It was of course a rather normal day. Around 20 min to 5pm, I got Breckin, Farrah and I in the car and ready to go pick up Tanner from his after school care. After just a few minutes on the busy two-lane highway by our house, I saw a Jeep Liberty driving in the opposite lane coming toward me start to gradually glide over into my lane...I remember thinking "Oh my God, she's not correcting herself..." and all of a sudden, she strikes the truck traveling in front of me (I was about four or five car lengths behind him). This hit sent her sliding down my lane on only her two driver-side tires headed straight for me. I braked so hard and remember knowing at that point there was nothing I could do to avoid the wreck. She was coming at me and it was all happening so fast and I didn't have enough distance to stop since she was closing in and I of course couldn't swerve into the oncoming traffic lane. I remember my thoughts during the last seconds before our impact: "This is it, I'm going to die, or be permanently injured at best. Please God, protect my children."
Next was a loud BOOM and an instant deploy of my airbag.
What I heard next was both chilling and relieving at the same time. Both Breckin and Farrah began crying. I was out of that car within 5 seconds of it stopping. I had so much adrenalin that I didn't even know if I was hurt or not...and I just didn't care. I was alive and able to move...that was all I needed. I swung Breckin's door open and quickly unbuckled his carseat and set him on the ground as I went to get Farrah from her carseat. I was acting so hastily because of course I wanted to see them and hold them and inspect them up and down for injuries...but also in the back of my mind was the worry that maybe the engine would catch fire...I just HAD to get them out and away from that vehicle. I couldn't reach Farrah over Breckin's carseat, so I went to the other side and as I did, the woman responsible for the wreck was next to me in her vehicle trying to get out. She had blood streaming down her face...her windshield had broken in on her. I remember her saying to me, "Please help me, my foot is stuck..." and she seemed so disoriented. But my mind was on Farrah and getting her out...and I quickly said "I'm so sorry, I have to get my baby." Almost immediately, the two businesses across the street had people out helping us and directing traffic. I am so thankful to them. I couldn't open Farrah's door all of the way and I remember asking the men that had come to our aid to please help me get my baby out of the vehicle. I was frantic.
They took Breckin to one of the offices so he could be in air conditioning and have a drink of water and some candy (anything to make him feel better) as I tended to Farrah...who despite everything was sleeping peacefully in my arms (which of course had me worrying that maybe her head had been shaken and she wasn't very responsive). Four-week-olds can't really tell you if anything is wrong. I just held her and kissed her over and over and repeated "It's OK...it's OK...it's OK..." We called my husband and gave him the news that as far as we could see, we were all OK and that he needed to go get Tanner for me and get to the wreck site as soon as possible (which would be a daunting task since we just held up traffic at a quarter to 5pm.)
My husband eventually arrived. The guy in the truck that had been struck (also OK) and I both gave our accounts of what happened to the police. The EMS came and checked out my children and were confident they were fine - not so much as a scratch on either of them (thank the Lord). I had some bruising and burns from the air bag, but I was thankful it was just that.
I've been in car accidents before...but this was by far the scariest. I have never been in a wreck with my children. It's amazing the thoughts that go through your mind...my only worry being that they be protected. I thought I was a goner, so I wasn't wasting my prayers on me.
Here are some pictures from the accident. Ours is the red Jeep. You will see why I think it's a miracle all parties pretty much walked away without serious injuries. The woman driving the Jeep was taken to the hospital for her cuts, but she is ultimately fine.
We actually decided to go ahead and get a new car knowing that insurance was going to call this a total loss. You'll never believe the first thing that came up in my search under SUVs in my price range:
Haha, yep. A year newer, the nicer model and 50K less miles. After that wreck, I feel confident driving this. My cargo is too precious.
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