<p>Isn’t it amazing how quickly we can be reminded of what really matters. Prayers to you and your family.</p>
<p>A business side note: Keep tabs on the car. Where I live you will be charged daily storage fees for where ever your wreck ends up…even a burned out hulk is still considered your responsibility.</p>
<p>Ditto binx #10. It will be a <em>very</em> thankful Thanksgiving at your house this year.</p>
<p>Splashmom, I’m sitting here with chillbumps and tears. I’m so glad your D. and the other girls were not injured and that there were kind, caring people to give them support.</p>
<p>Dear SplashMom~</p>
<p>{{{{{{{{gentle hugs}}}}}}}} to you and your precious daughter. OMG, what a terrifying, terrifying event! I am <em>SO</em> relieved to hear that everyone was fine and was able to escape the vehicle before it caught fire…It is this type of happening which makes us realize how very fragile life can be and how tenuous our hold on it. I can only imagine how very, very grateful you and she are to be together right now, safe in each others arms. Hold her tightly, and as you do, give her one little extra squeeze from me, O.K.? </p>
<p>love, ~berurah</p>
<p>I know and can sympathize with your distress because my son was in a similar auto accident while in HS. The car was totalled by he and his passenger got only very minor injuries. I am sure your distress was compounded due to the fact that you were some distance from your daughter and could not be there to console her and sort things out in person.</p>
<p>So glad nobody was hurt!!!</p>
<p>Add me to the list of those sitting here with tears in my eyes, thinking “she’s so lucky.” I’m glad she’s okay and that you get to hug her and give her lots of TLC. Ditto to what others have said: cars can be replaced.</p>
<p>SplashMom!! what a miracle no one is in the hospital and injured and you have your daughter intact. we are all thinking of you and your family as we know this is going to take the wind out of your sails for a while. Thank God for the good people by the side of the road. Good karma going your way and may all our kids stay protected from harm.</p>
<p>SplashMom, how scary for everyone involved. You were right to say “the call no parent ever wants to get”</p>
<p>May you all get through the other side of this without further complications. And may the other party come clean with what really happened.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the concern and well wishes. We are all feeling so very fortunate that DD was not injured. She’s a bit sore today … sore hips, sore ankle and sore neck, but she said she thinks that’s just from tensing up during the impact. </p>
<p>DD was traveling by herself in the left lane of I-40E (two lanes). A Ford Taurus was traveling in front of her. She said the Taurus made a sudden move to the right lane as though they were trying to get off at the exit immediately coming up. Apparently the Taurus clipped the back of an 18-wheeler, lost control and then ended up coming back over in to the left lane, clipping the front of DD’s car which caused her to lose control and careen across the grass median completely into the middle of the I-40W traffic. The Taurus also careened across the median and hit DD head on. DD was able to get out of her car and saw liquid spewing from the other car. She then saw flames shooting from the other car and screamed for those girls to get out. </p>
<p>The state troopers who worked the case told us the three girls who were in the other car were originally dishonest with them about who was driving. The main investigator told DD how lucky she is to be alive. He said he has trouble crossing that median to make traffic stops because those lanes are always so packed with traffic. He couldn’t believe the oncoming traffic didn’t hit her or the other girls involved. He gave DD his contact information and told her to keep him advised on everything that happens. He assured DD she was not in the wrong and commended her actions in attempting to prevent the accident. He told us he gave the driver of the Taurus three citations … one for reckless driving, one or failure to maintain control of her vehicle, and one for improper lane change. He said one of the girls in the car was only 17 and was begging him not to call her mother. He went on to say one of the other girls was on the phone with her mother and was cursing quite a bit … “I’m not going to the f-ing hospital!”, etc.</p>
<p>I guess the driver of the Taurus is claiming this morning that the semi she clipped caused the accident. The insurance rep for the trucking company called and wanted to get a statement from DD. DD says the driver of the 18-wheeler did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>We’ve put a call in to our insurance agent. Hopefully we’ll hear from him today. Thank you again for all of your concern! Thanks, Sax, for the suggestion to keep tabs on the car in terms of paying for storage, etc. I’ll call the yard today.</p>
<p>On a last note, encourage your children to bring home as much dirty laundry as possible. DD’s hatch (she had a VW Golf) was full of dirty clothes and shoved between the clothes was her computer bag with her laptop enclosed. Last night, after the investigation was complete, the state trooper asked if we would like to look at the car and take the plate. He was able to get the hatchback open and although her clothes were black and her computer bag was black, her laptop is okay!!! It’s unbelievable! I fully encourage you to buy a Glenroyal Chic computer bag. Between the clothes and the computer bag, her laptop survived. We’re taking it over to Apple today to make sure it really is okay, but so far, so good.</p>
<p>In addition to the numerous clothes that are gone, her iPod and portable GPS system are gone. I have continued to tell her how fortunate we are that she got out of the car. I told her we don’t care about cars, clothes, computers, iPods, GPS systems or anything else materialistic. She is alive and kicking and that’s all that counts!</p>
<p>Stay safe, all!</p>
<p>Splashmom, wiping the tears away as I type this…add my voice to those wishing you hugs and a very thankful Thanksgiving.</p>
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<p>Amazing! So glad your daughter is okay. I got rear-ended last January - totaled the car - no damage to me - and I checked out the rear view mirror for months!</p>
<p>THANK GOD she’s OK!</p>
<p>My 21yo nephew made the news a couple of years ago in Phila. when another car caused a multiple car accident on Roosevelt Blvd., and he wound up trapped upside down in his totaled old Camry with seatbelt on. Jaws of life pried him out… barely a scratch on him! I still shudder over that close call, too.</p>
<p>Wishing a speedy recovery physically and emotionally for your dd, and you Splashmom!</p>
<p>Tears of relief and lot’s of hugs to your family!</p>
<p>omg…splashmom. What a terrifying accident. I am so glad your d is okay and that she was able to keep her wits and warn the girls in the other car. They don’t sound like the types to be grateful, but they should be. It probably hasn’t even occurred to them, if not for your d, they might be seriously injured or worse.</p>
<p>We always worry about our kids’ driving skills and if they are ready for the long interstate hauls to and from college. But many times, it’s the other drivers who are the problem. About five years ago, my neighbor’s d was killed on her way back to Texas A&M after spending the weekend at the beach. Her fiance was in a coma for 6 weeks and suffers permanent injuries. They were doing nothing wrong…on oncoming 18-wheeler with bad brakes jackknifed and plowed into their car. She was a brilliant engineering student with one year until graduation. My neighbor has had an extremely difficult time handling this.</p>
<p>Hug that girl of yours as much as you can. Just reading your story makes me want to hug mine and never let her go.</p>
<p>That one truly has a guardian angel, doesn’t she? Such a scary story, Splash. I am sure you are still trembling in the wee hours when you think what might have happened.</p>
<p>I’m so glad everyone is alright! :D</p>
<p>My parents got that same call from me three years ago yesterday. I called my mom, quite freaked out from the scene after a large deer (10 pt buck) came through my windshield and landed on my head. I had to tell my mom, who was four hours away, that the EMT said he thought I’d be in surgery that night for a facial injury. She told me she was on call to drive out there immediately if I were to go into surgery. I was very lucky and escaped surgery but didn’t escape persisting eye problems from the eye trauma to both eyes I sustained in the accident. My mom brought me home that weekend for a long weekend to recoup. </p>
<p>Your family is in my prayers. Give your daughter some time to get over the accident, the mental scars are normally deeper than the physical ones. I still hesitate whenever I see a deer near the road and pray it doesn’t move. Also, keep her busy, don’t let her fester on what happened. </p>
<p>I think what helped me out the most is knowing that it truely wasn’t my time to go…it very well could have gone either way, but God is keeping me on Earth for something big! Let your daughter know that God has something amazing in store for her if she can so easily survive such a nasty car accident!</p>
<p>splashmom, accident sounds terrifying. Where on I-40 did this occur? We live along that interstate.</p>
<p>^I was wondering this too. My d has decided to take her car next year which means she will be doing a lot of I-40 driving. I assume Splash’s d was somewhere near Nashville?</p>
<p>Splashmom, I’m all choked up and thinking of you and your daughter and am so happy and relieved to hear that she’s OK. My heart goes out to her and you for having gone through this terrifying experience. R</p>