I wish I had a picture

I should have taken a photo of this one, but I was afraid I'd embarrass the young woman I was trying to help. I was driving south on CA-101, a horrific, fast-moving freeway with dense traffic, especially when people are frantically shopping for Christmas. Suddenly, several cars ahead, I saw a vehicle veer off the road toward the shoulder, and then keep going, stopping with the front wheels hanging over the deep drop into a ditch as the car faced a stone wall. It was the weirdest sight, that car was just suspended in mid-air, the wall only feet away.

I stopped and grabbed my cellphone to make whatever emergency calls were indicated. The driver was a young woman, 20 at most, with another young passenger. They had been forced off the road and the cruise control wouldn't shut down so the wall was getting closer and closer, all in slow motion, of course.

I called for a tow truck and then stood with the women to reassure them. I don't think they did anything wrong, but the situation could have been tragic. After about 20 minutes a state trooper saw the car-suspended-in-air and stopped. After interviewing the driver he said he'd stay with them so I went on my way. Weird story. I'm not used to the role of First Responder....