The Vacant Wreck

On my way in to work today, I saw this car just sitting in the street – a few feet from the front of my office. It was in the wrong lane, pointed at oncoming traffic.

I looked in, trying to see if someone was inside or hurt – but there was no one around. When I peeked in on a nearby car (thinking it was also involved in the accident), I saw that it was just a normal, parked car. No damage, just sitting there.

I kept thinking that the folks involved in the accident were nearby out of view, perhaps sitting on the sidewalk, recovering from their ordeal. But it seemed that I had stumbled onto this scene a little late, as some other car must have been here, and had since been removed – along with all the participants.

The license plate on the front says Premiere Lux Auto Sales, and I had wondered if this was perhaps a test drive gone horribly wrong (I later heard from a coworker that they saw temp plates in back).

In talking about this with a few coworkers in the kitchen, one person had completely missed seeing the car – and another had seen two cars in the street (he had gotten into the office around 7:30 AM).

All three of us peeked down from the seventh floor, and were wondering if we needed to call the cops to report the car. A moment later, we saw a cop drive right past the wreck. We figured he’d seen it, and decided to just leave it be.

I checked again around noon, and the wreck had been removed. The street was clear, like nothing ever happened.

It’s odd to enter into a dramatic moment, with only half the story. As I was looking down from our office, I spotted a few skid marks in a kind of “U” pattern, pointing away from the wreck. I kept trying to find clues and hints, to try to piece together some kind of narrative.

At the end of the day, I hope everyone involved is ok. But boy, do I wish I knew what happened.

Related:
Car Accident, Hyde Park
Does That… Smell Like Smoke to You?
Hit and Run: U-Haul Truck and Silver, 4 Door Honda Civic, Logan Square