O_X

I was in a car crash today. It was arguably the quickest, most shocking moment in my life. It took 2 to 3 seconds and amazing amounts of damage took place. My car is pretty much totaled. The trunk has been severely caved in…at least a foot from its original dimensions. The doors on the driver’s side are blocking each other, so they can’t be opened. My back window is completely gone. My tail lights…are pretty much crushed in.

I’m okay. I have some neck pain from whiplash, a bump on my head, and general stiffness from the trauma my body went through emotionally, but I’m okay. My glasses were completely flung from my head during the crash. Thankfully, none of the glass reached me. Considering the circumstances, I’m extremely thankful to be alive, much less barely hurt. The situation? Likely none of you will know the layout of Mariposa, but I’ll try to express it in a way that it’ll make sense. I was following Tamara (my fiance, in case I’ve forgotten to tell any of you) to her mom’s house to do some work before I went off to school. She pulled off of Darrah Road going right onto the highway, and I was right behind her. I couldn’t see if a car was coming due to someone making a left turn, so I crept up a bit to try to get a view around it. A car was coming, so I stopped. I was at a Stop sign, so naturally, you stop, right? Suddenly, a loud metallic bang. I really have no idea what happened in those 2 - 3 seconds. It was so fast…I know I hit my head, but I don’t know where or what on. I didn’t realize my glasses were gone until five minutes later. My heart was pounding. My breath was fast. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that happened. I was stopped at a Stop sign. You don’t expect to get rear-ended when you’re at a Stop sign. I’ve turned off of Darrah so many times…I didn’t see it coming. Nor did I see the truck that hit me coming. I was not prepared in the least for the impact. I remember sitting there for a few moments completely still, thoughtless. I saw Tamara up ahead pull over, and then turned around. I saw the glass was missing on the back window. The man who hit me wasn’t hurt, and was getting out of his truck. I was quite stuplified, so I stayed in the car for a few more moments. I called Tamara’s mom to let her know we weren’t going to be there to work today, and the man came up to my window. He initally said I slammed my brakes (I was at a Stop sign, remember), but later on he changed his claim and took the blame for the wreck, which I commend him for. Tamara got a chance to turn around and checked to see if I was okay. I tried to get out, but the door was tightly stuck. I crawled out through the passanger side and thankfully, that door was open. I got out and hugged Tamara extremely tightly. I was lucky. I could have been knocked into the car I was waiting for if I didn’t have my brakes on or my wheels going right. Luckily, a sheriff was nearby, so it didn’t take long to get the whole matter patched up. A family friend went to my parents and my dad came down and hugged me tightly too. I was still a bit dazzled, but I was very lucky to be pretty much uninjured. Luckily, my insurance agent happened to see the results of our crash, and knew right away who was the victim. Makes things pretty easy.

So yeah, I’m okay. I’m shaken up still. I’m just floored at how quickly your life can turn around. Hopefully I’ll get a decent amount for my car so I can get a new used one or make payments on one or something. But I’m happy. It’s strange, but knowing that I wasn’t taken away from Tamara, my family, and my friends when I could have makes everything so much better. Hug your loved ones… and be careful on the road, please! ^_^