Valor: The American Odyssey of Roy Dominguez

Ten: Triumph and Tragedy

The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships. Abraham Lincoln Gary Martin was a great storyteller with a zest for life. I talked to him about personal issues, and he was a great help. I.U. Northwest student Cassandra Oglesby, Steel Shavings 35 (“Educating the Calumet Region: A History of Indiana University Northwest”) 200 201 My dad had been ailing for some time, but it still was a blow when he passed away in 2006. At the cemetery as the casket was being lowered into its final resting place, Mom sang his favorite song, “Amorcito Corazón” (“my love, my heart”), made famous by Pedro Infante. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd as eighty-one-year-old Chencha sang it in perfect tune from memory. Near-Death Experience On March 13, 2004, Officer Robert Bridgeman was driving me to Indianapolis in a marked police car. We were in the I-65 passing lane just south of the Crown Point exit. Its being spring break, my nephew Nicholas, a Purdue University criminal justice major, was in the back seat, and I was checking my schedule on a handheld organizer. A truck driver suddenly cut us off the road. The officer swerved onto the grassy median strip and then accelerated to get back onto the highway. Slickness from the rain caused the vehicle to turn sideways and then flip over violently four or five times before finally landing off the west side of the road, upright but with the roof caved in. The truck driver later admitted that he had not used his signal light when he crossed into our lane and had been at fault. The accident seemed to happen in slow motion, and I thought we were going to die. The vehicle had a full tank of gas and could have easily exploded and caught fire. I said to myself, “This is how it’s going to end. Thatwasaquickfiftyyears.”Itwasthreedaysbeforemyfiftiethbirthday, and my life passed before me as if in an overnight dream. I said a prayer Triumph and Tragedy ten 202 Valor that I might live, as my family needed me and there was so much work I still wanted to do. The officer got on the police radio. Chief Gary Martin was home showering but heard the radio dispatch and was among the first on the scene, wearing a jogging suit and slippers. It was typical Gary–right there for me all the time, taking charge in the midst of pandemonium. There were county, state, and city police from Crown Point, Merrillville, and Gary as well as rescue vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances. Chief Martin located us halfway down a ditch and yelled, “Are you guys all right? Are you bleeding?” I told him we were OK, but he kept talking to make sure we stayed conscious. The roof had collapsed so much that neither the doors nor windows could be opened. We were hunched over and unable to sit up. To ease Gary’s mind I started banteringwithhimaboutmydriver ,whohadbeenhisstudentatIU Northwest. When Chief Martin said, “Look what you all did,” I replied, “Not me, Bridgeman.” Chief Martin turned to Officer Bridgeman and joked, “As soon as I get you out, I’m going to kick your butt.” Officer Bridgeman replied, “Please, Chief, we are hurt, don’t make us laugh.” The bantering kept us alert until the fire department rescue team arrived. In actuality, had Officer Robert Bridgeman not taken evasive action, the semi would have run us over, and we would have been crushed under its wheels. His defensive driving saved our lives. Fire department personnel finally cut us out with saws and steel jaws, and an ambulance took us to St. Anthony’s Hospital, whose staff had been alerted of our arrival. The three of us survived the traumatic ordeal without serious injuries, but I was very sore along the chest where my seat belt had been. When my family arrived with worried looks and tears streaming down their cheeks, I was hooked up to all kinds of monitoring devices and tubes. They had cut my clothes away, and to ease Betty’s and my daughters’ minds I quipped, “You remember the underwear with the holes you told me to throw away? Well, I have a pair on.” I really didn’t, but she smiled, called me a brat, and told the medical staff I was OK. They all...