1.30.2007

A message to no one in particular

This past month has really been hell for me.

It all started out on the 9th of January, when my car and i became the centerpiece of a three car (well, 2 car and 1 truck) accident. Hanging out with a friend, we decided to meet back at his place, but since he had a donut on his car, he had to take city streets instead of the faster highway route. Telling him i would see him there in just a bit, we parted ways.

On the highway, traffic was a little congested, but nothing special. But 1 exit before where i had to get off, suddenly things started to slow way down. Watching the car in front of me, i started to flash my brake lights, and then threw on my four-way flashers to warn traffic behind me. At that point, i saw a car 2 cars in front of me at a dead stop.

Oh shit.

I slammed on the brakes and went into a skid, but it was inevitable: i hit the lady in front of me. All of the years i've been driving, and I have had almost a perfect driving record. What the fuck, why here, why now?

And in that split second before i hit the lady in front of me, i saw the truck coming behind me.

The initial impact was pretty minimal, probably around 5 - 10 miles an hours; the secondary impact on the other hand, was a good deal harder. I'm guessing that the Ford F-150 hit my little Subaru Impreza doing somewhere between 30 and 40 miles per hour -- and launched me back into the Honda Accord I had already hit once, but harder this time.

The split second in which i saw the truck coming fast gave me ample time to brace for impact, but feeling shattered glass cascading down my neck was not something i was prepared for. So i sat there in a daze for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Then i did something that should make parents around the world proud: i called my parents.

Sitting in my totaled car, glass all around me, and no one i knew within miles... i called my parents. Briefly explaining the situation, i confirmed with them (several times) that i was alright, but that i may need help doing insurance paperwork in the near future. Over the next hour or so, i spoke with both other people involved (no passengers, and no injuries), and a police officer.



After that fateful day, things just seem to have gotten more complicated -- thankfully though, not all of those things have been negative. One thing for example, is that i have decided to study abroad this coming semester with a close friend of mine. Fittingly enough for this post, the friend i'm going with, is also the friend who picked me up from the accident scene.

But the moral of the story is that accidents suck, there is no way around them, and even a lot of good driving can't make you immune to them. Now i know that its more likely than not that no one reading this cares, but thankfully the internet is there for me (or anyone else) to voice my thoughts, and know they are available, if nothing else, to be read.

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