A short story today. It’s another injury story, because people getting hurt can be funny!
A PA I was working with in Big Bear got hit by a car.
On the day he was hit by a car we were stuck in the worst blizzard Big Bear had seen in seven years trying to dig out the grip trucks so we could start our first day of shooting. We were already over five hours behind, which meant we were already starting to go over budget. At some point something had broke, and at numerous points people had nearly been injured. An event like someone getting hit by a car was bound to happen and, frankly, not the worst thing that happened that day.
Still, getting hit by a car isn’t a great experience.
He and I had been doing the same job since 7am in the morning; running back and forth helping whoever we could. I was getting fifty dollars a day (it was yet another Lloyd movie) to run through the snow in jeans to try and get a generator on a trailer out of a snow ditch and was seriously debating on asking for a raise. We might all have had frost bite, who knows. By 1pm in the afternoon I was soaked, cold, and tired and yet was still running back and forth across a parking lot trying to dig cars out of snow drifts and bring people warm coffee.
Anyone who lives in snow knows how tough getting cars out of the snow and ice can be, especially if the car has been stuck there for a long period of time. Basically, even after clearing away the snow, the car can still be stuck because snow underneath the it has frozen over, fusing the car into the ground. This means that when the car tries to move its tires spin uselessly while nothing happens. The main way to solve this problem is with brute force; a few people shove the car as hard as they can while the tires continue to spin. Eventually the car wins and comes free. Sometimes this action is especially violent, with the car popping free and flying whatever direction the wheels are spinning until the driver stomps on the breaks. This is always unexpected.
The PA was running through the frozen over parking lot when a jeep did just that.
There was a pop, a revving sound, and the jeep flew backward and rammed right into the PA that just happened to be running behind it at that very moment. The back of the jeep is tall and flat, meaning instead of falling under or over the car the PA was simply hit head on. The Driver immediately jammed on the breaks as this happened. The resulting collision caused the PA to fly back over ten feet and tumble end over end on the ground as the car screeched to a halt.
The Driver got out of the car at the same time the PA lifted himself off the ground. “Are you okay?!” the Driver asked, clearly worried for the PA’s health. The PA, in the meantime, was feeling over his body and shaking out his arm which had taken most the blow. He finally brushed himself off with a groan and looked around the parking lot.
“I don’t have time for this!” The PA said. Then he ran back to the hotel, his original destination.
The Driver was very confused.
I later learned a few more things. The PA had thought he was more important moving and helping the crew than wondering about his arm. His job was important, and therefore since he could still run his job took precedence. He seemed fine, and therefore didn’t want to worry about it, especially since the car was undamaged. He did his job to the letter before sitting down and examining his body for any actual injuries. His arm, he found out, was bruised up badly and sore but otherwise fine. The rest of his body had some bruises and scrapes but was otherwise unharmed. With all the chaos happening that day, he had come away relatively unharmed. He was lucky and he knew it. Much much worse could have happened.
He got a free beer that night for marching on after being hit by a damn car, and then went on with his life with a cool story to tell.
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