On the morning of 9/11, I was driving to work as always. I’d forgotten to turn on the radio. When I did, I heard that the Twin Towers had been hit and now the Pentagon. And then, someone called in a report that smoke was coming out of the USA TODAY towers in Rosslyn, Virginia—which was where I was headed to work.

I tried making calls, but the lines were jammed; no calls were getting through.

I continued on. Instead of trying to park underground at my office building, I found a side road and parked. As I got out of the car, I noticed a man wandering by.

It was a moment when you want to share the experience with someone. So as we came closer, I casually said, “Can you believe what’s happening?”

I looked at the man, and suddenly realized he looked dazed.

“I was driving near the Pentagon when the plane hit,” he said.

For a second, I was stunned. Then instinct kicked in.

“I’m a reporter,” I said, as I began fishing for my notebook in my briefcase. “Do you mind telling me what you saw?”

In great detail, the man told me of driving on the highway, looking up and realizing a jetliner was about to hit the Pentagon. The burst from the collision was ear-cracking.

All hell broke loose on the highway. The man pulled off to the side of the road and parked his car—and left it there. He just began walking.

When I had found him, he had been walking for three miles, not really knowing where he was going.

When we finished talking, I asked if there was anything I could do. He was just going to sit down somewhere and try to make a call, try to locate a friend to come get him. He seemed okay, so I left and made my way the few blocks to my building.

It was not on fire, but people were standing outside, afraid to go in. They had heard the same reports. But I had a story to write. I went in, took the escalators, found my office and began working a day I will never forget.

The day flew by. I was on my way home, totally drained.

I got in my car and headed for the highway, the same highway the man in the morning had been driving.

For the first time all day, I cried.