Tonight we hit a truck pretty hard. Nana was in the passenger seat, and I was driving of course. Maddie was in the back seat. We were on our way to FCY, and Maddie is quick to point out that the friends she invited tonight couldn’t make it, so it was just her in the car, thankfully. Anyway, we were driving about 45-50 mph on Browns Bridge Road towards Gainesville, towards the church. It was just after 6pm, probably close to 6:10. A black GMC truck just didn’t see us. It was turning left, heading in the opposite direction, and just drove right out in front of us. We didn’t have much time to hit the brakes, but I did what I could, and time really did slow down for me. I knew we were going to hit that truck, and there was nothing I could do. I believe I tried to move to the right a bit, hoping there would be clearance and the truck could get by, but he just was such a large target. We slammed into the driver’s side door, and immediately all the airbags in the car went off – passenger and driver’s side, and the one beneath the steering wheel. Not only that, but the other protective sheets descended along the windows on the side of the car too. I think I managed to slow us down enough so that we wouldn’t hit the airbags so hard, and I think that happened. But a smoke rapidly starting filling up the car. In the middle of busy traffic, I had Maddie and Nana get out as soon as they could, as there was so much smoke in there and we couldn’t roll down the windows. I couldn’t open my door, and I actually don’t remember getting out of the car, oddly enough. I was a bit stunned. There happened to be a guy there at the scene who was certified in directing traffic, and so he was helping us out, this guy smoking a cigar and wearing this bright yellow shirt. The man who caused the accident was deeply sorry, and concerned about us. He called an ambulance right away. Our car smashed in the front completely, the windshield cracked. We were stunned.
We staggered to the side of the road, now without a car. The Oscarville gas station is right there. We were seated on the lawn there, and we waited for the police to arrive, the three of us sort of processing what just happened. As you might imagine, Nana was the most shaken, dizzy and calling out for her husband on occasion. But she got out of the car with her own power and sat down as we directed her to. The police came, and the ambulance too. Our blood pressure was up, but I could imagine that much was obvious. Maddie called for Nana and Ye-Ye, but they weren’t nearby. Camille was at Youth though, and she made the trip to pick us up, and take us home afterwards.
We’re very grateful to be alive, although there’s a lot of processing right now. I keep walking away from these life-threatening situations unscathed. All of us were unscathed, and we thank God for that. He keeps protecting us, not just simply preserving us but keeping us from harm.
I know some other things happened today, but wow. This is probably all we’ll remember that happened! We said our prayers tonight, and we read too. People were checking in on us over the phone and online, and yeah, Maddie never made it to FCY. She was okay not going tonight. We’re going to be sore in the morning, and there’s suddenly a lot more to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment