Thirteenth Post- From One Second to the Next

 

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Four stories are revealed in Werner Herzog’s From One Second to the Next short documentary. The first story involves a child named Xavier, nicknamed “X” and “X-Man” by his family. X-Man was in his sister’s, Aurie, hand as the pair were crossing the road at a stop sign. X was very active in his youth and loved football. His mom always wanted to cheer him on in sports. Now, she will never get the chance. X is paralyzed and has no legs, as his wheelchair serves as his legs. He has partial use of his right hand, is on life-support, and his mom spends most nights on the couch listening to her son’s ventilator (Herzog). Her son cannot simply go play in the yard without his suction machine, ventilator, etc. Aurie and X were walking across the street as a lady who was texting and driving ran a stop sign at a four-way stop and hit X. The camera visited the scene of the incident as Aurie explained the driver ran the stop sign due to texting and was speeding in a school zone.

The second story is titled “A Letter from Martin” and involves a man named Chandler Gerber- who has a wife and a kid. He explained how running his van into an Omish family on a horse while texting and driving felt “like a dream” (Herzog). The camera returns to the scene of the accident and recounts the last text message he sent: “I love you.” A police officer described the scene and details how three people were killed. The officer responded to the call and explained how the accident occurred. Chandler overtook the Omish bug and hit it from behind, as all Chandler could think about was “What have I done?.” Bodies ended up in ditches and the horse was wounded. The officer showed pictures of Gerber’s vehicle and the chaos of the crime scene (Herzog). The youngest child in the family killed was lying face down in the ditch and looked asleep but had injuries to his face and broken legs. Chandler got a letter from the father of the children killed in the accident. The writer hoped for good health and cheer for Chandler and said his family tries to make the best they can of the situation. The father wished the best for Chandler and his young child and said God is always present for him and his family. Chandler wishes he could have waited to text until he was done driving and didn’t realize texting and driving is so dangerous until after the crash.

“Our Sister Debbie” is the third story and is about a woman who lost her balance, arm mobility, ability to see well, and is unable to leave her front yard without assistance from others. She can’t see, can’t remember anything, and is now dependent on her family and friends. She used to work 60 hours a week and loved traveling and working. Debbie was going to take her dog out before bed and was going to get the mail while she was struck by a teenage girl texting and driving. Carried on the hood of the driver’s car, she was ultimately found by neighbors. Swollen in the hospital, her right eye shut, face swollen, neck and arms and ribs broken, and nursing a broken ankle and broken leg, Debbie survived her coma. The teenager who struck Debbie got 30 days in jail, five months of house arrest, and 500 hours of community service. Debbie’s dog, Charlie, was killed by the driver. As with the other experiences, the camera conveyed Debbie’s brother at the scene of crash recounting the event.

The last story is “Reaching for the Stars” and is about a daughter, Megan, whose dad was killed at the hands of a texting driver. Megan and her dad bonded over telescopes and stars as he was a scientist. Reggie Shaw was the driver who caused the accident. A police officer was at the scene explaining the incident. Two engineers are heading one way and the texting car is going the other way. The texting car brushed the other car and spun the car with the engineers into the path of oncoming pickup. The pickup could not stop in time as the two engineers perished. As Reggie went across the center line and hit another car, he doesn’t remember the text message he was sending at the time. He remembered his windshield glass breaking and the skidding of the car he hit. The skidding car collided with the truck driver, and the truck driver hit the passenger side of the car with the engineers. The truck went halfway through the car and forced the car into a ditch. The responding police officer showed pictures of the truck and of the blue car with the engineers. Completely smashed, the blue car is unrecognizable and both engineers passed from being in the car. Reggie can only think about the families of the two men while looking at the picture, and he really regrets texting and driving. He calls his decision selfish and is emotional in realizing he killed two people. Megan has nightmares about the accident, in which she is standing on the side of the road unable to help her father. In her dreams, she has been the one who caused the accident and been the driver of the truck who t-boned her dad. Reggie knows his accident was preventable and the two men could still be alive. He says it’s as simple as putting your phone away when you drive, and he wants others to say “I don’t want to be that guy” when looking at him. Megan hated Reggie in the beginning, but then the two got to know each other. She said she knew her dad had forgotten Reggie and knew her dad wouldn’t want her to be mad at him for the rest of her life. Megan and Reggie hug and he feels forgiveness from Megan.

Herzog’s message regarding the dangers of texting and driving comes to life through testimonials given by both people doing the texting and driving and people affected by the decision to text and drive. With the prevalence of cell phones today, the message of waiting to send a text and keeping your eyes on the road is of the utmost importance.

Citations: 

From One Second to the Next. Directed by Werner Herzog, 2013.