Calling All Angels … Teenage Car Accident

On a summer day, I had to call in all the angels above as my daughter Alexandra ran the last errand of the day to return toys to the wee ones we cared for. A simple enough, pretty quick run from the house. Never did I expect the call to alert me to a car accident.

As I came into the house, the phone rings (and I assume Ali is telling me she arrived, because that is what she is trained to do.), and I pick up, and in the calmest voice you ever heard, Alexandra says “Um mom… A lady just hit me”…

Into mom mode, I go. “Well o.k., call the police”. Her voice was so calm; I did not panic. I thought maybe someone bumped into her.

And then it hit me… HER VOICE WAS SO CALM… My daughter is in shock!

Mom mode goes into action. I called the people she was going to see, assuming she was in their neighborhood and told them to get there fast! I load up my car with the kids, and we are on our way!

There is nothing, and I mean nothing worse than the site of a car that your child was just in, that is now a mangled mess. Nothing! As I exit the freeway, I see the twirling lights of police cars in the newly dimmed light of the sky.

Panic starts to set in as I near the scene, and there it is. My big lug of a minivan resting on the center divider. The car that safely carried my babies, to and fro. The car that teenagers learned to drive. The car that took us on the best family trips!

I don’t know about you, but in our house cars take on personalities much like a beloved pet. There my car stared at me all broken apart. Dead on arrival. I hope it did not suffer. I jest now about the pain my car may have suffered in order to do all of the right safety things it was supposed to do to keep my child safe, but the sight sent me into the ugly cry! Not just the car, but my baby! My child! My heartbeat! What did the hell happen?

And as we wait for the interview with the other driver to be over, we empty out the car that no longer has rear tires or a rear axel. The bumper landed across the street. The sign from the center divider is demolished. But alas my child, still in shock, is ok.

The interviewing officer approaches to relay the story of the other driver. She is so sorry he relays. She was quite distressed. As if I care?

What did the hell happen?

And here it is. In the rush of the Southern California lifestyle, this thirty-something-year-old woman chose to drink while at a restaurant. Upon leaving the restaurant after choosing to drink, she chose to get behind the wheel of her Toyota Highlander.

This vehicle weighs approximately 3715 pounds.

So… she gets into the car and leaves the parking lot, and somewhere between common sense and stupidity, she decides to look at paperwork on her lap, and conduct a conversation on the cell phone all while driving the 3715-pound vehicle.

And please don’t forget she is pleasantly “buzzed” and possibly drunk after her meeting at the restaurant.

So what happened??

Well, this is what happened. Without any regard to anyone else in the street, this alcohol buzzed and the distracted driver decided a red light did not apply to her, and that she would make the left turn anyway.

And so she did.

Left turn right into my daughter who was minding the law, and driving through the intersection on a green light. Luckily Alexandra maintained control of the car as it spun around to go through the center divider. Lucky for both there was not much traffic.

My daughter survived, and the driver survived. But what about the aftermath of this?

The irony is that Alexandra and I just worked on a drunk driving project together. I shot an “Every 15 Minutes” event for the high school, and Alexandra did the film edit.

Alexandra does not drink. She chooses not to, not just because she is underage, and it is illegal, but because it is not her thing.

One month later, and the other drivers’ insurance company plays and plays. They sit on their hands because they want to give you as little as is possible under the law.

My daughter panics a little each time we go through an intersection.

We have to buy now a car we were not in the market for. With two college tuitions, and the rising costs, it just was not in our budget.

Meanwhile, we will never know if the driver was drunk under the law because the civilian accident investigator chose not to test her. She will go on; her car will be repaired.

Mine was a total loss, valued at very little. Farmer’s Insurance has earned its horrible reputation.

Alexandra learned a valuable lesson. Life is not always fair. Sometimes you are handed lemons. You can choose to drink the sour nectar, or sweeten it, and make lemonade. Alexandra is the kind of person that will make lemonade.

As for me… I am not yet ready for lemonade.

Keep safe.