Sunday, January 20, 2013

"Smacked Up Side the Head" or "Going For a Spin"

I thought about calling this post Jesus Take the Wheel, but after reading the lyrics I just couldn't because I was paying attention. The other guy wasn't. I DID however, bow my head and pray. Several times.

Southbound on State Street, driving under the speed limit in the far right hand lane, in no hurry whatsoever, and the light was green. Not yellow. Not about to turn yellow. Green as green can be. And as I proceeded through the intersection, he turned left. The police officer had to tug hard on my driver's side door to let me out, but most of the damage is to the rear door, rear axle, rear wheel, etc. We don't really know yet. It was towed away.

My dad was asking all these questions and this was the best I could come up with, "The impact caused me to do a perfect 180 and I floated to a stop while staying in my lane the whole time." Granted, I was facing the wrong way with oncoming traffic, but I was still in my lane and only the two vehicles were involved. AMAZING.

I can't remember every detail, but it seems that the gear shift got knocked into neutral which is another blessing on my list. When I came to a stop, I noticed there was a business with an empty parking lot on my left, but my car wouldn't go when I stepped on the gas. I put it back into drive and pulled off the road and parked. Whew. Then I called 911.

The Other Driver had pulled off on the other road and made his way across to check on me. He was very upset and apologetic. Called himself some choice swear words. I wanted to ask him to stop swearing, but I was busy paying attention to the 911 Lady. He kept saying, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" So I rolled down my window and put my hand and arm out as a friendly, non-verbal gesture, because I was still chatting with 911. We held hands for a teeny moment. 911 told me I could hang up, so I called K and he arrived shortly with a bottle of water. Love that man!

The Other Driver told the police officer in my presence, "I'm an a$$ and it's all my fault." He explained that he wasn't familiar with this town and was searching for a friend's home. He had been driving around looking at street signs and that caused a distraction for him. His twelve year old son was also uninjured. We are all so blessed and lucky and I am so, SO grateful! I am absolutely FILLED with gratitude!

During my little spin, my face/cheek/head smacked pretty hard against the driver's side window/orotherpartoftheinterior. I will get checked to make sure everything is okay, but it could have been so much worse. And no, the air bags did not deploy.

When the officer said K could take me home, I gave The Other Driver a hug. K teased me about that later, but I don't care. I know he's on the worse side of things, but as I kept telling him, "It's going to be okay. We're all just fine so let's count more blessings from there." He probably thought I was a preacher, but I couldn't help it. I was too filled with gratitude to be angry at him in the least. Anger has not been a part of this experience at all. Any one of us could be distracted for a small moment and cause a similar accident. I'm, as they say, but it's so true, "JUST SO GLAD WE'RE ALL OKAY!!!"

5 comments:

  1. Wow! I'm also glad you're all okay!

    He probably thought I was a preacher. I love that line!

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  2. Wow. Glad you are okay. Hope the car doesn't end up costing a bundle and causing a headache. 3 friends in car accidents this last week. I am going to stay off the roads!

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  3. Holy cow Jody! How scary! I'm glad you're okay. :)

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  4. My doc is so thorough! He put me through quite a series of "tests" that was more like the two of us playing Simon Says in the examination room. I managed to keep from laughing aloud. The other driver's insurance company just called to say, "It's clearly our fault and we will pay the bills." We'll have to see what the adjustor (or is that adjuster...so lazy) has to say tomorrow after the inspection. Still grateful. Bless that other guy--it's hard to be honest and courageous at times. It's hard to take your lumps. I admire him stepping up to the plate while knowing it will take awhile to financially recover. Such a good guy, in my opinion. And I believe he's being a good example to his son.

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