Won’t Happen To Me

Won’t
Happen to Me

I
have not been driving very long. I’d recently gotten my driver’s
license. I can still remember sitting at home and watching all of the
online videos they make teens watch to warn you of the dangers of
texting and driving. I can still recall all of the pictures of
crumpled up cars. I don’t think there is ever a teenager that thinks,
“I better pay attention because this could be me some day!”
I’m sure most teenagers like me think the opposite, “If I’m
driving and need to use the phone, I’ll be more careful than that!”
It won’t happen to me. Yet, one September day in 2019, I wasn’t more
careful than that and it did happen to me.

My
family and I had just moved to a new home. I was helping to drive
over some small items left behind by the movers. My parents gave me
the address and I headed down the tollway. As I exited, I was coming
up to an intersection and not quite sure where to go, I looked at
Waze for just a second and ran the red light. It happened so fast. Or
maybe it was slow motion. I sat in my car and looked out the window.
The other driver in trying not to hit me head on, had crashed into me
and then veered into a post. I don’t remember calling my parents to
let them know what happened, but when they got there I wasn’t even
sure how they knew about the wreck. I’m not sure how long it took,
but soon there were police cars, ambulance and fire trucks
everywhere. My dad arrived and he was yelling at the officer who
wanted to take the car. When my mom arrived, she was calling my name,
but I was unsure of what she was wanting. I told her I was fine. She
hugged me tightly. She touched my shoulder and looked me up and down.
There was shock on her face. She hugged me again. She told me later
that I looked pale and worried about why I wasn’t speaking. The
other driver walked up to us and my mom spoke to him to see how he
was doing. I could see and hear everything, but to this day, it all
seemed like an out of body experience.

The
scene all came to an end, when the tow truck arrived. We removed all
of the items from the car. I took a last look before the driver
loaded it up and drove away. I had a vague memory of some crumpled up
cars I had watched on some videos. I remember thinking how blessed I
was that I was alright and walked away and so had the other driver. I
vowed then that being more careful meant not looking at my phone at
all while I’m driving, because in just a few seconds my life could
have taken such a different turn.