The 'Dead Zone' of Interstate 4

[Oneironaut]

Something interesting I just found out about the stretch of I-4 that I drive, to and from work, everyday.

http://www.local6.com/video/13275794/index.html

I would have put this in "Beyond Dreaming" but I think it's fine right here, since I'm just sharing what was on the news. :P

[pj]

Woah.

I've driven that stretch. Bet many here have.

[Burns]

Yeah I saw a clip of this on CNN this morning actually... it's like another Bermuda Triangle... :eek: creepiness

[Oneironaut]

Not to exacerbate (or fall in line with) the hype; It really is amazing how many accidents happen along that stretch. Before now, having no knowledge of this 'legend of the "Dead Zone", this stretch has always been the one that seems to cause all the traffic jams on my daily commute.
There is always something happening here - whether it's an accident, a car-fire or something of that nature (As I type this, there is a burned-out car sitting within about 3/4 of a mile from what the vid/slideshow on local 6 is declaring the 'Dead Zone', that was on fire yesterday morning) there is always something going on here. It's so bad that, when on my way to work, I can almost anticipate there being a traffic jam that starts/stops within a quarter-mile of this area, and I've been travelling this stretch, daily, for over 5 years. That's saying a lot. It's just a very surreal stretch of road. The bridge that leads into the 'Dead Zone' (when coming from the direction of Deltona, where I live) is over the St. John's River. I've always figured (and still do, until proven otherwise) that it was the large body of water that made this happen but, when it's foggy outside, there is always this massive, opaque wall of fog that begins right where the "Dead Zone" begins. If it's raining on one side of the bridge, it's usually calm on the other (again, I attribute this to there being a large body of water between them, but I honestly have no scientific insight to back that up).

Stories that I've either, personally, witnessed, or have heard of as they happened:
-My previous car has suddenly lost all electrical power, coming over the bridge (It had problems with the alternator, so I'm not saying that the reason for that is paranormal) to where I had to walk that stretch of road, for about a half-mile, to the nearest gas station.
-I have a friend buried in a (legitimate) graveyard, less than a mile from there. On the day that I went to his funeral (the only other funeral I've ever been to, besides my dad) a stranger died in a car accident - that I saw the aftermath of on my way to the funeral. I think I might have posted something about the incident here on DV.
-One of the most awesome crashes that I've ever seen the aftermath of was right there in the 'Dead Zone'; I came over the bridge (in traffic) to see that a woman's van had jumped over the guardrail and was hanging by a single piece of metal that was caught under her real axle, in a way that made it look like her van was stuck to the outside of the rail, like a refrigerator magnet. It's always been the story that I tell with the addage of "I have no idea how this woman's van was holding on to the outside of the rail like that." My mom and I had taken opposite roads to work (she works in the same building I do) and she described taking the road beneath the overpass, and seeing the woman laying flat against her windshield as my mom passed under her. (The van was stuck, with the nose facing downward). Absolutely amazing thing to see, even from my perspective, and I'll never forget it.
-Not long ago, there was a robbery and the suspects, while fleeing the police, stopped right there in the 'Dead Zone', ditched their car and jumped over the guardrail. They (for some reason) missed the massive river and landed in the grass, at least one of them breaking their legs and getting the entire group caught.
-I'd heard of another person, on the news, who'd actually died when their car went over the St. Johns River railing and nosedived into about 4 ft of water.

Again, without buying into too much of the paranormal (or even hearing anything about this "legend") I've always known this to be a stretch of road where something is always happening. After reading/seeing this news story, today, it was really eerie to drive back home, over the bridge, and notice (for the first time ever, really) the absurd amount of skidmarks in the road and dents against the guardrail, that I never realized were there, before.

[pj]

The awareness that the news report creates will hopefully keep people more alert passing through there... and save some lives.

[Burns]

Wow those are amazing stories, O :shock:

Please be careful driving through there, or better yet - take a different way to work. http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e284/burns91/Emoticons/tongue.gif

[tyrantt23]

Damn, I can't see the video on this Linux 64bit machine. I'm tempted to restart my computer on windows mode just to watch it.

EDIT: Da-yammmm... that's crazy. Be safe when driving through there Oneironaut.

Oh, and to be even safer, make sure to carry with you a head of garlic, a cross, the bible, and some stakes when you're driving through there. Just in case...

[Oneironaut]

The awareness that the news report creates will hopefully keep people more alert passing through there... and save some lives.
I agree. Most of the traffic jams that happen there have usually provoked a "why are people so stupid?" reaction from me. So often people would even slow down and cause a traffic jam for no conceivable reason. I've always taken that for granted and wondered why people seemed to just "be afraid to go over a bridge" but, now, I hope that caution that I've witnessed takes on a purpose and is enough to stop so many more crashes from happening.

Another story:
Car broke down a few years ago, along that stretch. (a separate time from when the electrical went out.) I was never (and am still not) the kind of person that hitchhikes. When my car broke down, right there at the edge of the river, it started to rain. I had been walking with my daughter, when she was about 1 1/2 years old, and were trying to find the nearest store. I had been carrying her for about a half a mile and someone stopped to pick us up. I said no, at first, and then the guy showed me that he happened to be an off-duty cop. Nothing really "spectacular" but, hey, it was just one of those 'man, thank god this guy happened to pass us' situations, and he ended up giving us a ride to my house.

Wow those are amazing stories, O

Please be careful driving through there, or better yet - take a different way to work.
Actually, that is the only way in and out of town, without going a good 30 mins out of the way. There are two separate main roads that I can take to get into town, and they both happen to intersect right there at the 'Dead Zone'. One of them (the I-4 bridge) goes over, and the other (State Road 17-92, which is a bridge that runs parallel to I-4) crosses beneath it. There is no way around it.