I just experienced my first ever car accident. The car was full; Roberta and the girls were in there with me. This is just one example of how every little decision effects the next.
We were on our way to Harris Teeter and Walmart, but I turned the wrong direction and headed toward Food Lion. Once we realized I went the wrong way, we turned down another busy road to head in the right direction. Coming to a familiar intersection, I let the car slow to 35 mph thinking we might have to turn. I realized we had to go straight and continued on.
There was a car about 50 feet in front of us. A man was waiting to turn left onto the road we were on. As we approach the intersection, he attempted to turn between us and the car in front of us. I yelled, hit the brakes, and tried to swerve. There was so little space between us however that we collided. We simply stopped in our truck while his car spun around twice before stopping on the side of the road.
My glasses flew off my face as my head flung forward. Luckily I prepared myself and braced against the steering wheel. Roberta's glasses flew off too. Leanne hit the side of the car seat with her head and Zoey's arm hit the car seat. Cheyenne ended up with a burn and bruise from the seat belt on her neck. Roberta and I are only now starting to feel any pain.
This was a terrifying moment for me. The first thing I did was pull over onto the side, turn my hazards on and try to jump out and get to the kids. My door wouldn't open, so I climbed out through the passenger side. I opened the door and started getting the kids out. The fire department was right across the street and they quickly rushed to our aide. The moment I knew the kids and everyone were safe, I began to have a minor panic attack. Breathing was a challenge and I couldn't stop crying. Zoey gave me a hug and I forced myself to stop crying and breath right, if only to soothe her.
It was honestly one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Sadly, not everyone reacted in an appropriate fashion but thank goodness we are all ok.
For the other guy... he wasn't wearing his seat belt. After the crash it looked like he was attempting to run (the firemen were ready to chase him down) but he collapsed with a possible serious head injury. They took him to the hospital and that's all we know.
The tow truck driver hitched up the car and tried to drive away with our truck in reverse. "If the transmission wasn't broken before, it is now!"
Time for an early night.
