By Lisa Treiber-Walter
A tearful plea to “get these trucks off Main Street!” was given to Gillespie County Commissioners meeting in regular session Monday.
Urging the court to move forward on an alternate truck route, local podiatrist and wound care specialist Angela Schladoer succeeded in putting a face on what some claim are the dangers of having heavy traffic traverse the downtown area.
“A lot of talk has focused on what would happen if a (big truck) accident were to occur on Main Street,” Schladoer said, before relating how such an incident has already happened, and recently.
On July 28, the vehicle she and her two children were traveling in was struck from behind by an 18-wheeled truck in the 200 block of East Main Street and then they were dragged by that same truck through an entire intersection while the truck driver remained clueless that an impact had occurred.
“We were hit by an 18-wheeler who was changing lanes. He clipped my back fender on the driver’s side. It made my car spin around so that the entire driver’s side of my car was flush up against the grill of his truck and then he continued to push us down Main Street,” Schladoer said.
“At some point…I hit my head on the window and my children were very traumatized. Our car managed to come lose from the front of his truck and swing out the other way into oncoming traffic,” she said.
“We’re very fortunate that we walked away from this. It was not easy,” her voice broke, before she continued, “When we came to a stop, the hardest part for me was I had to turn around, look in the back seat and see if my kids were alive. Because we were hit from behind by a large truck, I had no idea what I was going to see.
“That was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to do. And, I don’t ever want anyone else to ever have to go through that,” she said.
“It nearly killed us, but he didn’t even feel an impact,” she continued, relating how her family is suffering emotional and physical trauma, including the fact that she has not been able to return to work as of yet and is the sole provider for her family.
For more on this story, read this week’s print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the ‘Subscribe’ button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!