My day started like any other Monday on November 20, 2023. Being a senior in high school and enrolled in the early college program at a community college, I headed off to my classes at college, a thirty minute drive from home. In the afternoon, I attended a club meeting at my high school just a mile from my home. The meeting ended shortly before the 3:00 dismissal bell. However, I stayed after to help pick up from the meeting. This put me in the school parking lot when the majority of student drivers were headed home for the day. As usual I navigated my way through the backups and chaos that go hand in hand with a high school parking lot and was on my way. Just a mile down the road and less than two minutes later, I turned on my right blinker and proceeded to slow as I approached my driveway located on a state highway. I glanced in the rear view mirror noticing the quickly approaching vehicle behind me. To my horror it was not slowing. Within a split second the impact of the approaching vehicle sent my car into an electrical pole lining the roadside which severed the pole in half. My vehicle then came to rest in my front yard inside an evergreen tree. Literally feet from my front doorsteps my Ford Equinox sat with me trapped inside and electrical wires dangling above.
I quickly attempted to open my driver’s side door, but was not able. Panic stricken I looked around surveying what options I might have to escape. Then the driver of the other vehicle, a young high school girl herself, appeared at my door. Standing beneath the live wires, she pulled while I pushed from the inside and within moments I was freed from the wreckage. I hugged her and grabbed my phone to head for safety while I dialed 911. Much to my surprise as I rounded the corner of the house, my sister, who had heard the impact from inside the house, was rushing to help and was also talking to 911. She had no idea that the accident victim was me.
Within minutes an entire entourage of emergency medical vehicles was on the scene with lights flashing. I listened intently that afternoon as State Trooper Buford stood in front of the other driver advising her that she was very lucky she had not killed me. I am sure he wanted to instill in her how the outcome of the accident could have been very different in hopes that her driving would forever be changed. She had just left the high school parking lot as well, but she had been on her phone and completely unaware of my turning vehicle in front of her. She had not even slowed down. My vehicle was totaled in the accident.
Everyone thinks that it is not going to happen to them. Even if you are the most defensive driver out there it can still happen to you. How was I supposed to protect myself from being rear ended at full speed? In that moment I could not, but going forward I can do my best to educate those around me in hopes of making a difference. The most powerful and impactful education is real life. I could go over the scary statistics, but will you remember them one day, one year, or even one hour from now? My guess is no. However, the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when your vehicle comes to rest after an accident that is a feeling you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Whether or not you were attending to injuries, looking for escape routes, or surveying the damage in the moments after a crash, you do not forget those feelings. Experience is the best educator and predictor of future behavior. My life was forever changed on November 20, 2023. Every time I turn into my lane I’m checking the rearview mirror long in advance and sometimes I start slowing way ahead of time in an effort to get trailing motorists to pass me before my driveway. The accident has changed the way I drive.
Providing more real life simulations are the key to educating drivers. My home high school has reenacted vehicle crashes in our gym as well as filmed within the local hospital emergency room. These are the most impactful experiences I have seen next to my own accident. I believe you have to experience something personally to fully appreciate the horror and trauma of the incident. These types of reenactments are the closest thing to witnessing or experiencing an accident in person and thus the next most impactful thing we can do for educating drivers and reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving.



I had heard the statistic that the majority of vehicle accidents happen close to home, but I never figured it meant my front yard. On the worst day of my life, I was lucky to have my sister by my side during such a traumatic experience. I am a person who likes to look at the bright side of things. How we view things has a great effect on our lives. How we prepare for the unexpected is a key factor in the outcomes of our lives. Let us work together to change lives by supporting simulations and vehicle accident reenactments. By being positive and preparing for the worst we can set ourselves up for our best lives.