aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Congressmen ok after Iraq wreck

My congressman, Jim Marshall, was in an accident in Iraq last night:

In a phone interview from Baghdad, Marshall explained how dignitaries are shuttled in fast-moving convoys that often take up the middle of the road to deter oncoming motorists.

Shortly after dark Saturday, Marshall’s vehicle encountered an oncoming truck that was not yielding to the convoy, he said.

“Then all of a sudden brakes get slammed on. Then we hit something and go off the side of the road and tip over,” Marshall said.

The congressional delegation was riding in a “box-like” vehicle soldiers call the “ice cream truck,” he said.

“Everybody sort of fell over to the side. There’s no cushion to it. It’s all solid metal with bolts sticking out,” Marshall said. “I feel like a fool. I didn’t put my seat belt on.”

Two other congressmen were in the vehicle. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa. was airlifted to a military hospital in Germany for an MRI on his neck, and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo. was sent to a Baghdad hospital for evaluation.

This was Marshall’s sixth trip to Iraq. His is considered one of the House races to watch in the 2006 election cycle.