My Life Changing Experience

I
remember turning sixteen and being able to receive my permit and
license. I remember the excitement to go to the places I wanted, when
I wanted. Once I received my licenses, my biggest achievement was
buying my first car. It made driving more real and more dangerous.
Since it was my car, I became more carefree in my driving versus
driving my mom’s car with precaution. My spring before high school
graduation, I experienced a life changing event. I never thought I
would get in a car accident. When people say, your life flashes
before your eyes, they truly mean it.

The
night of the accident, I got off work at ten o’clock. I remember
checking my phone on my updates. I get in my car, put mt seatbelt on,
and plug my phone in for music. I had placed my phone inside my cup
holder. Then, I started to drive home. I went around the mountain and
I recall my initial thought to break. I was screaming myself to break
as hard as I could, but even with breaking I knew my car was going to
smash into someone else car. I thought if I steer right, I would hit
oncoming traffic; likewise, steering left I would go off the
embankment into the river. Moreover, once I impacted with the car, I
braced my hands for the airbag to hit my face. My vision went blurry
and my ear began to ring. If you have ever seen a war movie, and a
bomb goes off, the sound effects create a silent surround but
ringing, that is exactly what it sounded like.

As
soon as my mind came back to earth my initial thought was to see if
the person was okay. I yanked my seatbelt off and opened the door. I
was in so much shock that I just fell onto the concrete. I ran to the
car in front of me and looked in the window and I could not see
anyone. I started panicking and crying hysterically. I ran to my car
searched for my phone to call my mom and dad. Once my dad answered, I
cried an utter out, “I think I killed someone.” I was so scared,
all I could think about is how my future is over. Still in shock, a
woman came to me a checked if I was all right, she told me I was
standing on the other street, with in coming traffic passing by. She
helped me to the guardrails, where she took my phone a talked to my
parents for me. As she was speaking, I started to register the scene
in front of me. My car was the receiving end of a pile-up in
construction. The vehicle in front of me had received the most
damage, with it being squashed like a soda can. After she spoke to my
parents, she handed me my phone, and an EMT came to check me out. My
adrenalin was pumping as was my anxiety, that I had not realized the
number of cuts and scrapes on my body. He recommended to take the
ambulance to the hospital, but I was to scare to leave the scene
without my parents. I remember speaking to the cop asking if the
driver I hit, was okay. He responded, “I do not know.” I started
to panic again. Then, firefighters used ‘jaws-of-life’ to open
the car and rescue the driver from entrapment, they pulled the male
out. It was such a relief to see him breathing and no serious
internal damages. After all the chaos, I was omitted to the ER to
receive x-rays. The seven-vehicle pile-up had led to me and two other
drivers in the ER; however, we all came out with no serious injuries.
My minor scrape and bruises, back ache, and ‘bruises-of-life’,
had cleared up within a month. What stuck with me that day, was to
become more aware of my surrounds and my driving, especially at
night. Afterall, I was told by an officer, “I was lucky I made it
out alive, let alone without serious damages.”