Monday, March 28, 2011

Car Wreck

I was in a wreck on Saturday....a WRECK. The last time I was in a wreck was like...well, NEVER-ago.
I keep thinking about it...and it's still crazy that it even happened.

It's hard to know how to act at this point.
We are all ok, no one was majorly hurt...
even now...writing this post, I don't know what to say....if I should say anything, if I should post pictures. It's just an odd, odd feeling. I'm not a dramatic person {at least I hope not :\} and I'm not the most overly-empathetic person, when people come to me with their problems I usually just point out the "bright side" of things, the "sorry that happened, but at least you still have your limbs" kind of thing....I'm an eternal optimist, so I keep trying to BE that. And keep trying.

So, Saturday afternoon, I dropped Jax and James off at the airport. They flew to AZ to be in his brother's wedding. The girls and I couldn't go because Bella has school. We were coming the back way home and happened upon a pretty bad accident that had JUST happened. So, I stopped, got out and went over to make sure someone was calling 911 and to see if they were ok. They weren't, obviously....but what was I supposed to do?! So...I went back to my car {in hindsight I should have just STAYED with them, I keep going back and thinking of all these things I should have done....} and off we went. Well, the girls were quite curious about that accident, so as I was driving, we talked about safety, how we should always wear seatbelts...I was asking, making sure they had their seatbelts on.....and then WHAM! I hit my brakes, but just couldn't stop.

I was going south thru an intersection and the lady was going west...so I clipped her on the passenger side of the back of the truck bed, right where the wheel is....which sent her spinning...she hits the curb, bounces a little...her tire goes flying. AND OH MY GOSH, I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED.
See...still in shock.

The lady seriously came out of nowhere...the more I think about it, the faster I see her driving, the greener my light was....the higher the parts fly.

I scramble out of my car....make sure the girls are all right, they aren't....obviously. They are crying their little hearts out. I go over to the lady, make sure she is ok. She isn't...obviously. She's complaining about her neck.

I hear the sirens without even calling 911....they are on their way to the OTHER accident, which they think is us. So, the first cop who pulls up, I run over to him and tell him to please, please don't stop here...we are all ok, go to the other accident, they were really hurt badly! This seriously has happened in all of 5 minutes....the other wreck, our wreck, the police/ambulance/firefighters.

A fire truck pulls up and I tell them, too, to please don't stop here, make sure the other wreck is ok. But they stay with us....I was bawling pretty fiercely by now, they probably thought I was some crazy, babbling woman. Which I am.

Bella hit her face on the seat in front of her....she busted her lip and her top tooth is more loose now than it was before {the tooth fairy may come earlier than expected}. Aubree is fine. I am fine.

I call James, who is GETTING ON THE AIRPLANE. And I leave him a message, telling him its a bad, bad wreck and I'm so sorry for wrecking the van! Nice of me, huh? What kind of spouse wouldn't loooove to get a message like that?! I then call my friend Shelley, who lives just down the street, no answer. I call my friend Mary, her husband is the old police chief of GP....certainly he will know what to do!! And he does...Mary, Glen and their daughter...followed closely by Shelley and her husband....swoop in and...and....take care of me!
*Let's all sigh in relief right now*
James calls me back...tells me it will be ok, I have to hand off the phone to our friend, Chad, so the firefighter can take my blood pressure {which tries to squeeze off my arm, and which gave me the only bruises of the whole incident!} Chad asks me if I want James to get off the plane and come home.
Um, no. Nice thought, tho....since I figured I would never be able to drive. Ever. Again.

The officer has taken my statement by this point. And I really wish they had a mandatory 30 minute waiting period to ask ANY questions after an accident. Cause I seriously remember SO MUCH more even now, 2 days later than I did in that first 30 minutes.

Chad took some pictures for us.
The other vehicle.
I love this van, too....which on top of everything else makes me doubly sad. I LOVE MY VAN. I would tell her everyday, too, just how much I loved her and was grateful for her! Even after 2 years of having a van, I was always so amazed that I had a vehicle this awesome! I love all the room, the ease of getting in and out, the way she made long-distance travelling such bliss....I don't know how I was ever happy with a car before her!
But not to despair, our insurance is being fantastic {thus far}....they are taking it from the pound to the repair shop. It could have been drivable, but the airbags did not deploy, so the fireman cut the power cables {another reason think the other driver was going way too fast, my impact wasn't severe enough to even deploy the airbags!}. So the next time we see our sweet van, she won't look anything like this!
So there you go...the day I wish I could rewind.
To get my mind off of everything, I took the girls to the movies that night to see Mars Needs Moms. That flick gets 2 thumbs up....its seriously so good! It was just the sort of feel-good thing I needed! Cause mom's rock...even if they do wreck their vehicles!
Every time we get into the car, Bella reminds me that I need to be safe and not hit anyone. :\

6 comments:

Krista said...

I'm so sorry Sarah!!! But truly I'm so glad you are all alright!! Make sure you don't have any back or neck probs! Make sure you take care of yourself!! I wish I was there to give you a massage! I'm so glad those guys were just down the street from you and were able to help you. Also, you didn't wreck your sweet van...that woman did!!! You should not feel like that at all!!Did you get anyone as a witness??? Did she admit she was in the wrong??? I only ask because I was in a similar accident years ago! I'm glad you were able to go see Mars needs Moms!! You are an awesome Mom with that crazy love thing! Love you!!

Cheree said...

Wow! I'm glad you're all okay. Even if they are minor, accidents are always scary.

And - I've decided bad things only happen when husbands are out of town (or - on thier way out of town). Do you find that to be true too?!

craftyashley said...

So sorry to hear about the wreck! And sad car! Big hugs!

Julie said...

Did you get ticketed for the accident? Because it sounds like SHE ran a red light?!

Sorry sarah, I have been there. Gavin was only 5 months old and I was turned around making sure he wasn't choking and I rear-ended someone. Talk about DUH...and the feeling of the worst mom ever.

Glad still that no one was badly hurt. I seriously feel lucky everyday that we all arive home together safely, because you just never know.

Jenni said...

It sounds like it wasn;t a problem with your driving so don't give yourself a complex. I'm so glad everyone is ok.

Julie{isCocoandCocoa} said...

Aren't kids so thoughtful.
I'm sorry you had a wreck first of all, and that it happened while James was gone. I'm glad that everyone is physically okay. I hope that you feel better about the whole thing soon.