story5976.xml

story5976.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-12

I could not believe what I heard when I turned on my radio in my car on the way to work.I first heard the announcer saying that glass was flying all over the place, so I thought it was another earthquake in California.Then the news continued that a plane had hit the world trade center.I knew the traffic was very heavy,only then I realised why. I was on the service road to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn which overlooks the WTC and Wall Street area.I looked up and saw burnt papers flying in front and on my car. I saw the twin buildings engulfed in flames,fire coming out of everywhere. I got so scared, wind up the glass in the car and kept on looking to see where I could get off,but everywhere was jammed with traffic. As I drove, I continued to see more and more of the destruction as I got up unto the highway.At this point I was approaching the underpass to the Brooklyn Bridge.All I kept thinking that they might blow up the bridge too and we all would be in danger. Nervous as I was I tried hard to calm myself down.There was a vast amount of smoke and fire shooting out from every angle of the building that I could see and in my paranoid state of mind then,I thought that we would encounter some disaster too;Then suddenly I thought I saw like one of the bldgs leaning, and before I knew it, I heard on the radio that the building was falling or something to that effect. I sped up and tried to get under an underpass. In my confused state of mind I started thinking that all the gas fumes and flying objects etc.would be sure to get us as we were right across the river.Thank God nothing of the kind happened.I got off the exit and had to pull aside all sweating and shaking. This is something I will NEVER forget.It was very traumatic for me in every sense of the word. I remembered when the WTC was building when I worked in that area.Imagine,I SAW it go up and I SAW it come down.Imagine all those families, few of whom I knew,not personally,perished senslessly.My deepest sympathy to all the families.We know how much they are missed as it dawns one year today.