Ghost Story

I do not believe in ghosts. I do not believe that we have souls. There is no afterlife. That having been said, after sitting in the dark all evening, organizing the information that I’m about to give you, I am thoroughly creeped-out.

That and I keep hearing a creaking noise outside, like there is something walking up and down the steps to my upper deck. The dog is inside, but he keeps acting agitated. I wonder whether something doesn’t want me to tell the following story.

In my job, I see and hear some very unusual things, most of which I am not allowed to discuss. I am permitted to tell the following story, though, since I was not directly involved. I do know some of the attorneys that were involved, and no one really likes to talk about it anymore. The following facts are documented in Portland Police Bureau investigation reports and court records.

A traffic accident occurred on February 9, 1992, at 10:30 p.m., in the eastbound lanes of I-84. It was dark and raining hard. Four motor vehicles and one phantom moving van were involved. Multiple emergency units arrived at the scene, including Portland police officers and Multnomah County sheriff Deputies. As is typical in events like these, multiple officers contributed various portions to the overall accident report. As no criminal action was ever taken, no officer ever sat and reviewed the contents of the report as a whole.

The driver of vehicle number one said that there was a small green or blue car in front of her in the left hand lane. She observed a large moving van change lanes from the right, directly into the small car. The small car lost control and rolled over several times, coming to a stop upside down. The moving truck drove away.

Driver number one slammed on the brakes to avoid the small car, but was severely rear ended by driver number 2. After the collision, an off-duty nurse who appeared to be in her early twenties came over to her and helped wrap a gash that she had on her arm.

Driver number two was behind number one. He did not recall the phantom truck, but did recall seeing the debris from the small car rolling. He recalled Driver number one slamming on the brakes, but he had no time to apply his own before striking number one.

After the accident, he also recalled speaking with a young off-duty nurse. She asked if he was OK, and said that he was fine. He thought she moved on to assist driver number one.

Driver number three was in the middle lane behind the moving truck. He saw the truck hit the small car and drive off. He then took evasive maneuvers to avoid getting hit by the rolling car. Unfortunately, he overcompensated, and struck the concrete barrier on the far right shoulder at about 45 miles per hour.

Both of his wrists were fractured. Driver three told the police that a young-looking girl in a hospital uniform came by and rendered first aid, helping to immobilize his injuries.

The police report indicates that vehicle number four was a green Volkswagen Jetta, which had rolled numerous times and was found at rest on its roof. The driver was a 23 year old woman who was on her way home from work. She was dead at the scene.

A lawsuit followed. Since the moving truck drove away, the mother of the deceased girl sued her own insurance company. All of the witness depositions were eventually held at the same time in one of the lawyer’s large conference room.

At the deposition, as the stories of the witnesses about this mystery girl started to come out, an unpleasant sensation came over the room. Folks who were there have had trouble describing it. Some have said that the room got hot. Others said that it felt like the air was escaping. More than one person experienced physical nausea.

Eventually, one of the witnesses spoke up and asked if there was any way to see a picture of the deceased. Slowly, the mother of the dead girl pulled a picture of her daughter (in her Nurse uniform) from her purse and passed it around the conference table. Each and every witness looked at the picture and identified the dead girl as the one who tended to their wounds after the accident.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight…