In a split second last night, we watched as a tragedy was miraculously avoided, how life changed for two people and how folks came together to help others. It was also a valuable reminder  -- if we ever need one -- about how safety belts save lives.

At about 6.55 p.m last night just north of exit 23 on the 87 Northway, on a dry stretch of blacktop, I watched from the passenger seat of a friend’s SUV as a  large camper trailer pulled by a Toyota pickup truck began to swing violently from left to right. In the blur of a few seconds, the pickup truck and trailer  -- traveling in the right lane about 100 yards ahead of us -- flipped over several times over both lanes of traffic. We saw a small orange cat jump out of the shattered passenger side window.

The pickup came to rest upright on top the metal barrier with the flattened camper trailer taking up all of the right lane. Several motorists pulled over. In the moments that followed, time goes into an eerie slow motion state.  Two women and my son rushed over to the pickup truck to check on the occupants. They learned a female passenger had already exited the vehicle and went looking for that cat we had seen earlier, either being ejected or jumping from the window. We leaned another cat was trapped in the back of the cab.