The near-miss

I don't usually see situations, tragic or celebratory, and think "that could have been me," but this one's stuck with me, so maybe there's something to it.
We live in a fascinating area. Fascinating for someone who thinks social dynamics are just about the most interesting thing around. I've driven north from our home everyday this week, a direction there is really no need to go, unless you work for the Census that is, or are serving jury duty at the county seat. Other than that, you'd simply never find yourself here. It's a convergence area of sorts, think urban-meets-rural in an anything but compromised generic suburbia. nope, thank you very much, we'll each keep our own flavors. here you're equally likely to get stuck behind farm equipment on the road as you are between two cars flashing gang symbols. So maybe you can't picture it, but onto my story...
I'm heading north from my house. Co-worker makes his umpteenth call of the day to me. As is extremely out of character for me, I pull over to the side of the road, into a little neighborhood, as to concentrate better on his quite involved problems. I listen to him, and in listening he believes I have solved things. I self-note to remember this for next time. It was a 5 minute conversation. I continue on my way as I've got to speed north only to get some work done, and leave in time to drive 50 miles south to meet an adoptive family at 6pm.
Humming along just fine I come to the only decent-sized intersection of my trek. I want to turn left. However, off to my left, we're talking about 1 block here, but wide open, nothing around, not even trees (remember you're in Colorado), there are about 5 cop cars and two bodies, one face down on the road and one off slightly in the ditch. There is a bashed in white car in the intersection. Assuming it was a car accident, I'm baffled as to how these people were thrown from this car in the intersection that far. I'm now figuring out that I'm not gonna be turning left. A police offer comes and instructs me to turn right as they are closing the road. I do. As I find my own detour through no-man's land I get another call from the same co-worker. New problem now, I don't pull over to hear it. It's been about 5-6 minutes since I left that intersection. My call log notes 4:14pm.
I get only a few minutes of work done in Brighton, I drive 50 miles south to meet with a family in Englewood and drive north again, arriving home at 8:45pm. Eating dinner I tell Mark that I came across an accident today with 2 bodies on the road. "Really?" It's the same "really?" I got when I told him I almost hit a coyote last week on a highway out east. He goes to 9news on the computer. I'm honestly not sure why he is going to look up news on the computer right now. And there it is. "Hijacking attempts in Commerce City."
I didn't come across an accident, I came across an attempted hijacking. These guys had apparently rear-ended a car in the intersection in order to rob him. They simultaneously got a flat tire. The victim took off, at which time these guys, fully armed, started attempting to hijack other cars. The victim had run to a home, he must have run a long way as there's nothing around, and called the cops. One responded, ran the hijackers down and shot them both. The news recorded that the "accident" and attempted jackings took place shortly after 4pm. I was at the intersection at 4:08pm, and would have been there at 4:03 had my co-worker, Will, not called. For at least one night, I was grateful for Will's robust interest in talking on the phone.