posted February 09, 2001 09:17 PM            

The driving was really bad, the fog was incredible, and on our way there, he missed seeing both the stop sign and the other car, and we turned left into another car going from left to right down the road. The other car was completely totaled, the whole right side smashed in. On our car, the whole right front panel is gone, and my door was unable to open at all. It is the closest I've ever been to death in my entire life. Remarkably, no one was hurt, but a few tenths of a second earlier and I would have died. If the other car had been coming the other way, both my boyfriend and the other driver would have been killed. As it was, no one was injured at all. We were so, so lucky.

I couldn't even think for hours after. The statement I gave the cop was completely incoherent, I'm going to have to ammend it if they plan on using it. His parents came to the scene, and both of us were just totally out of it. I didn't realize how in shock he was until we got back to his house and it was just the two of us. He was more shaken up than I even thought was possible for him.

It really was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. I didn't even think of how close I'd come to having my life end until Mike was like, "Don't you realize that I almost killed you?" And then I did, and I started crying, and it was just awful. It is such a God thing that the two of us are still alive.

posted February 09, 2001 09:48 PM            

I was in an accident kind of like that a year ago--no one was hurt at all, but the other driver and especially I could have been, and the car was somewhat impressively wrecked. And I know what you mean about the shock--you think you're fine, and then you realize you can't stop shaking. And I was extra lucky that I was the only one in the car--I think it would have been much, much worse if I'd had a passenger.

Anyway, I'm so, so glad no one was hurt, and the shock will go away fairly soon, though the shock/worry on Mike's behalf (and his on your behalf) might take a little longer.

*hugs again*

posted February 10, 2001 04:07 AM            

[cause I only got two arms]

let's all be careful out there.

posted February 10, 2001 08:56 AM            

((((((beckuary))))))

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"Ok, my name is not to be used as a substitute for 'professional asshole'" - Mr911

posted February 10, 2001 10:09 AM            

(((((beckuary and boyfriend)))))

and for good measure

posted February 10, 2001 10:18 AM            

*hugs*

posted February 10, 2001 11:38 AM            

*hugs Beckuary and boyfriend again*

I am so glad everybody is okay. Your story and Cheatara's story are ones that make me want to keep my son in my house and under my eye every moment of the day. I hate the randomness that can potentially screw up a life.

*more hugs*

posted February 10, 2001 05:16 PM         

quote:

---

I hate the randomness that can potentially screw up a life.

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Amen amen amen.

posted February 10, 2001 07:53 PM            

dave is scared.

*hugs*

posted February 10, 2001 11:18 PM            

I can relate to the whole realizing-how-close-you-came thing. About five or so years ago, we had a fire at our house.
And just about the only reason we all got out in time was that I happened to wake up, notice that my clock wasn't working (because the fire was electrical and had shorted out everything), and decided to get up and see what time it was rather than go back to sleep. And saw the fire, which had just started seconds before, in my sister's bedroom.
Another stroke of luck there: it was a hot night, so my sister was sleeping on the floor in my room (which had an air conditioner) rather than in her own room where the fire started.

And yeah, every now and then it hits me how close we all came to dying, and I get the shakes.
It's not a fun thing to think about.

*hugs Beckuary again*

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-=> Toon

posted February 11, 2001 02:32 AM            

*BIG hugs*

posted February 11, 2001 02:51 AM            

you're still here, and we're VERY glad we didn't lose your awesomeness.

posted February 11, 2001 03:50 PM            

Having been in about 10 accidents so far (the most recent of which was 13 years ago, and only a couple were my fault -- don't be afraid to ride with me!), I can only suggest the following:

1. You are no more likely to be in an accident in the future than you were in the past. While this may seem frightening in one sense, think about the thousands of times you've been in a car and didn't end up in an accident.

2. Your boyfriend did not almost kill anyone. He was driving, made a mistake, and two cars collided. No one died, or was even injured. Had the circumstances been different, might someone have died? Sure, but that's true of a dozen things that happen to you each day. Had a car swerved, had you been electrocuted by a faulty appliance, had a poisonous animal bitten you... there are many things that might have happened but didn't. Don't dwell on what didn't happen, but what did: you were in a car accident, and other than being shaken, everyone's ok. What a great thing!

Is driving or riding in a vehicle dangerous? You bet. That hasn't changed. Are you likely to get in another accident at some point in your life? Yes. Damn, tough news on both counts. But the advantages of auto travel so vastly outweigh the chance of anything happening that we proceed, knowing there's some risk.

What good comes out of it? An increased understanding of the dangers of automobile travel, and, hopefully, an improved awareness while driving in the future. And who knows, maybe other good things.

---

In my worldview, everything happens for a reason. 15 years ago I was in a pretty nasty accident that totalled my car. No one was seriously hurt (I got some bruises from the seatbelt, which saved me from serious damage), but it screwed up my big weekend plans: to drive to California with my girlfriend so she could get an abortion. She was already too far along to get one in Arizona, and California had more liberal rules (all measured in the circumference of the fetus' head).

Directly because of the accident we were unable to get to CA that weekend, and it took us 10 more days to get the money together to fly out (we were pretty poor). By the time we got to California, it was too late there, too, by just a few days.

THANK GOD!

I have a beautiful 14-year-old daughter because of that car accident, and have learned and loved more as a result than I otherwise possibly could have.

God works in mysterious ways. And that's a happy thing.

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posted February 11, 2001 03:55 PM            

and he was fine. im not sure when i cried harder, after i hit him or after i found out that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

which didnt mean that i didnt get to go through the requisite legal shenanigans of being in an accident involving a pedestrian. i got to go to court! i have never been so scared. i was lucky many times over because, the boy was fine, his father didnt feel like suing me, and i had a friend who's fluent in arabic that just happened to be along for the ride.

so, i was released into my friend's custody, knowing full well that had she not been there to mediate in arabic, that i would have had to have spent the night in jail (that's what they do when you hit someone here. you're imprisoned until it's resolved).