Zoom Zoom

Last month Sean and I went out to look for furniture for our empty home.  As we were going down a main road just a minute from our home, a girl pulled out in front of us and we crashed into her.  It was a very surreal moment.  She was at a stop sign and as she started to pull out a lot went through my mind in that split moment before the crash.  My train of thought was this: she is starting to pull out but since she sees us she'll abruptly stop, um nope she's not stopping so maybe Sean can swerve around her because she'll stop a couple of feet into the intersection, nope again she's still coming I think we'll just hit bumpers or something, CRASH!  Next thing I know its very smoky in the car and Sean yells, Heike get out of the car.  In that moment I thought, why should I get out of the car?  Then my mind flashed to all the movies and TV shows I've seen where the car explodes after a crash.  As soon as I got out I felt the pain on my chest from the seat belt.  I was surprised, and concerned, that the pain was immediate.  I thought that after the initial shock settled down then I would start to feel the pain.  I sat on the curb as many strangers came to our aid.  FYI, our car did not explode like the movies. 

The girl we hit was 18 and when she jumped out of the car she wasn't wearing any shoes.  Her driver window shattered on her but she didn't have any cuts.  She called her parents who came and took care of the situation.  She literally just lived around the corner.  We exchanged information and later they asked Sean if we were Christians.  I thought that was interesting and the only reason why I think they asked was that we didn't get upset at the situation.  I think we realized the bigger picture and were grateful no one was seriously injured.  We had every right to be upset, it was the girls fault and we were going to loose our car.  But getting upset would have not made the situation any better.

Why did it happen?  I cant figure out how she didn't see us.  I have driven our route and her route numerous times to see if there was a restriction in viewing the road but there wasn't.  I honestly think she just didn't look both ways and freaked out when she saw us coming and didn't stop.


Things I learned from a car crash:

• Definitely wear a seat belt.  Honestly, if I was not wearing one I probably would have gone through the windshield.  I actually didn't think about it until right now writing this post.  That accident could have been a lot worse.  
• The air bags gave off a powder when they deploy hence the "smoke" I saw the moment after the crash.  I was also impressed with how fast the airbags deployed.  One second they weren't there, the next millisecond they were.
• Air bags burn.  Immediately after the accident Sean looked down at his arm and saw white fuzz.  When he blew it away he realized it was his arm hair.  
• Don't text while driving.  I already knew this but it was re-enforced.  While we were driving down the road Sean's phone beeped with a message.  He likes to tease about reading his messages so I made a big deal about how I was going to read the text for him.  The next minute we crashed.  The accident would have been worse if Sean was distracted by reading a text.
• Don't store important stuff in your glove box.  We knew our car was going to the junk yard so we had to take everything out of it.  Even though our car was damaged on the left side of the car, we had a hard time opening our glove box on the right side.  As we cleared it out I saw the emergency seat belt cutter and window hammer my dad gave Sean for Christmas.  If we needed to use that tool, we would not have been able to get to it.
• Smart phones are good to have for accidents.  You can take pictures of your car, the insurance cards and drivers license.  Made it easy.
• You can be very sore after a crash.  I couldn't believe how sore I was.  Instead of shopping and going out to dinner we picked up pizza and a red box.  When we sat on the couch we had to stay in one position because it was very painful to readjust.  Moving around was painful for about 2 days but the minor pain lasted for a couple of weeks.
• Accidents happen.  It reaffirmed that accidents happen at any moment.  We were just going to spend an evening out shopping and then we were going to go to dinner afterwards.  We never expected to get in an accident let alone loose our car.  
• Be grateful.  I am so grateful we weren't speeding down that road.  I am so grateful we hit the girl where we did because a foot in the other direction would have pinned her.  I am so grateful we wore seat belts.  I am so grateful Sean was not distracted by his phone.  I am so grateful the car kept us safe.  I am so grateful for random strangers who made the process easier.  

Sean was excited to start fresh with a new car.  After two stressful weeks (cause the insurance company was taking away our rental car) he finally made a decision.  He chose a Mazda 3.  Zoom Zoom.

Even though my air bag deployed I never hit it. My seat belt really kept me tight against the seat.

It looked like car guts coming out of our car.

I noticed later that the window in front of me was cracked.  I think it was the force of the airbags coming out that caused the cracks.

Sean's arm was burned by the airbags deploying.

Probably cant tell but his arm hairs are singed.

Sean's new car.  Its a fun car to drive!