Last dance with film on the job

JENNIFER MATTHEWS/News-Sentinel
California Highway Patrol Office Zakhary takes down information regarding a single motorcycle accident that occurred Sunday evening about 6:20 p.m. on Highway 12 at Tecklenburg Road near Lodi. EMS responded to a call reporting a person in the road. Apparently the driver of the 550 Four Honda motorcycle was not wearing a helmet and lost control of the bike. He was headed westbound at approximately 55-60 mph, says Zakhary. The victim was transferred to San Joaquin County General Hospital for injuries.

At this time I went by Matthews, my maiden name. On this particular night was the last time I used a film camera on the job. And it was actually a good thing. The flash mount on my camera had fallen apart earlier in the day at another assignment. I was in the office finishing up some work when the call came across the scanner. I was in a panic. I could not use my flash. But if I missed this what would be the consequences the next day. So I grabbed the 3200 black and white film. We still had chemicals, which was another good thing. Our small paper used color film but processed it at the local drugstore. And they were closed.
I drove out thinking, what on earth am I going to get. It is dark. I am way out in the country. I am SOL.
Then fate lent a hand. The patrol car lit the officer a bit as well as the bike. The officer had a flashlight the lit him. The victim had just been loaded up on scene and on his way to the hospital. So all that was left was the bike and officer.
I got back, processed, scanned the neg, and imaged. It was the best out of a really bad situation. That was October 24, 1999.