Car accident

So it's sad that the reason that compelled me to finally write again is the fact that we got in a car accident. I just wanted to write down what happened before I forgot too many of the details.

First of all, we are both okay.

Joe was driving and had just picked me up from work at the mall. It was about 10PM last night (Thursday). We were coming out of the Mall parking lot, going through the intersection towards our apartment when I turned my head to the right (from the passenger seat) and saw a car coming straight towards through the red light from the perpendicular cross road. I remember trying to communicate to Joe that we were about to be hit, but it was only a few milliseconds between when I realized we were about to be hit and when we got hit. I must have either screamed or gasped because that was all that Joe had to indicate that something was wrong before we got hit.

It was all very surreal because I saw everything happen and was fairly conscious of what was going on- the car hit my side of tha car which set us into a spin. I remember hoping we wouldn't flip over or swing into anything but the car came to a stop about 180 degrees later and just on the opposite side ot the intersection, so we didn't hit anyone or anything else. Right after it happened, I felt like I should be in more pain or that I should've blacked out or something. I remember the first thing I did was retrieve my classes because I think the airbag had blasted them off. In my mind, the car had hit my door dead on and I was sure I would find the car all crumpled around me. From the impact I felt, I was sure the other car had to be going at least 35 or 40 and she hadn't braked or anything. I don't know the full story, but she must have been really distracted because their were other cars stopped at the light in the lane next to her and I am pretty sure hitting us was as much of a surprise to her as it was to us. Anyway, Joe looked okay when I looked over at him but he kinda had some panic in his voice when he told me to get out of the car ( he told me after that it was because he smelled an unfamiliar smell and was afraid the car was about to catch on fire or something- we later realized that smell was probably the airbag). I tried my door but couldn't get it to open but maybe that was just psychological because later, someone opened the door no problem. Like I said though, my mental image was that the car had crushed all around me. I climbed out through the drivers seat (which was somewhat awkward in the skirt I was wearing) and after Joe and I sized eachother up for major damage, some bystander girls came over and made me sit down on the curb and called 911. I think someone else had already called though because it felt like they showed up like 30 seconds later.

A policeman came over to us and pieced together who was in the car and what had happened. He asked me a few questions, including if I had my seatbelt on and if I was okay. Luckily I could say yes to both of these. Then the ambulance arrived and a couple medic people came over to me. This was reassuring to me in a way because I knew that anyone else involved in the accident must be okay if they were paying the most attention to me. They again asked me If I had been wearing my seatbelt and if I hurt anywhere. I was extremely conscious of the pain in my neck, but I wasn't too worried about it because it just felt like what I would imagine whiplash feels like. I told them that my neck hurt so they felt my spinal chord and all that, but I told them it was more of a muscular pain and only on the right side of my neck. I must have been shaking pretty bad because they told me to come sit in the ambulance to stay warm, but I realized I was actually not cold at all and I kept trying to tell them that my teeth were chattering because I was anxious and not because I was cold. They asked me a lot of questions and continued to probe at my spine and neck and asking if it hurt. I took off my coat and when he finally got a look at my neck, he said I had some seat belt burn. I signed the medical waiver though, saying I didn't want to go to the hospital and that they had checked me out and I was ok. I stayed in the ambulance a few minutes more and Joe checked on me. He had called Tom and he was on his way. I got out of the ambulance and was surprised to see our car- it didn't look nearly as bad as I had originally imagined. I noticed that the car hadn't actually hit my door, but the back tire, so the damage to the car was apparent on the back passenger door and trim. Joe explained later that the reason why her car looked so much worse than ours was (I guess the whole front of her car was pretty smashed in)because she had hit the back tire and so the impact was probably distributed through the axel and whole infrastructure of the car, which is good for our health, but poor Saabrina's axel).

Joe called both of our parents to let them know that we had gotten in an accident but we were both ok. Tom came around this point and they had me sit in his car while Joe gave a statement and stuff. I kept hearing all the officials around us say that it was a really good thing we were in a Saab because I guess they are pretty safe cars. So I repented of all the times I have told Joe I hate his car (it's not that I don't like the car, I just hate how scared I am to drive it because it's so nice and because it's a sports-clutch manual transmission). It was really cool that it has side airbags because even though I was pretty sure that's why my neck nurt so bad, I was glad it had saved my head from smashing into anything.

I felt bad for the girl who hit us as I saw her Dad arrive and she was crying really hard. She said she was really sorry between sobs as her dad pulled her past us to go sit in his car and I wanted to give her a hug but she was already past me before I could act on it. She couldn't have been more than 18. I am glad she's okay.

We finally got home and took some ibuprofen and lay down, though it took us awhile of talking to finally get to sleep because I think we still had quite a bit of adrenaline.

Anyway, we both agreed that we were super blessed and that it could have been so much worse. We were thankful for Saabrina and our seatbelts and airbags and people that were so willing to respond quickly and help and for family nearby. I was also personlly grateful that I had been in the car with Joe because I know I would have been a lot more panicked if I would have been in the car by myself and although I always meant it jokingly, I've always told Joe that if he was going to drive un-safely that he better only do it if I was in the car with him because it's too traumatizing to think about him dying without me, I know it kind of felt true last night as I realized how realatively calm I felt throughout most of the experience because I knew Joe was nearby and that we were both ok. Sorry that was kinda cheesy I guess. But thanks for listening and for all your support and love. We are so blessed in our lives and I can't help reprioritizing some things in my life that really matter. It's weird how different you feel about all the trivial things in your life after going through an experience like that.