2019. It was a Saturday in February. I was in Pennsylvania for my friend’s volleyball tournament. Gabby’s team had just won the first two games and an hour break before the next game. Her mom and I decided to go back to the hotel and grab a few snacks during the break. The hotel was four minutes away from the tournament. On the way to the hotel, my best friend's mom and I were discussing how great my bestfriend did in the game while stopped at a red light. We could see the hotel from the light. It was only a few feet away. Once the light turned green, her mom eased into the intersection. Then, I remember the sudden force that hit the car and headlights. Someone plowed into the passenger’s side of the car. We were inches away from spinning out into another car. I remember the silence within the car, the heavy breathing, the shock filling the car like an aroma. My best friend's mom broke the silence with a million questions, listing every body part in asking if it hurt.
Besides adrenaline and my heart racing at an unusual rate, I was okay. The lady who hit us, approached the vehicle and apologized by saying “I’m so sorry, I was distracted. I didn’t see the light”. My best friend's mom answered with one question.
“Were you on your phone?”, said her mom with a stern voice. The woman hesitated but said yes and continued to apologize. I remember, the whole time they talked, I stared ahead at the hotel that we were in walking distance from. Not truly processing what just happened, just realizing how close we were to our destination when everything changed. The woman was remorseful, but that didn't change how she felt that text message or changing a song was more important than being attentive. That simple and “quick” action could have had worse consequences for all parties involved. It is a life-changing risk that is not worth the reward.
Gratefully, no one was injured. My best friend’s mom had to call my mother to inform her that her daughter is okay but was just in a car accident miles away from home. My best friend’s mom panicked, thinking how awful of this to happen when she has someone else’s child in her car in another state. She kept repeating, “What if it was worse? How would I have explained that to your mom?”. I understood that fear as well because the same thoughts were going through my head.
After receiving the insurance information, we proceeded to the hotel. It took less than a minute to get there but in the moment, it felt like eternity. When I got out of the car, I had to force my door open. That's when I was really able to look at the damage of the car on my side. The insurance company told us to not drive the car until someone could determine if the car needed to be totaled. Which means we had to walk back to the tournament. Meanwhile, Gabby is playing a volleyball game with no clue what just occurred. We ended up missing Gabby’s next game due to having to call insurance companies. When we arrived back at the tournament, Gabby approached with a smile asking if we took a nap instead of coming back. The smile disappeared when we explained the circumstances.
Her mom and I watched the rest of the tournament in an out of body form. We were there, but not mentally. Constantly reliving and replaying the incident. The rest of the night and the following day, we had to walk around Pennsylvania. My mom had to drive to Pennsylvania to get me because I had school the next day. I talked to my mom the whole ride home about how unbelievable it was. I vowed that day, when I got my license, I would be an attentive driver who did not allow distractions to be more important than potentially someone’s life.
I will never forget that accident. I have had my license for almost four years, and I think about it every time I get in my car. I was 13 when the accident happened. I will be 20 this year. And I still think about the woman. She was 22 at the time of the accident. I hope in these last few years, she has reflected and learned the consequences of distracted driving. I was taught from a young age that even if you are the one driving, you are not just driving for yourself, you have to drive for everyone else too.