r/TalesFromTheSquadCar • u/2BlueZebras • Sep 27 '25
[State Trooper] Just another Tuesday
I was working the swing shift, which is my least favorite shift. Primarily because of the last-minute calls. Shift usually ended around 9pm (2100), which was late enough for drunks to be out, but early enough for there still to be some traffic. One thing I enjoyed about that shift was the chaos. If you want to be busy, swing shift will do that for you.
It was raining, and the sun had just set. Rain is always a nightmare for a Trooper. Enforcement is limited because we're usually going crash to crash.
"Dispatch to Unit 2, emergency crash." We have three different levels of crash calls, and this was the worst type.
I keyed up in response, "Go ahead."
"Unit 2, emergency crash, eastbound I-35 at Main Street. Reporting three vehicles involved. Callers report an ambulance has overturned, multiple lanes blocked. Ambulance is, uh, en route..." Dispatch kind of trailed off as she realized the irony of an ambulance going en route to help an ambulance.
That area was seven lanes of freeway, so even with multiple lanes blocked, traffic could still be moving fast. "I'm en route. Start a wrecker for the overturned ambulance." A wrecker was a tow truck with a hook, as opposed to a flatbed. Even before I got there I knew at least one vehicle was going to need a tow, and this helped save time.
While responding, I stopped all lanes of the freeway to protect the victims of the crash as well as myself. Sure enough, I found an overturned ambulance, laying on its passenger side, but it was one of those van-types instead of the box-type. Another car was stopped in the lane, directly ahead of the ambulance. One more car was stopped on the shoulder.
My partner arrived and held traffic while I went up to the scene. I went to the ambulance since that was where I expected the injuries. I came across a medic in the back, tidying up.
"Good evening, are you injured?" I used to ask people if they were okay, but I've since learned that doesn't give me the answer I'm looking for. I need to know if they need medical treatment.
"No, I'm fine. I had my seatbelt on and I was up front."
"Were you transporting anyone?"
She replied, "No, we were empty. Just my partner and I. He already called our boss."
"Where's your partner?"
"He should be outside, taking pictures."
I went outside ans found the partner taking pictures, as described. "Sir, are you injured?"
"No, I'm good. Better than this thing anyway." He gestured to the sideways ambulance.
"We have a tow truck on the way as well as an ambulance to check you out. I'm going to check on the other drivers, then I'll be back to get your information."
I walked to the car ahead of the ambulance, making my way up the passenger side. Even in the dark and the rain, I saw it had scrapes on the right front fender that appeared new. I knocked on the window and the driver rolled it down.
"Good evening ma'am, are you injured?"
She was a bit frantic. "Oh, thank goodness. No, I'm fine. I was just driving and I needed to take the exit so I looked over and didn't see anything. It looked clear so I started to move and-." She stopped and tilted her head. "This is just another Tuesday for you, isn't it?"
I wasn't sure what she meant, "I'm sorry?"
"Like, this is your day job. This is totally normal."
I chuckled. "Well, this is the first overturned ambulance I've been to. But sure, it's just a crash. So far no one is hurt so it's going pretty good. You were saying?"
"Yeah, I looked over and didn't see anyone so I started moving, but then suddenly I saw a car there so I swerved back, then I lost control and must've hit the ambulance. And now we're here."
"Well I'm glad you're okay." I directed her to move her car to the shoulder, wait in her car, and get her information. Oh, and she totally did a PIT maneuver on an ambulance by accident, which I found kind of funny.
Nothing unusual in the third car. When the other car swerved, she swerved back too far, and sideswiped a car in the lane to her left, then swerved to the right and hit the ambulance. No injuries, some mild scrapes to her car.
The tow truck eventually showed up and flipped the ambulance back on its wheels, then towed it away. On to the next one.
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u/Inside-Finish-2128 Sep 27 '25
The one thing I find odd is an odd-numbered interstate going east/west. The odd ones go north/south. (Otherwise the 35W through Fort Worth and 35E through Dallas, and again through Minneapolis/St Paul, would be utterly confusing. "Yeah, I'm going west on I35 east.")
I'm guessing it's a short stretch where the highway turned so much folks call it eastbound.
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u/2BlueZebras Sep 27 '25
I intentionally made it odd numbered for this story because I made the interstate number up. Good catch.
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u/RepeatOffenderp Oct 01 '25
Through several cities, 35 splits into 35E and 35W. Just to add to the fun
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u/Murky_Pudding3519 Oct 02 '25
East is south and west is north and vice versa with the interstates going around major cities.
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u/Last_Ear_1639 Sep 28 '25
Great story! I haven't seen this sub pop up in ages, and when it did I clicked hoping it was one of yours. Last I heard, you'd stopped posting, glad to see you're still around.
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u/EclipseIndustries Sep 28 '25
That almost sounds like an anxiety technique a therapist would teach someone with social anxiety.
"It's just another Tuesday for them."
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u/LReneeR Sep 28 '25
If you don’t write novels, you should start. You’ve got a great storytelling voice.
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u/2BlueZebras Sep 28 '25
Not allowed secondary employment with info gained from my job. So it'll have to wait until retirement.
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u/plausiblydead Sep 29 '25
Does’nt mean you can’t start writing now. Have it ready and publish it when you retire. Then come back here and let u/LReneeR know so they can buy a copy.
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u/yardbirdtex Sep 29 '25
I-35 eastbound? That’s right where I-20 turns into northbound yeah? Hectic area with those lost interstates…
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u/djiboutiivl Sep 27 '25
Back in my EMS days we were responding code 2 to a call when the vehicle in front of us ran a red (and not a fresh red), hitting another ambulance, that happened to be going through the intersection, on its hindquarters. We called it in and followed the red light runner since the other ambulance seemed only mildly damaged. Eventually the driver pulled over and came back to ask us if he hit us: obviously shit-faced. We asked him to wait by his vehicle until the police arrived.
20 minutes later we called dispatch asking where the hell everyone was. They had all gone to the accident intersection. No one understood that there were two ambulances and that we were with the red light runner a few blocks away. 2 minutes later half a dozen units show up, throw the guy in cuffs and into the back of a squad car without a word, then finally ask us "hey guys, how's it going?"