Car Reaction

"Car Reaction"...that's what JD calls it. On Wed, August 26th (Ryan's 14 month birthday), we were involved in a car accident. I had the two boys in the car with me and I was heading to town to drop the kids off with Jane so I could go to work. A car turned left in front of me as I was entering the intersection, so I had no time to react or even hit the brakes. I ended up t-boning the passenger side of his Cavalier.

I was driving my Tahoe -- thank God! It protected us just like it should. The kids are fine - I had them checked out at a clinic, and other than JD complaining of a sore chest, they were fine. I have a couple of bumps and bruises, and definitely a sore neck, but I'm fine too. Especially considering the impact -- I hit him going about 45 miles per hour.

The scariest part of the accident, besides seeing a car dart out from traffic and head across my lane, was when we came to a stop. The front cab of the Tahoe was filled with smoke, smelled like something was burning, and my legs were wet from the knee down. I immediately thought something had ruptured and was on fire, so I tried to get out, but my drivers side door was jammed. The passenger door was jammed too. I crawled into the back seat and tried Ryan's door - and thankfully, it opened! I unbuckled both kids as fast as I possibly could and got them out of the car. I was standing there barefoot (I guess I kicked off my shoes since they were wet) surrounded by glass, holding Ryan, hugging JD, and trying to wrap my arms around what just happened.

The other guy was standing by his car holding his ribs. He didn't even come over and ask us if we were okay. I was really mad about that...and got more upset as time went on. Then when we found out he had been drinking (and had another DUI ticket sitting on the seat of his car from a previous incident), I became even more upset. Bud, as you can imagine, was enraged! He kept saying "My whole family was in that car!"

We were there for 2 hours after the accident. Jane and Chester came up to help us out and Jane took the kids back with her so we could go get things sorted out. We got a rental car -- Sweet Minivan! -- and started the ball rolling with claims.

Well, it's more than a week later and the collision center totaled my Tahoe, so we're car shopping now. Looking for another Tahoe (after how it held up in the accident, I would never drive anything smaller). Here's what really stinks though...I haven't had a car payment in over 2 years, and all because some guy decided to drink and drive, I will now have one. Ugh!

We're still waiting on the police report to come back to find out whether or not he has insurance. Praying that he does. But all in all, we're very lucky that none of us were really injured. God was certainly watching over us that day - and sent his guardian angels to protect us.

Oh, and in case you're wondering -- the smoke and burning smell was from the airbag I think, and my legs were wet from the coffee that spilled on me. LOL!