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My office window overlooks East Market Street.

So I get to see my share of car crashes.

Sometimes I merely hear them ... screeching tires, then the sickening thud of sheet metal on sheet metal.

Today, as I left the office for my afternoon walk, I heard an even worse sound in the distance on Church Street.

It was as if something weighing several  tons had dropped out of the sky, and hit the pavement so hard that it bounced and hit it again.

What it was was another collision, this time between an SUV and a smaller car.

The car was in the intersection of Church and Friendly, near the library, its passenger side crinkled and bent inward.

A young woman in jeans walked back and forth with her hands on her head.

The SUV was on the sidewalk lodged against a pole, a man still seated on the passenger side.

In this case, the SUV seemed to have gotten the worst of it.

From the buzz of bystanders, I gathered that someone had run a red light.

Since there had been no screeching tires, I'm guessing they hit one another at full speed.

I see people ignore traffic lights all the time, especially in the morning ...  well after the light has changed.

It’s enough to make you long for the good ol' days of redlight cameras.