Asleep at the Wheel.

[Guttpuppy]

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - Ruben Brown knows how close he came to losing everything.
Driving to Long Island for a family vacation June 28 with his wife and three children, the Bears veteran guard fell asleep at the wheel, causing a horrific one-car collision.

Fortunately, the Browns all escaped without any serious injuries.

"Lucky is far beyond the word to use for that because that truck's totaled," Brown said Saturday after arriving at training camp in Bourbonnais. "The whole top of it was pancaked down. I couldn't even tell you how I got out of there."

Brown, his wife and their three-year-old son had to get a few stitches, but their six-year-old son and baby daughter were unhurt. The accident occurred near the Pennsylvania/New York border.

"I just dozed off, ran off the road, tried to get back on but it was too late," he said. "The family's all good. Everybody's fine. It just was a really scary situation for us all."

Brown isn't sure whether the accident will change his perspective about life or football. He's just thrilled that a potential tragedy was averted.

"I'm just happy that my family got to walk away from that," he said. "There were no broken bones or anything like that. I'm happy they're all fine.

"They were heading back from vacation in Long Island (earlier Saturday) and my brother-in-law was driving them. I was just a little nervous about that, but they made it home safe and everything's OK."

[Dr. Duran Duran]

Good to hear he and his family are alright. That nearly happened to me once and it's a scary feeling. I had to literally pull over and grab a soda to recoop.

[Sixxgunn]

Wow....I live here and hadn't heard that story. Great that everyone is okay. I had to drive home from somewhere in the backwoods of Ohio for work after working 11 hours in the rain on a construction site, and the drive home was another 6 hours. The guys in the truck kept telling me to pull off, but I couldn't stand one more night in that hellhole! So I started to doze off and that's when I found the perfect cure. Snickers ice cream bars and Mountain Dew. Works like a charm!

[kevinoc81]

I read about this on the Bears site. Definately a good thing everyone is ok.

The only two accidents I've ever been in that were my fault were because I fell asleep behind the wheel. Mostly immaturity (staying out too late on work nights, etc.) though, not from exhaustion. Definately a blessing that everyone was ok. Especially the kids!