. She needed her dad. Why would he do this to her? My prayer, if you would call it a prayer, was “God, I don’t know why you are doing this now but if this is my time…”

Within a few seconds the rear window that I had been kicking moments ago automatically went down about eight inches. Instinctively, I dove into the back seat, grabbed hold of the partially opened window and began squeezing through it. It was so tight that as I maneuvered through the window I bruised my chest. As I climbed out my knee must have smashed against the now half-open window causing it to shatter. This left me with a gash on my leg. As quickly as I could, I waded back to shore.

With blood seeping from my wound I climbed over the bulkhead to the parking lot and started down the road toward town. I walked for about twenty minutes in complete darkness not quite sure if I was dead or alive. Suddenly I saw headlights from an approaching vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was an off duty Refuge Officer, who with his son, just happened to be returning from dinner at Waterman’s Crabhouse in Rock Hall. As I approached the car he opened his window just enough to shine his flashlight on me. I realized then that I must have looked pretty scary walking down a deserted road, soaking wet with blood running down my leg. After I explained what had happened he drove me to the ranger station to get cleaned up.

The Refuge Officer explained that he had jurisdiction in the refuge but in a case like this he needed to call the sheriff’s office. I said: “If you don’t call them I will. I just drove my car into the river”. A short while later we returned to the scene of the accident to meet with Deputy Sheriff Marcellene Beck. She interview me in her vehicle after which she said: “Do you know why you’re alive?” I answered: “I think so”. Then she said something like: “because God watched over you.”

When a tow truck arrived, I offered to wade back into the river to attach the cable but the driver insisted on doing it himself. Within a few minutes the car was pulled up over the rocks and on to the parking lot. He told me that it didn’t matter that the bottom of the car was going to be damaged by dragging it over the rocks since it was definitely “totaled”. As I opened the door water poured out of the vehicle. I climbed into the back seat and retrieved my wallet and briefcase.

Deputy Sheriff Beck drove me back to my marina at Osprey Point. When we arrived she asked if I wanted to call my wife. I told her that if I called her now (it was about 2:45 a.m.) she would worry the rest of the night. Instead, I went back to the boat, took a shower, and went to sleep.

The next morning I phoned Liz from the marina office. I told her that I had a minor accident, but I was alright. When she asked about the car I said it was unable to be driven. Since I was stranded, we decided that our son Archie would leave immediately to pick me up. Five hours later I arrived home, thankful to be alive and thrilled at the thought of spending another Father’s Day with my family.

Two weeks later

On Saturday, June 31st, two weeks after the accident, I drove back down to the Chesapeake area with two of my sons. They wanted to see the accident scene and I wanted to look at my car which was parked behind Dick’s garage in Rock Hall. On the way back from the scene of the accident at Bogles Wharf, as we entered Rock Hall, I noticed a sign outside a small church that read: “God gives you a second chance”.

When we looked at my car that evening, half way down the window the exterior frame was pushed out about a quarter of an inch on each side. I had kicked on the window so hard that the steel frame had buckled but the window would not break.

I have since learned that there is a small tool that no car owner should be without that will allow you to escape from a vehicle whether it is submerged or just damaged due to a collision. It will cut a jammed seatbelt and shatter the side window of a vehicle allowing the occupants to escape. For more information go to www.saveyourlife.us.