I Had The Biggest Scare Of My Life

I was heading out to meet a friend this past weekend, driving on a road I'd driven on hundreds of times. Then, in a matter of seconds...boom.

I'd had fender-benders before. I've skidded into somebody on an icy road before. I've slid into ditches before. I've backed into brick facing at my parents' house before. Hell, I've even destroyed a wheel well running over a raccoon before. But this was much, much different.

Around 10:45 p.m. Saturday I was cruising on Collins Road in Cedar Rapids, but I'd missed my turn. I thought to myself, "no big deal. I'll just get through this light, find a place to turn around and I'll be good to go." Almost immediately after that thought went through my head another car was crossing the intersection. Panic struck, coupled with a paralyzing fear and that horrible "oh, s***" feeling. I'd t-boned this car. Airbags deployed. And then another boom. A pickup truck ran into my left side, shattering my rear window and knocking my driver's side mirror clean off. My horn was blaring--a bystander actually had to cut the battery line to shut it off.

I honestly still have a hard time explaining what happened or coming to terms with it. It's not even that I'm "attached" to my car as so many others are. It's moreso trying to replay the events in my head--It wasn't my fault, right? I had a green light, right? I couldn't have avoided hitting this other car, right? I've played it back seemingly a thousand times and there are still some parts that I either don't remember or didn't notice. It felt like the blink of an eye and an absolute eternity all at the same time.

I'm not looking forward to what happens now (hooray for dealing with claims adjusters!), but at least I'm actually HERE to experience it, not in a hospital bed or worse. Oh, and Honda makes a pretty sturdy car...in case you couldn't already tell. #NotAnEndorsement

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