YDH (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} adamopoulos) wrote,@ 2005-04-12 17:41:00 |
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YDH gets into bad car accident, lucky to be alive
Wow. Just wow. I am lucky to be typing this right now after the experience I had this morning.
The story:
I was supposed to be in Annapolis, MD this morning to undergo jury selection. While this would have been a prime candidate for a quality journal entry, it never happened. I stayed at Janet’s house the night before since I didn’t want to drive in all the way from Alexandria in the morning. She lives on the Eastern Shore, so this morning, I had to take the Bay Bridge to get to Annapolis. For those of you who don’t know, the Bay Bridge is one of the biggest and tallest suspension bridges in the country, spanning over 5 miles long. There are two bridges, one heading eastbound and one westbound. These past few months, they have had portions of the westbound bridge closed, and rerouted traffic to the eastbound bridge, causing a two-way traffic situation on the same bridge. Such was the case this morning.
I’m about one third of the way across the bride. I’m at the part when you’re still going up in altitude, but leveling off. Suddenly, traffic begins to slow drastically, coming to a stop. I compensate by stopping short with no problem, as my bmw hatchback is small enough to react to almost anything. I am now at a complete stop. However, when I look up, I see these big red letters, "GMC" in my rear window coming at me. Oh fuck, it’s a Suburban, and there is no way it’s going to stop in time. Since there was two-way traffic and we are on a bridge, I just put a death grip on my wheel and close my eyes…
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two hard collisions, and I’m alive. One was because the Suburban rear-ended me, and one because I was subsequently pushed into the rear end of the Sonata in front of me. For those keeping score, he also hit the person in front of him. A four-car accident, and I definitely got the worst of it. To give you an idea of just how hard I was struck from behind, my radio is now out of its mount and sitting on my passenger seat. My clavicle felt like someone punched me due to the seatbelt. I survey the damage. To no surprise, significant body damage on both the front and rear. The cop tells us we need to try and get off the bridge, and by some miracle, my car still worked.
After arriving to the shoulder after the bridge, the cop collects everyone’s insurance and info. The blame for the accident was placed on the Suburban behind me, which was to be expected. I drive to the BMW dealership and leave it there. Enterprise picked me up, and now I have a rental. I would predict that despite the is car still running, it will be totaled due to the fact that with 130,000 miles on the car, the repairs will outweigh the value of the car. Oh well, I was thinking about selling it soon anyway. Problem solved, right?
The bad news is my neck is bothering me. Since I was hit hard both from behind and then the front collision, my head snapped both back and then forth. Major taco neck syndrome. Saw my doctor today, and was too exhausted and shaken up to have my usual back and forth hilarity with him. I’m about to leave now to pick up my prescription.
I want everyone to know that I am ok, and consider myself very lucky to be typing this right now. Today emphasized the fact that you can be the best driver in the world, and yet you still just never know what is going to strike you when you least expect it. Be sure to be good to your loved ones, and, as a general rule, try not to depart with a friend or relative or anyone you care about abruptly while angry with one other. You wouldn’t want that to be the last conversation that you’ve ever had with that person.
YDH
Wow. Just wow. I am lucky to be typing this right now after the experience I had this morning.
The story:
I was supposed to be in Annapolis, MD this morning to undergo jury selection. While this would have been a prime candidate for a quality journal entry, it never happened. I stayed at Janet’s house the night before since I didn’t want to drive in all the way from Alexandria in the morning. She lives on the Eastern Shore, so this morning, I had to take the Bay Bridge to get to Annapolis. For those of you who don’t know, the Bay Bridge is one of the biggest and tallest suspension bridges in the country, spanning over 5 miles long. There are two bridges, one heading eastbound and one westbound. These past few months, they have had portions of the westbound bridge closed, and rerouted traffic to the eastbound bridge, causing a two-way traffic situation on the same bridge. Such was the case this morning.
I’m about one third of the way across the bride. I’m at the part when you’re still going up in altitude, but leveling off. Suddenly, traffic begins to slow drastically, coming to a stop. I compensate by stopping short with no problem, as my bmw hatchback is small enough to react to almost anything. I am now at a complete stop. However, when I look up, I see these big red letters, "GMC" in my rear window coming at me. Oh fuck, it’s a Suburban, and there is no way it’s going to stop in time. Since there was two-way traffic and we are on a bridge, I just put a death grip on my wheel and close my eyes…
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two hard collisions, and I’m alive. One was because the Suburban rear-ended me, and one because I was subsequently pushed into the rear end of the Sonata in front of me. For those keeping score, he also hit the person in front of him. A four-car accident, and I definitely got the worst of it. To give you an idea of just how hard I was struck from behind, my radio is now out of its mount and sitting on my passenger seat. My clavicle felt like someone punched me due to the seatbelt. I survey the damage. To no surprise, significant body damage on both the front and rear. The cop tells us we need to try and get off the bridge, and by some miracle, my car still worked.
After arriving to the shoulder after the bridge, the cop collects everyone’s insurance and info. The blame for the accident was placed on the Suburban behind me, which was to be expected. I drive to the BMW dealership and leave it there. Enterprise picked me up, and now I have a rental. I would predict that despite the is car still running, it will be totaled due to the fact that with 130,000 miles on the car, the repairs will outweigh the value of the car. Oh well, I was thinking about selling it soon anyway. Problem solved, right?
The bad news is my neck is bothering me. Since I was hit hard both from behind and then the front collision, my head snapped both back and then forth. Major taco neck syndrome. Saw my doctor today, and was too exhausted and shaken up to have my usual back and forth hilarity with him. I’m about to leave now to pick up my prescription.
I want everyone to know that I am ok, and consider myself very lucky to be typing this right now. Today emphasized the fact that you can be the best driver in the world, and yet you still just never know what is going to strike you when you least expect it. Be sure to be good to your loved ones, and, as a general rule, try not to depart with a friend or relative or anyone you care about abruptly while angry with one other. You wouldn’t want that to be the last conversation that you’ve ever had with that person.
YDH
