No Fault

It was my first time on the thruways without one of my parents in the car. I didn’t think my first time driving my new car on the thruway would be my last time in that car ever, and the last time I was ever unaware of other drivers around me. I am thankful everyone in the car survived, but the accident had changed the way I thought of driving for the rest of my life.

It was a beautiful spring day right at the end of my senior year of highschool, when my mom interrupted my breakfast with a suggestion of what I could do for the day. She suggested that I could use our Buffalo zoo memberships, and take my sisters to the zoo for the day. It was projected to be great weather all day, so I agreed. Before I left, my mother sat down and reminded me of some driving safety tips before I ended up taking off to Buffalo for a day at the Zoo. I went and picked my boyfriend up from his house, before we all took off to the zoo. It was such a nice day, however, surprisingly the thruway wasn’t too busy. I was anxious, but the lack of cars made me feel more comfortable driving on the thruway. The zoo was great and my sisters had gotten hungry, so we decided to eat lunch in the zoo so we didn’t have to drive further into the city. After lunch we decided to head home, so we could drive back before it got to rush hour. Most of the ride back felt seamless, I hadn’t missed a single turn my GPS was telling me through my speakers. What made me anxious was the fact that exiting buffalo was more dangerous than entering.

The exits in Buffalo are quick, and more often than not, on an extremely sharp turn. Normally in Buffalo the cars would be flying by me going 80 in a 55 but it wasn’t too busy out surprisingly, so no one was speeding by. I was coming up to the last exit out of Buffalo, and immediately into the first exit towards Niagara Falls. The exit I was trying to take was right off an extremely sharp turn and is immediately off of another exit, so there was little to no time to make a lane switch. I checked all of my mirrors- clear – so I started to make a lane switch. Then out of nowhere I took a double take to my rear view mirror and was crashed into from behind, by another vehicle . The hit was so hard it sent my car flying forward and within a split second after the impact, I noticed there was a dividing rail guard in front of us that if I hit, I would’ve immediately died. So I quickly slammed my brakes and reared my car to the right, crashing into the flat cement rail guard, destroying the front of my car. The air bags exploded on the front impact and smashed my head into the back of my seat. My car then slid back across the thruway after the front hit.

The airbags deflated quick enough for me to turn off my engine and rush out of the front of the car. My sisters sat in the back, right where we had gotten hit by the other vehicle. Both of their doors were so wrecked, they were stuck closed and my sisters were unable to exit from the back. I grabbed my youngest sister by the arms and pulled her to the front seat and out of the car. My boyfriend ran around and pulled my other sister out after. We ran to the grassy side of the thruway as my car sat burning and blocking the thruway. Once we hit the grass, my sisters collapsed to the ground and as I called 911. Traffic stopped far behind the scene, my boyfriend took the opportunity and ran back to the car. He had grabbed a fox plushie I had kept in my car, and ran back and gave it to my youngest sister who was having a panic attack. As he sat with my sisters to help calm them down, an ambulance not too far back from the accident put their sirens on and rushed up to us. As they pulled up they rushed to my sisters first, and I took the time to quickly call my parents. After I ended the call to my parents, letting them know what had happened, police officers and emergency personnel began showing up. The entire time I was getting questioned while the scene was being cleaned up, all I could think to myself was, “all of the years I spent saving for a vehicle, is now in a pile burning to a crisp. All of my hard work, gone. My car is gone.”. I was so worked up over the fact that my car was completely ruined, that I couldn’t even process much of anything else. I realized later in my life, what a miracle our survival was that day.

Later that day, I was home and on the phone with my insurance. They were asking me a bunch of questions about the make of my vehicle, so they can process if the accident was no fault case or not. I found out the next day that the man who hit me was going 90 in a 55, and on his cell phone not paying attention to the road. So a check, providing me with enough money to purchase a new vehicle was coming my way. However, I was the furthest from excited. All I could think about was how I allowed the crash to happen. I kept beating myself up about not being more aware to notice a truck speeding behind me. I wasn’t able to understand that no matter how safe I was, I still lost my car and almost lost my life with it. I forced myself to become hyper aware when I drive, to notice everything about every move a car makes around me. I pushed through the trauma and anxiety and became an extremely efficient driver from that moment on. I would never allow for an accident to occur while I was at the wheel, again.

Looking back, I realize that our survival wasn’t likely given our situation. I realize how thankful I am to be here still, and to have my sisters and boyfriend here as well. The exit the accident was on, was one of the busiest spots in Buffalo, and I never ended up getting T-boned by incoming traffic. The situation was a blessing in disguise. Everyone left the scene alive, and left with little to no injuries. I also won the no fault case, and was able to purchase a brand new vehicle. It’s important to understand how dangerous it is to drive, and how quickly one mistake can end someone’s life. It’s our job collectively to make the road a safe place because no matter how safe one may be on the road, someone else can turn it around in a split second. I am thankful to be alive, and hope to never experience another accident from a reckless driver.