The intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U in Brooklyn is a major crossroad. The shopping center "Kings Plaza", a "Mattress Firm" store, a "theVitamin Shoppe" store and a "7 eleven" parking lot are all located right there, each on one corner. One recent night, I was in southbound traffic coming to that intersection and there was trouble.
There were all kinds of white, blue and red flashing strobe lights from several police cars and one ambulance that were arranged in a circle and blocking all but one Flatbush Avenue southbound lane. Their flashing lights were being reflected from the walls and windows of the nearby buildings. Even from two blocks away, I had seen those reflections so I knew that something very bad had happened.
The traffic lights were going through their usual cycles of red-green-red-green and so on and every time the green light came on for Flatbush Avenue, a chorus of car horns would start up. It was "beeeeeep - hoooooonk - beep - pause - beeeep" and so on until the light turned red again and then the horns would stop. The next green light would start the horn blowing all over again.
Gradually, I followed very slowly moving traffic around one squad car until I could see a previously hidden sedan sitting at a forty-five degree angle with respect to the lane direction and, be ready now, there was someone lying on the asphalt in front of that sedan with several police officers standing nearby and paying absolutely no attention to that person.
My only conclusion was that the pedestrian had been hit and killed by that sedan.
I guess the traffic light must have turned green just then because I could hear the cacophony of horn blowing starting up again just as I drove away.
Please let the whole scene and scenario come however gradually into clear mental focus.
This is one memory that is not going to fade away.
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