I’m Late Again?

“I can’t- this car in front of me is going so slow and we’re running late-”

I interrupted her, “STOP! YOU’RE GONNA-” were the last words I said before the impact hit.

It was like time froze for a second. The music playing on the radio dulled as I felt our fear swell. I could see her freeze up and lock eyes with me. It looked like she wanted to say something. But before she could, the crash came. Followed by us flipping over, it felt like we were in a really fast roller coaster, upside down in the loop, except instead of our head whipping around with our excitement it was instead smashing against the windshield and the top of the car. I could hear our screams and for a second it felt like we were really on a roller coaster and once this was done we would get off safely and go on the next ride. But instead of us unbuckling our belts and getting off the roller coasters’ seats, we were pinned upside down with shattered glass all around us.

It was instant pain, I tasted something metallic in my mouth, for a moment I couldn’t move, my body felt like lead, and I couldn’t see clearly because of the blood getting into my eyes from my head injury. The ringing in my ears faded into groaning. That was when I realized the groaning was from me- the only noise being made was by me.

“MAY! MAY- YOU OK?” That was when panic set it, there was no noise on her side. “Please just say something.” It felt like a tsunami of despair just hit me, I was drowning in physical pain and the realization that I just lost my best friend.

My best friend became part of the 38,000 who lost their lives to road crashes on our way to school as we were running late. In the United States, a car accident occurs every 13 minutes. According to reports, road crashes are the leading cause of death in the country.

May was going 95 miles per hour when she tried to merge onto the left lane, she didn’t realize that there was a car in the left lane also going fast until it was too late. The car hit us from behind as she tried to merge and since both cars were going really fast it led to critical injuries, two totaled cars, and one dead person.

After her funeral I was in a really bad mental place. I was in the car driving with my little sister. We were running late to her dentist appointment so I was speeding. After the incident there were times when I dissociated while driving in order to cope with the trauma. I overcame that dangerous habit when I heard my 13 year old sister scream, “HEYDI! YOU’RE GONNA HIT THE CAR!” Her voice was filled with the same terror I felt when I screamed at May to stop going so fast. The memory of the accident flooded back when I heard her voice. That was when I realized that May had wanted to say “sorry” to me before the hit came. I was able to stop in time and as I looked down to my dashboard I realized I was going 90 miles per hour. If my little sister hadn’t yelled at me at that moment or even a second later, we would’ve crashed. I don’t even want to think about what might’ve happened but I understand that not only did I put myself in danger but I also put my little sister in danger as well.

Being on time isn’t worth losing your life or anyone else’s. What I’ve learned to do is to always plan to leave the house 15-10 minutes early. That way I can convince myself that I need to be at a place at a certain time. As for being on the road and especially on the interstate, I make sure to check my blind spots when merging. I try to maintain a safe distance to the car in front of me so that I don’t crash into them and I always wear my seatbelt. I lost my best friend to speeding, then I almost lost my own life and my little sister to it as well. That’s why I always make sure to obey speed limits, they’re there for a reason.

To this day, I am usually late wherever I go. Although that habit has gotten better since the accident: “Why is it that you’re always late, Miss. Salamanca?” My English teacher asked me. “Sorry, I’m late again. I woke up late. I could’ve made it if I sped but I didn’t want to put myself or anyone else in danger because of my reckless driving. I’ll take the tardy.”