My car was hit very badly on the left front by the other car. I can only think that the other car was out of control, as I was later told that the car was owned by an ex-G.I. with an artificial leg.
It was true that Palmieri was a veteran of the Korean War, who had been injured in a missile attack. His left leg had been amputated, and he was driving a special car with hand brakes and accelerator. This was the first day he had used the car. With him in the car were his wife, Billie, and her mother, Mrs. Jane Hansen, both of Oklahoma City. (They were on their way to Arkansas to pick up Billie's son by a previous marriage, who spent the summers with his mother and grandmother in Oklahoma.)
The accident occurred directly in front of a small farm owned by a Czechoslovakian immigrant named Stanley J. Moucka. The postman had just put the mail in his mailbox (the truck that Palmieri saw stopped) when Moucka heard the accident and rushed outside. He brought blankets to cover Mehera and Baba. No one in Palmieri's car was injured. Mrs. Hansen had leapt out of the car. She went to Mehera and wiped her face with a handkerchief.
Elizabeth's car had gone off the road into Moucka's driveway. "It was a terrible sight," Moucka later remembered. Mrs. Hansen also said, "There was blood everywhere. It was horrible."
Meanwhile, a man taking his pregnant wife to the Prague clinic for a check-up drove past. Because the town had only one ambulance, he sent it back, along with a hearse.
Sarosh's car had not yet appeared on the scene. Due to the heat, Sarosh had stopped along the way to enjoy a cool drink. It was a stop he would regret for the rest of his life. When their car came upon the accident 15 or 20 minutes later, they were shocked by the sight. Rano, Goher, Delia and Kitty jumped from the car and ran to Baba. Goher was dazed, and began going back and forth between Mehera and Baba frantically. Baba indicated to Rano by hand signs that his arm and leg had been injured. Delia unpacked her small pillow and placed it under Baba's head.
"The anguish of that moment is unforgettable," said Delia later. "Baba's face with blood pouring from his head — his eyes just staring straight ahead as if into unfathomable distances. He made no sound nor sigh, just lay there motionless. Elizabeth was in the car doubled over the wheel. Her first question was, 'Is he alive?' "