Light rain, especially after a long drought, is more dangerous than it appears. That is the lesson that "Lisa" learned today when she totalled her Jetta by smashing into the back of me.
There were about 8 cars in a row on a busy 2 lane road. I was about 3/4 of a mile from my house when the front car stopped suddenly and everyone behind had to stop as well. I had to hit my brakes hard--antilocks kicked in--and swerved a bit to avoid the person in front of me who was fishtailing all over the place. And just as I started to relax, realizing that I was going to stop in time after all, I glanced in my rearview and saw the Jetta coming at me fast. I SWEAR if I didnt know better I'd think that she sped up as she hit me.
We pulled over and after checking to make sure that I was ok, I got out of the car to check her. She was walking around, hands in her hair, screaming, "what the fuck?? what the fuck?? I'm fucking broke! I cant pay for this! Fuck, this is NOT my fault! Who the fuck stopped!??" Her car was clearly seriously damaged, both airbags deflated in the front seat, hood completely mangled, bumper falling off, license plate missing, parts and hoses sticking out at weird angles, and fluids of all colors rushing out of the car and into the gutter. She was on her phone from the moment I got out (I honestly suspect that she was on it at the time of the crash, too), so we didnt actually speak until I asked if I could borrow her phone to call the police (my battery was dead!!!) Two cars pulled over to make sure that we were ok, and several drivers slowed and yelled out "Are you ok? Do you need help?" etc., which surprised me a little bit but I actually found to be very comforting. A local EMT happened to be driving by on her way to work and she stopped to help us.
The cops were taking FOREVER to arrive, so I called Spouse. He was freaked. I asked him to call the cops again for us and he did. They arrived a few minutes later. Three of them. Must have been a slow day! The first on the scene guy was super nice and the minute he saw that I was pregnant he promised to get me the heck out of there as fast as he could. The second cop insisted that I go to either the emergency room or to my OB immediately just to make sure I was ok. The first cop agreed, and the said that they wouldnt let me leave unless I did that. I said, "Ok" but apparently they didnt believe me because First Cop actually offered to take me there himself, and even to stop for Spouse on the way.
Meanwhile "Lisa" was still glued to the phone, but stopped bitching long enough to ask if I was OK, to apologize, and to give me her insurance and contact information. First Cop tried to get her to cooperate and move her car off of the road (or just put it in neutral so that he could roll it off) and she was a total pain in the ass, barely listening and chatting on the phone. He finally said, "And it would really help if you could hang up your phone. We need to talk to you." She didnt. He asked again. She ignored. He stood in front of her and said, "Ma'am, you need to hang up your phone immediately or we're going to have to take it from you for a while." She finally listened. Turns out she was an undergrad from my Uni (shocker) and this was her THIRD accident and the THIRD time that she'd rear-ended someone. Nice.
They finished the accident report and First Cop asked me 84,000 times if I was ok to drive. "You look a little pale, that's all," he said. I insisted that I was fine, so he followed me home to pic up Spouse. When I got home, I sort of lost it for a minute when Spouse hugged me, but then we got back in the car and First Cop followed us to the OB, came in with us, and told the nurse what happened. We thanked him, and he left.
I ended up only having to talk to a midwife, not have an exam. I figured that is what would happen but the cops wouldnt let me go home, so I had to go along with their plan. Kiddo was moving around like crazy so I knew he was ok. I had had a few contractions, though, and they were more concerned about those. Ultimately, they told me to call if I had stronger, or more painful, or more regular contractions, but to go home and rest--that I would surely be fine.
And so far, I am. I have some pain in my neck and shoulders but I'm sure its just from the impact. First Cop estimated that she hit me going 30-35 mph, and her "I wasnt even paying attention. I didnt see anyone stop" comment sort of confirmed that. She hit me DAMN hard, that is all I know, and I"m grateful that everyone is ok.
My car suffered some damage (but it doesnt look that bad) and I've had a bitch of a headache since, but I'm doing ok. Seriously shaken up, of course, especially since this was my first-ever collision in 16 years as a driver. In retrospect I think that I should have agreed to ride in the ambulance. Would have made for a better story.
Updated to add:
Thank you all for your well-wishes!!
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