
Name: Charlotte Heinrich
From: Kirkwood, Missouri
Votes: 0
An
Ambulance in the Eyes of a Toddler
Most
of my memories as a 3-year-old blur together: my chubby feet hitting
the grass as I ran outside; giving my Golden Retriever, Frankie,
kisses on his head; jousting my Barbie dolls up and down during tea
time.
But
one memory jolts out from the lemonades and playdates: a distracted
driver annihilating my family’s tan Dodge minivan as we came home
from a night at the movies.
The
ambulance’s streaks of red and blue made me cry even louder than
the sirens. Fortunately, the wreck was not fatal. But, it was not
pretty either.
My
brother, Harry, and I were lucky enough to just get rashburn from our
carseats. Yet,
daddy
broke his left wrist and momma got the brunt of it from the driver
hitting the passenger side head-on. At first she sprained her back,
but later we learned the impact left her with seizures that lasted
for almost an entire decade.
I
remember the ambulance ride to the hospital, the nurses giving me
Hello Kitty stickers for being such a good girl and sitting in the
waiting room, asking Daddy where Mommy was.
Fifteen
years later as I driver myself, I think back to that night and think
of how different my life could have unfolded if that driver was
driving only a little bit faster. I think about how lucky my family
was, and how much responsibility my set of keys holds.
In
my home state of Missouri, car crashes accounted for 937 deaths in
2017; 937 times a father didn’t make it home from work, a kid
didn’t get to blow out the candles, a mother didn’t get to say
goodbye.
But
statistics from my own high school saddened me even more. In a survey
taken by our newspaper, 22% (53/233) of students admitted to being in
the car with a drunk driver.
We
must continue to speak on these realities we would often like to
ignore. Not only should we share these stories, but we should
continue to promote driving education to prevent more stories from
happening.
Specifically,
we can vote on laws that outlaw using technology on the road, use
insurance agencies that reward safe driving and invest in driving
education to strengthen the next generation of drivers. In fact, in
2019 the CDC reported that graduated driving licensing systems are
associated with 26% to 41% of fatal car crash reductions for new
drivers. We know ways to prevent fatalities. Now let’s use them.
In
my life, I have vowed to be the passenger that reminds my friends
that song changes or texts can wait, to keep both eyes on the road
and any alcohol use far, far away from the driver.
I
think back to those ambulance lights and wondering if I would see my
mom again. I think of how lucky I am, and how I can I do my part to
make sure all families get home safely from the movies.
Sources:
“Facts
and Figures.” SaveMoLives,
2016 Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, 2018,
savemolives.com/facts-and-figures.
“Forever
20: Andrea.” The
Kirkwood Call,
SNO, 29 Oct. 2019,
www.thekirkwoodcall.com/features/2019/10/29/forever-20-andrea/.
“Teen
Drivers: Get the Facts.” Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Oct. 2019,
www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html.