Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Car Accident

The lawyer-part-of-my-brain tells me not to write too much on this publicly, so I'm not going to go into any details. But I was in a car accident Friday on my way home from work. I'm fine. My neck was a little sore yesterday, but that's passed. My right ankle muscles feel a little pulled, too. But I imagine I'll be feeling good as new by Wednesday. Physically, anyway.

Thankfully, the kids were not with me. My airbag did not deploy. I was on my way home from work early, so I had time (and the presence of mind) to make sure they were picked up from their respective locations. Also fortunately, the body shop tow truck driver took pity on me to make one last stop, even though they were technically closed by the time he got the call. He dropped me off directly at the car rental place. The body shop owner was so worried about me and my car seats that she personally drove to the location of the accident just to make sure my "stuff" got to the car rental place before it closed. The claims adjuster was actually incredibly helpful (for now, at least). And I was able to pull to the side of the freeway, so I didn't impact the Friday afternoon commuters. Mostly, though, like I said before I'm grateful the kids were not with me. And that our insurance covers a car rental (a lesson I learned about 8 years ago when my car was vandalized).

So the kids understand that the black car is broken. I don't know or understand the extent of the damage yet. The tow truck driver seems to think the company might total the car. If that's the case, I just wish I were driving our 2001 vehicle (the one we own outright) and not our 2004 vehicle (for which we are still paying). Darnit.

Casey has already requested we get a mini van if we have to get a new car. Where do kids get these things?

I feel pretty terrible about it all. Terrible enough that I didn't even complain when our air mattress deflated early in the evening last night and I was stuck sleeping, essentially, on the hard ground. The kids both had inflated mattresses, of course. Oh. Did I mention we went camping in the backyard last night? The kids did great. I'll post pictures later.

So, that's what's been going on. If you feel so inclined to tell about your own personal car accident misery, feel free. Might make me feel better.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

sorry re your accident! the camping sounds fun. we haven't taken the kids yet...do you have many bugs to worry about?

you can't sit outside here without a bug bite!

alison frm dallas

Ruth said...

OK, I'm catching up. That stinks about the car accident.... since you ASKED for our stories, I can say that I had a car accident about one year ago, just a few days after our referral! Totally the other guy's fault, and in the end his insurance paid... but a very stressful time, no doubt. And we DID buy a minivan to replace it!!! With three kids, K., I highly recommend it.... MUCH easier to get them in and out of the vehicle!!

Julie said...

You know I work dozens of accidents every year and I have to remind people that they are ACCIDENTS. It doesn't mean you are a bad driver because you've been in one.

Accidents are a poignant topic with me. I've had just a couple off duty but LOTS on duty. Once I even had two in the same day (it was a bad day). The two that were my fault involved running into stationary objects -- one on my birthday (another bad day). I had one that nearly claimed my life and left me scarred and slightly disabled but I'm so grateful to still be here.

Since my big wreck I've lost two fellow officers who were friends to them. Now, when I encounter them I remember that vehicles can be replaced, lives and health can't. It's an inconvenience to deal with a wreck but I'm so glad you are safe and home with your family.

Holly said...

I'm so relieved to read that you're okay!!!

Here's a doozy for yah - on Tuesday, with D & R in the car, we hit a mama dear and one of her babies. It was horrible. But, the mama fled into the woods and the baby we hit scampered off there a few minutes after the accident. We really hope they're not bleeding internally in the woods!

Our car (a Jetta wagon TDI) was only minimally damaged (the front emblem cracked in half and some detailing on the front is torn away). The airbags did not deploy and no one inside our car was injured. We are very thankful.