Man O’ War

Running has always been a passion of mine. I’ve been doing cross country and track since middle school, and I was running in races even before that. On March 23rd, 2023, track practice was just an easy run. When practice ended my girlfriend, who is also on the team, and I got in my car and we headed home. This drive was just the same as all of the other days. I took the same roads to get back as usual. I pulled up to the stoplight at Man O’ War and Crosby so I could cross the road. The car was stopped and I was waiting to go.

I woke up in the car on the side of the road with an excruciating pain in the side of my head, confused because I didn’t know how I got there. The first thing I saw was paramedics trying to get my girlfriend out of the car. I asked her what happened and she said, “We got in a car crash”. The only words I could form were just “what” and “no”. I got out of the car and talked to an EMT who told me what was going on. He said they still don’t know all of the details about what happened. Then my dad showed up and I left the EMT to see him. He was just happy that I was okay. My girlfriend got lifted into the ambulance since she could not walk on her own at that point. A lady who saw what happened came up to me and explained what happened. She said that the guy who hit me was driving horribly for miles and he was swerving in and out of lanes, that I tried to turn right on red, and that he turned straight into my lane and hit me. I thanked her and got into my dad’s car and we went straight to the hospital. When leaving the scene the pure shock of seeing what happened finally hit. I didn’t get to see the car until then. It was absolutely destroyed, and if I got hit even six inches farther back on the car, we might not have made it out.

I spent most of that night in the hospital, they made sure nothing was broken and that everything else was okay. They let me go at around 10:00 that night. I spent the next week in and out of the hospital for more issues that were popping up. They finally realized that the problem was with my head. I had an awful concussion, I couldn’t read, write, walk, be in a room with bright lights, or do anything else without a problem. It required persistence during months of different types of treatments for me to finally get over everything.

This helped me to understand that I can never take anything for granted. The realization hit me hard. I realized that it could all be over in a split second so I had to make sure I lived my life to the fullest so I could make the most of the time I have. Once I could talk right, I became a more outgoing person. Once I could read again, I finally picked up a book. I had to go on walks to get used to it again, and I gained an appreciation for nature. I’m so grateful I got through that because this whole experience gave me a new outlook on life that I don’t think I would have gained otherwise.

This experience also made me realize how important it is to have proper driver education. Even though I did go through driving lessons, this awful incident still happened to me, and I barely made it out. I am fearful of what would happen to someone who has not been through the proper training. I have always been a safe driver and I would like to thank my driving lessons for that. They taught me all of the intricacies of driving safety, as well as the obvious things such as wearing a seatbelt or staying off of your phone.

Wearing a seatbelt, checking your mirrors, staying off of your phone, and using your turn signal are all important ways that we can all stay safe on the road. Eliminating distractions is very important on the road. Turning your phone on silent and making sure that the music isn’t too loud can help everyone to stay safe. You need to be aware of your surroundings at all times while driving. If you’re not, the consequences could hit you like a truck.