Thursday, September 4, 2008

I live in the Bermuda Triangle.

Well, I can't believe I'm posting here again already! Three posts in September and we're only on day #4. Sheesh. I need to back off.

So, a few nights ago I'm in our back bedroom. It's about 9:30 at night; Betsy's in my arms and I'm just getting ready to put her in her crib when all heck breaks loose just outside our window. For those who know our house, it's the little parking area between our house and The Copy Man. It's dark, so I can't see much, but here's some of what I hear:

  • Sirens. About 10 police sirens. They all stop around my house, The Copy Man, and the four-plex behind our house.
  • "That's my wife! That's my pregnant wife in the car!"
  • "Put your hands in the air."
  • "Stop resisting arrest!"
  • Lots of punching
  • A taser gun going off. Twice.
  • A car window being broken
  • Two ambulances showing up

...You get the idea. Total mayhem. Turns out our neighbor in the front of the four-plex had just been driving home from an evening out with her husband. On the drive home, she dropped him off at his car and they drove back in separate cars -- thankfully, with him following just behind her.

As she pulls in to park, a guy (wearing only a pair of ridiculously short shorts) starts running at her. She only has time to lock one door -- her own -- before he's in the car's back seat, shouting for her to get out of the car. Well, she can't. Her door is broken; once it's locked, it's locked for good. So he crawls up to the front of the car and tries to push her out. When he discovers she's not lying, he puts the car in drive and tells her to take off. By then, her husband is banging on the rest of the car doors (which the criminal had locked) and trying to get his poor wife out.

The police, who have been chasing Mr. Bad Guy since he punched two cops and ran from a routine traffic stop, were quick to the scene. Unfortunately, all they see is her husband trying to force his way into the car. Of course, they want to arrest him. Once they figure out what's really going on, they go over to her side of the car and reach through the window to taser the carjacker. Mr. Bad still won't get out... and they end up breaking the car window and pulling him out through the hole. Once out, he proceeds to resist arrest, so they punch on him quite a bit till he starts seeing things their way. Sort of.

Turns out he was drunk and high on PCP, coke, meth, and marajuana. He had plenty of drugs on him at the time of arrest, so hopefully he's going away for a very long time there.

What a story.

What a night.

But it's not over.

When all the drama was mostly over, but all the cops were still around, a hit-and-run occurs about 10 feet from my front yard. We think the vehicle who hit the other car was busy checking out the scene with all the cop cars and just wasn't watching the road. So, he hits the other car, looks a few observers right in the eye, and darts off at 40 mph. Surprise, surprise, the police are conveniently close and get the guy just a few blocks away. But the woman seven months pregnant with twins, who was driving the vehicle that got hit, ends up in an ambulance.

The drama with the hit-and-run was almost over; the cops were finishing their duties and our neighbors were finishing their witness reports. The tow truck had just loaded his second vehicle for the night -- the first being the car from the carjack. All of a sudden, a pick-up (going 15 or 20 mph) crosses four lanes of traffic and rams into a tree just feet away from where the cops, witnesses, and tow truck guy had all been standing. Everyone rushes over, assuming someone in the truck has gone into a seizure or had a heart attack. Doors fly open, and everyone stares.

The vehicle is empty.

And the witness report paperwork begins all over again.

10 comments:

Amanda said...

Oh my goodness! What a night. The ONE situation was interesting enough on its own. I think I can hear The Twilight Zone theme playing somewhere...

Bethany said...

Holy cow!! What a night! I assume that the woman who's car was being carjacked is okay?

Michelle said...

Oh my gosh!! That is the craziest story...or rather three stories I have heard in a LONG time. Although for the blog readers it is pretty amusing, I hope you end up with less excitement around your house for a while!!

Did they end up figuring out what was going on w/ the empty car?

Ashley said...

Oh man! What a night! That is crazy that it all happened in such a small amount of time! Glad you're ok and no one chose your house as a place to run and hide from the cops or anything.

Jamie said...

WOW! That is some pretty crazy stuff. People always assume that Provo is quiet and that nothing bad ever happens there...which is completely false! We bought "The Club" for our car after the Wolsey's car was stolen right in our parking lot. Sometimes I feel safer in New Jersey than in Provo! :)

Emily said...

Wow. Sounds exciting in a made-for-TV sort of way. Whatever happened with the empty truck. That was a cliffhanger!

Annie and Berkeley said...

Holy cow! All I knew about was the one I was involved in! What a crazy night! Any word on the lady in the hit and run? Is she and the twins ok?

Ryan and Chelsea said...

HOLLY KANOLLY!!!! Sounds like you had QUITE the night. That left us flabbergasted - and right in "peaceful" south provo!! We miss yall, but if you attract those sort of accidents all the time we'll stay away (:

Chelsea said...

we live in saratoga springs, just west of thanksgiving point! call me and we can get together!

Robnz Fam said...

Ok, so when I read this off of Annie's blog, I totally thought that it happened at Olive Garden! Crazy!!!