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Deputy Jennings Works an Accident

December 26, 2018 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Deputy-Jennings-Works-an-Accident.mp3

·  Episode 6  ·

In Episode 5, Irene and Martin Schrock were informed by a deputy sheriff that two of their children had been involved in an accident while they were operating the Schrock family’s horse-and-wagon. Deputy Jennings and Sgt. Hunter had already been assigned to work the hit-and-run accident.  

*

Irene and Martin Schrock saw the emergency flashing lights ahead and glanced at one another. Deputy Razer slowed her patrol car.

Irene spotted the ambulance first.

Martin observed his horse, dead, dismembered, lying on the road. The wagon, damaged, was on its side with one wheel visibly splintered into pieces.

“Where are our children?” Irene asked Deputy Razer.

“They’re probably in the ambulance, waiting for us. Hold on a second,” she said, as she parked her car off the road.

Deputy Jennings approached Razer’s car and leaned over to speak to her through the open window.

“Thanks for helping us out,” said Jennings to Razer.

“No problem,” said Razer.

“We’re the Schrock’s,” said Martin. “How are our children?”

“Thanks for coming. Your children will be glad to see you. The paramedics and EMTs have checked them out and would like to talk to you.”

*

Jennings had already gone through a series of emotions. Like all deputies, his twelve-hour work shift was a series of emotional responses to 911 calls. One moment he was relaxed, and a second later his body was jolted into emergency response mode. He enjoyed variety in his day, and the adrenaline rush was a welcome high, but it didn’t help his blood pressure.

The trip from the Yoder’s house to the injury accident site had taken less than five minutes, but during that time, Jennings, as always, had prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. When he and Hunter were informed that they would arrive prior to the ambulance, it forced him to consider his limited life-saving skills. What would he need to do first if people were severely injured?

No one could miss the dead horse on the road or the overturned wagon. The scene was an awful sight with blood and innards smeared across the highway. It was as though the horse had been gutted by some powerful machine in a slaughterhouse. Jennings felt sorry for the horse but he was still hopeful that the person who had reported the accident to 911 had been accurate about it involving only minor injuries to the passengers.  

It took Jennings a few additional seconds to determine if the car parked on the shoulder of the road had been involved in the wreck. When he didn’t observe any damage to it, he was pretty sure it belonged to a Good Samaritan. While taking in the scene, his eyes searched for people, injured or dead.  

He found two Amish teenagers sitting on the ground, on the other side of the parked car, speaking with a woman. The female adolescent, in a dark-green dress and bonnet, had a small cut to her forehead. The male, wearing a blue shirt and pants with suspenders, was holding his flattened straw hat.

Jennings was relieved to discover that no people were killed or seriously hurt. The youngsters had been “lucky” because they were alive, but they were unlucky to have been hit by a truck.

The emotional shift in Jennings was sudden. He was upbeat. Reuben and Rebecca Schrock, both seventeen, had some scrapes and bruises, and they appeared stunned, but they were able to talk. They said they were sorry for the wreck that killed their horse and damaged their wagon.

Jennings and Hunter weren’t paramedics or EMTs, but in short time their questions shifted from the well-being of the children, to the investigation of the wreck. A person had been involved in an accident with major damage and had left the scene. The driver had broken the law and needed to be caught before he hurt others, and to pay a penalty for his actions.

“Do you want a case on this?” Jennings asked Hunter, his face expressionless.

“Of course I want a case on this!” Hunter said. “It’s a hit-and-run with major damage and injuries.”

“Okay, Sarge, just checking. I’m going to need to get personal information from the Amish teenagers. Is that 10-4?”

“Jennings, knock it off! It’s a state requirement and you know it. We gotta do what we gotta do, Amish or not.”

Jennings asked the teenagers what happened to cause the wreck.

“This truck came straight at us and hit our horse,” answered Reuben. “There was no time for me to avoid it,” he added.

“So, you were driving the wagon?” Jennings asked for verification.

“Yes, Rebecca and me, we were coming home from working at a neighbor’s farm.”

“Which way were you going and which way was the truck going?” Jennings inquired.

Reuben explained while Rebecca listened.

“Can you tell me what the truck looked like?” asked Jennings.

“It was a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. It was painted silver,” he said, as his face instinctively lit up with excitement.”

“Did you see a license plate?”

“No, I didn’t think to look for a number. We were hit with the front of his truck and it kept going in that direction,” said Reuben, as he pointed towards the east.

“How about the driver? Was it a man or woman?”

“It was a man, English. He was the only person I saw in the truck.”

“What race or color was he?”

“He was white, short hair, no beard, and no hat.”

“How about his age?

“I don’t know, in his twenties, probably.”

“He looks like a man who works at a flower store in Prairie Grove,” offered Rebecca. “He wasn’t the man from the store but he looks like him,” she added. “Yes, I think he was at least twenty-one.”

“I’m amazed that you’re able to describe the driver,” said Jennings, speaking to both Reuben and Rebecca. “If a truck was driving straight towards me, I would have been so scared, I’m not sure that I’d be able to identify anyone, only the ditch.”

“The man drove by once before he hit us,” said Rebecca.

“Becca! Nein!” 

Her response was immediate. She shut her mouth and looked at the ground.

Jennings studied both of them. “Have you seen the man before?” he asked. “Do you know him? Did he say anything to you?” For a second, Jennings wondered if the wreck could have been intentional, even a hate crime.

“That’s the best we can do on a description of the man and the truck,” said Reuben. “My back’s starting to hurt now.”

“I hear the ambulance,” said Jennings. “Your lucky day. The medics will check you out.”

“Can you go tell our parents to come get us?” asked Rebecca.

“Yes, we’ll have someone do that. Let me confirm your address,” he said.

Cottonwood County Deputy Tom Jennings. Sculpture by J. Alex Potter. Photo by Gina Laiso.

Hunter took photos of the accident scene and collected evidence from the road. The wagon was torn up. Silver paint was embedded on the wooden wheel where it had been transferred from the hit-and-run truck. The sergeant also examined pieces of broken plastic from a headlight panel and shards from the truck’s front window.

Blood was everywhere.

Flies swarmed the horse and its scattered remains.

To be continued.

Until next time, happy writing and reading!

 

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Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Amish, Behind the Books Blog, Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Christine Razer, Irene Schrock, Jim Potter, Martin Schrock, Old Order Amish, Prairie Grove Kansas, Rebecca Schrock, Reuben Schrock

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarMarilyn Bolton says

    December 26, 2018 at 10:35 am

    I found the book interesting from the start, but now that interest is rapidly rising!

    Reply
    • Jim PotterJim Potter says

      December 26, 2018 at 11:32 am

      Marilyn, glad to hear you are engaged! Thanks, Jim

      Reply
  2. AvatarAnonymous says

    December 26, 2018 at 11:10 am

    CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT EPISODE! SO GOOD!

    Reply
    • Jim PotterJim Potter says

      December 26, 2018 at 11:33 am

      THANKS!

      Reply

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What People Are Saying

Sean McArdle

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:24:22-06:00

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/sean-mcardle/

Rebecca

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:41:14-06:00

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/rebecca/

Wynona Winn

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:18:33-06:00

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/wynona-winn/

Denise Low

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:31:21-06:00

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/denise-low/

Larry Kruckman

Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!

Larry Kruckman, Anthropologist

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:27:15-06:00

Larry Kruckman, Anthropologist

Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/larry-kruckman/

Deb Theis

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:20:29-06:00

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/deb-theis/

John & Cindy Morrill

I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:14:56-06:00

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/john-cindy-morrill/

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.

Morgan Penner

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:25:35-06:00

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/morgan-penner/

Dennis Perrin

Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!

Dennis Perrin, educator

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:44:55-06:00

Dennis Perrin, educator

Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/dennis-perrin/

Rebecca Schillaci

As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .

Rebecca Schillaci

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:46:40-06:00

Rebecca Schillaci

As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/rebecca-schillaci/

Sheryl Remar

I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.

Sheryl Remar

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T11:47:46-06:00

Sheryl Remar

I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/sheryl-remar/

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.

Jane Holzrichter

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:21:41-06:00

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/jane-holzrichter/

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.

Steve Becker

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:26:21-06:00

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/steve-becker/

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!

Diana Dester

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:19:23-06:00

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/diana-dester/

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:44:26-06:00

Karleen Wilson-Moon

Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/karleen-wilson-moon/

Judy Hawk

. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .

Judy Hawk

Sandhenge Publications
5
2017-11-17T18:15:48-06:00

Judy Hawk

. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .
https://jimpotterauthor.com/testimonials/judy-hawk/
16
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