Name: Kess Landon
From: Cedar City, Utah
Votes: 0
Sky’s
Birthday and Forneato’s Deathday
On
October 29, 2019, it was my friend Sky’s 19th birthday and she
loves to watch the sunset at Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah,
just a 40 minute drive from our university. We took my car, named
Forneato, up to watch the sunset. As we were driving up to the
monument, we noticed it was engulfed in a massive cloud. At the top,
visibility was low due to the cloud, and light snow. After a while of
playing guitar in the back of my car, the sun set, so we decided to
head down. But the snow had stuck to the ground, making it slick,
possibly creating black ice. While coming around a corner, I
over-corrected and lost control of the car. The passenger tire hit a
boulder, flipping us 540 degrees over some trees about 8 feet tall.
It didn’t feel like it was really happening, something hit my
right-side head and I fell unconscious.
Then
I heard Sky from the backseat, screaming my name and that she
couldn’t get out. I came to and said “we’re okay, we’re
okay.” But I realized, upside down and front doors not opening,
that maybe we weren’t. After some struggling through the car with
broken glass everywhere, we got out through the backdoors. Although
Sky was a little cut up from glass, my head hurt badly and we were
shaken up, we were alive. I looked at my poor, upside-down car in the
ditch and wondered when I was going to wake up–for surely I was
dreaming.
A
truck passed us without noticing us, despite our yells for help. We
decided to walk the mile down to Highway 14 because we couldn’t get
any cell service, my phone was at 1% anyway, it was 6 degrees, and
getting dark quick. We saw headlights pointed at us and we hurried to
get their attention. But about a quarter mile away, the car turned
around and left us. Wondering if it could get any worse, I felt my
empty pockets and realized my phone, keys and wallet were missing.
But after deciding our lives were more important than things, we kept
walking towards the highway. Once there, we waved down a car, but it
was an international student who said he had no room in his car and
couldn’t help. Finally, a kind man named Alex picked us up in his
truck and drove us down the canyon. We were so grateful he helped us
get warm and back home, even though he started also skidded for a
second, giving us another scare. At this point, my vision was
bothering me and my head was killing, but I was so thankful Sky and I
were alive and going home. The rest of the night consisted of phone
calls to my mom and dispatch, throwing up, and being comforted by
friends.
The
next day my friend Noah drove me up to the site, and a police officer
was already there. He helped us look for my phone and wallet, but to
no avail because a snowplow had come through that morning–shooting
them far into the trees. Then a towing company arrived, and after
assessing the scene they showed me the boulder we hit, now 6 feet
from it’s previous spot. Additionally, some bark was scraped off
the trees we spun over. They told me if we hadn’t cleared the
trees, they could’ve impaled us through the sunroof. They also told
me we were lucky we weren’t hurt more than we were–let alone alive
at all. And we were lucky we weren’t in a bigger ditch and that we
could get out of the car at all.
After
the whole incident, I am so grateful and beyond happy to be alive. A
number of miracles happened with this incident: the police found my
phone (still working!) and wallet the following day and returned them
to me; another friend planning on coming but habitually doesn’t
wear a seatbelt in the backseat didn’t come because she had the flu
(we try not to think about what would’ve happened); we walked out
of there only with cuts and concussions; my grandparents already
planned on coming that weekend and brought me their extra car to
borrow for a month; and we didn’t die. We were okay. But miracles
can’t change the daily habit that definitely saved our
lives–wearing seatbelts. If we hadn’t been wearing our seatbelts,
this story would be gravely different. Sky and I both know that we’re
very fortunate and lucky to be alive.
This
incident changed our lives and taught me several lessons. First,
seatbelts save lives. An estimated 14,955 lives were saved in America
in 2017, and at least two more were saved that night. 47% of
passenger car deaths in 2017 were not wearing seatbelts. These
statistics are unnecessary and easily fixable. It’s critical that
the driver ensures everyone is buckled before leaving. This easy, 2
second habit is the difference in thousands of lives saved. It
doesn’t matter how inconvenient clicking in is, there’s nothing
more inconvenient than a preventable fatality.
Second,
safety is always best. If the weather’s bad, do anything to avoid
driving in dangerous conditions. If you must drive, drive slow. So
much more time will be saved driving slow versus crashing. When/if
you start skidding on ice, don’t accelerate or brake, and don’t
oversteer.
And
last, I learned how little things matter and how much people do. I
lost my car, phone, and wallet that night. I had no way to contact
anyone, get into my apartment, get anywhere or pay for anything. But
we got out with the two irreplaceable things–our bodies and lives.
Everything else is replaceable and don’t matter. So many strangers,
family and friends showed us kindness. That kindness saved our lives
just as much as our seatbelts. In the days following, as people
reached out in concern, I realized my love for everyone, and nothing
else really mattered. So wear your seatbelt and tell everyone how
much you love and appreciate them.
