Calvin had an appointment last Tuesday, and I debated whether I should go with him.  If you can believe it, my youngest son turned 18 this summer, which means he can go to routine appointments on his own.  At the last minute, and in a roundabout way, he asked if I would go with him.  That was the first in a series of events that went right.

The appointment was quick and uneventful, as expected.  On the way home, though, we were first in line waiting at a stoplight.  We talked about music, and Calvin looked at his phone, playing DJ.  I stared unfocused through the intersection, waiting for our light to turn green.   We were definitely not on high alert or particularly attentive to what was about to happen in front of us.

I heard a crash and, in a split second, realized an accident just happened at the intersection.  My eyes scanned right to left to see where it happened, and as soon as they turned forward, my vision filled with the covered bed of a pickup truck flying toward us.  A lot of thoughts flashed through my mind in a couple of seconds.

The accident is still happening, and it’s coming right at us.  This is it.  That truck is about to hit me in the face.  What can I do?  What can I do?  Oh my gosh, this is it.

The truck crashed into us, as expected.  The bed landed on our windshield and slid down without breaking it, then settled on our hood.

Calvin and I sat there stunned for a few seconds.  While the accident was terrifying as it was happening, we were physically unharmed.  Since we weren’t moving, we weren’t even whiplashed.  I would say we were jostled.  I looked down to my left, frightened for the people who flipped in the truck.  It took me a minute or two to get my thoughts straight.  I shut off the engine because that seemed like the best thing to do. I instructed Calvin to carefully get out of the van and off the road.  I grabbed my purse and keys and was able to push my door open just enough to get out.  I tried to open the truck doors, but it was hopeless from that side.  People who stopped to help were able to get the couple out through the driver’s side door.

I dialed 911 and reported the accident as I made my way off the road.  The events right after the accident were such a blur that I didn’t remember until hours later that I had called 911.  I couldn’t remember why I wasn’t with Calvin, making sure he was okay immediately after I joined him on the side of the road.  It was because I was on the phone, describing what happened, where we were, and that we would likely need an ambulance for the people in the truck.

Everyone was able to walk away from the accident, but the couple in the truck were taken to the hospital, and I’m not sure what condition they were in or how they are today.  They certainly experienced the worst part of the accident.

When I had to describe to the Maryland State Police officer what happened, I wasn’t 100% sure.  I could make a guess, but I really didn’t see what was happening until the truck was flying at us, and then my view was obscured.  A woman sitting at the intersection opposite us had a dashcam recording and captured the entire thing.  Watching it brought clarity to exactly what happened, but it also showed me how many things had to go right for Calvin and me to walk away from this unhurt.

First, I was with him and driving, which I wasn’t supposed to be.  We were just sitting still, but I’m glad I was the one behind the wheel.  I’m also glad he wasn’t there alone.  We took our van, which is our tallest car with the most body around it.  Had we been in one of our other cars, that truck would’ve likely gone through the windshield or even landed on top of us.  The timing of the accident meant the heaviest part of the truck, the cab and engine, didn’t hit us.  And something I only realized in the wee hours that night as I played it through in my head: if the truck bed didn’t have a good cover on it, all of the ratcheting straps and tools might have become projectiles that flew through our windshiled.  You can see the cover stayed in place until the truck flipped and some of the contents spilled on the road.

When we went to the tow yard to empty the contents of our van and remove the plates, I was able to see how close that truck was to my head.  It is amazing the windshield didn’t break.

So, the accident sort of upended my week, and I’m a bit behind on work, but it was so close to being life-altering.  As it is, it’s just inconvenient and might force us to buy a new van before we wanted to.  We’re driving around in a rental car while we wait to hear whether our van is totaled or can be repaired.  We expect it to be totaled, but we’re hoping it just needs some body work and we can get a few more years out of this van.  Toyota Siennas have skyrocketed in price, and we’re not excited about car shopping.

In the end, it’s just a van.  We’re so thankful that no one was seriously injured.  We’re thankful for all of the little things that went right.  I was moved by everyone who stopped to help, to direct traffic around the accident, and to get people out of the vehicles.  In that moment, professions, politics, religion, age, race – none of that mattered.  People were just helping people, and there is something really special about that.   It was also pretty incredible to see the professionals work together to move the vehicles and get the intersection cleaned up.  They were impressively good at what they do, even if I’m sure they would be happy if they never had to do it again.