My Headon Collision

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Seemingly in slow motion, I was coming to a stop. The impact was emminent and I braced myself with my hands gripping the edges of the steering wheel. Bang . . . Crash . . . Phissh . . . Poof . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I left Double Decker bowling center after bowling fairly well. I was heading to have my Toyota Scion washed, have my Michelen tires rotated, get a late lunch somewhere, and then to the library.

I turned left the corner a block away from the car wash. I was accelerating to about 25 miles an hour when I noticed a car coming into the left turn lane approaching the entrance to Home Depot. I could see that I would pass him before he got to the location that he would turn. But as I was approaching the entrance to Home Depot, the car turned in front of me abruptly. At the speed that I was traveling and the distance between us there wasn't time to avoid the collision.

A thought came to me to swerve left, but there were several on coming cars and I would hit them head on. I could not move to the right lane as that is where he was going. So I decided to stay in my lane.

I applied the brakes as hard as I could. I was hoping the car would make it past me and we wouldn't collide. My Scion is equipped with anti-lock brakes, therefore as I applied the brakes they didn't lock up and my car slowed down quickly. When I struck the other car, I must have been going about 10 miles an hour. The other car was also moving toward me as we crashed.

At the moment of impact everything was in slow motion. I could see the obscure figure in the driver side of the other car. Slowly the hood of my car seemed to be bending going up, crumbling as some contact was made.

Then we stopped abruptly . . . Bang! Crash!

After The Crash

I don't re-call the few seconds after the crash. I didn't see the steering wheel airbag explode at 1/25th of a second and hit my face, flicking my glasses somewhere to the back seats. Then a phissh . . . noise from under the hood, and a poof . . . and white powder hung in the air as the airbags subsided.

The next thing I saw through the windshield was the smoke coming from under my hood. I saw that I had collided with the car's right front fender. Now that I was stopped and I looked down at my legs and noticed that they were okay. They weren't bleeding or crushed.

I had my right hand on the steering wheel and my left hand was laying on the armrest. It had a burning sensation from my hand to my elbow. My chest was held tight because the seat belt had locked up and my body pinned secure to the seat with a lot of pressure. My right foot was on the brake, pushing hard on it for dear life.

I finally noticed that the passengers air bag had also deployed and was oozing some white colored smoke. There wasn't any odor in the air, especially gas odor; if there had been I would have tried to get out quickly.

Friends Arrive 

The driver's side window was open and a voice said, "Are you allright Rich?" I didn't answer. I tried to turn my head to see who it was, but I couldn't at that moment.

"Are you Okay. Rich?" he repeated louder.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" I said still looking forward as I couldn't turn my head.

"Don't move right now. Stay as you are and wait for help to arrive," he said. "Are you hurt in any way?" he asked.

"I don't think I'm hurt except for my chest area because of the seat belt. Who are you that you know my name," I said.

"I'm one of the soccer players that you trained about twenty years ago. I recognized you right away," he said. "I was following behind you. I'm going to stay and tell the officer what I saw. I will be a witness. Is anything hurting you right now?"

I finally was able to turn my head slowly and I saw his face. Still I didn't recognize who he was. He must have been ten years old when I trained him.

Another man was near the window and was listening when I said, "Yes, my left hand is burning up, as if it was burned, but it isn't broken."

As I raised my hand the soccer player gripped it, guided it down to the armrest, and he said, "Hold it on the armrest until someone comes."

Then the other man said, "Rich I'm Bill. The burning you feel is the gas coming from the airbags now deployed. When it makes contact with your skin it burns and cause a stinging feeling. You need to cover the steering wheel airbag with a wet towel."

"I don't have a towel or any water in the car," I said.

"I'll be right back," Bill said and took off running.

I said, "I think I'll open all the windows and let the gas out."

"If you can, open them, Rich."

I opened the window and I reached over and pushed the gas out of the passenger airbag. Bill returned with a red towel soaked with water and covered the steering wheel. 

"Thanks so much," I said. "I still have my foot pressing on the brake pedal. I better let it go and I better turn off the car, since the motor isn't even running."

Dave, a bowler I had just competed against came to window and said, "Rich are you allright?"

"Hi Dave. Yes I think I am, except for the pain caused by the seat belt. Hey Dave, do you have a cell phone so I can call someone?"

"Sorry, I don't have it on me." I introduced Dave to the soccer player and then Dave left and stood on the sidewalk.

Then Darren Jones my next door neighbor showed up, "Rich, are you Okay?"

"I sort of am but I could be better. Say, Darren, you got a cell phone on you? I want to call my wife Barbara to pick me up. What are you doing here?" I said.

"Yes. I have it on me. I came to pick up my girlfriend and I saw your car. Wait . . . here come the cops and the EMT'S. I gotta get out of here. I'll be over on the sidewalk," Darren doesn't like cops, he left and stood on the sidewalk.

Cops and EMT's Arrive 

An ambulance with the lights flashing arrived. The EMT came to the window. My friends were all standing on the sidewalk. The EMT determined that I was alright and went to help the other driver in the Corolla.

Two officers showed up and I released my belt. "Can you get out of the car sir?" an officer asked.

I started to get out of the car, but it was hard to stand up and I sat on the edge of the seat with my legs streched out.

"Sir, why are your pant legs wet? Were you drinking something?" The officer asked.

I looked down and sure enough they were soaked. "I don't know. Maybe I wet my pants. I know that people do that in a time of stress." The officer didn't like my joke. "I had a coke in the cup holder and it was almost full." I said.

"I see a coke container on the other seat," the other officer said. "Were you talking on a cell phone?"

Later I realized that the dripping red wet towel placed on the steering wheel had dripped on my pants. "I don't have a cell phone. If you have one, can I use it to call someone? Please."

"Sir, right now we have other things we have to do first. Can you give me you driver's license, proof of insurance, and is this car registered to you?"

"Here is my license. It's registered to me, and the insurance is in the glove compartment."

"Can you give me the proof of insurance?" the officer said.

"Sir are you alright to walk right now?" asked an EMT.

"Do you want to be transported to the hospital?"

"I need the proof of insurance, please," the officer repeated.

"No, I don't need a hospital," I said to the EMT. I turned to the officer I said, "I can't give you the proof of insurance since I can't see without my glasses. That isn't my priority right now."

"Ok. Since you are refusing to go to the hospital you have to sign a form." the EMT said.

"I'll sign it for you." The EMT left to get the form I thought.

He never came back. I reached over to the glove compartment and got another pair of glasses but when I got them, one of the lenses had popped out. I walked around the car. Very shakily I tried to open the passenger side door. but it was stuck and I had to yank it open.

I gave the registration and insurance folder to the officer and he also left never to be seen again. 

Killing Time

Later I was sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the EMT to release me while two towing trucks were loading the cars on top. Before my car was taken away I asked the driver to see if he could find my glasses.

Minutes later the tow truck driver proudly showed up with his hand in the air clutching my glasses. "I found them in the back seat. The air bag must have sent them there."

"Thanks so much. Now I'll be able to see." I should have given him a tip.

I said to an officer, "You think you could get my four bowling ball from my car before they take my car away?"

"You have to as the tow driver to get them."

Daren said, "Rich I'll get them for you. Are they in the back seat?"

"No, they're way in the back. There are four of them."

Daren and the Driver climbed up on the flat tow truck and opened the Scion hatch and got my balls for me.

Two of the EMT crew took me to their ambulance and attached patches on me and performed a EKG and I passed, OK.

An EMT said, "Your reading are 215 over 189. We know that that's normal at a time like this. They will be coming closer to your normal shortly."

While they were trying to take my readings the lead EMT member was trying to get information from the person I hit. He was strapped a gurney in the ambulance. In frustration she yelled at him, "You S.O.B . . I can't give you a pain shot it I don't know what you have taken."

The man never cooperated.

I went over near the car I collided with and got the license number and the model. I said to the officer writing the report, "Can I get the name of the person and his insurance?"

I tried to peek at the form but he quickly covered it. "You can get the report using this number. All the information will be there. From the looks of things, he is going to be arrested for a DUI infraction."

I signed the release form. The ambulance took off with the man to the Emergency Hospital handcuffed to the gurney. 

The Car Safety Stuff

I always wondered if all the safety stuff put into my Toyota Scion would work when it was needed. The first thing that worked was the antilock brakes slowed down the car as they were supposed to do. They didn't lock up.

As soon as the Scion collided with the other car, the seat belt locked in the position that it was in and held my body pinned against the seat.

The back rest on the seat stopped my head when it was jerking backwards.

The steering wheel airbag opened in a .25th of a second as it was designed to do. It came close to my face and flicking at my face as my head was snapping forward. It sent my glasses into the rear seat.

Thank goodness, I had the seat in the rear most position or it would have hit me hard.

The passenger bag also deployed but there wasn't anyone there to protect.

The engine support mounts broke free and the engine dropped down preventing the engine from going into the cab and saving my legs from any damage.

Because all that worked and I liked my Scion so much, I purchased another one. This newer 2009 Scion has side airbags and it is roomier inside. But it get 10 less miles per gallon. 

Epilog

I used Darren's phone to call Barbara to pick me up. I was left waiting alone with my four bowling balls. I was tense, in shock and hungry. Barbara picked me up and took me to Burger City near Walmart, a great burger joint and I devoured the hamburger. I loved the Pepsi that I wasn't supposed to have because It gives me a migrane without the pain.

I had no real pain anywhere just then. The pain hit me several hours later and more in the evening. Thursday the next morning I called Kaiser and I went to have my neck, my burned arm and my chest that hurt badly checked.

I ended up with a neck brace, therapy, pain pills for my chest and some ointment for my arm. I had to rest for several weeks. I didn't pass my A1 English. I missed too many classes. I e-mailed this story to the Professor and he read it in class. I showed up at the class party.

The driver that hit me was arrested and booked. Rohnert Park Police failed to send the incident information to the District Attorney within statu of limitations which was one year.

The officer handling the case had taken a leave of absence and the paper work just layed on his desk.

I was in court to see what would happen to him on the court day 18 months later. The judge dismissed the charges because of the delay. 

I got reimbursed by the insurance companies for the car, medical bills and some money for injuries.

Hmm . . . . I can't get comments if nobody reads this.

comments?

I'm just happy you're still with us and not occupying the body of a new born because it'll be sixty years before we can let you back into Geezers...

The only wreck in dozens of years and I was too stupid to hire a lawyer.

I thought their insurance agent would be honest and forthright ... Turns out I was wrong, though.

...)