(I think this is very similar to my November 2021 post called “Parent’s Biggest Fear,” which is why I titled this the way I did.)
I have written many times about the series of “mishaps” we have had over the past year. everything seems to be going wrong and just when I think our luck is about to turn, something else happens. When we got home from Cedar Point last night, Jerry and I were working on making dinner. Eli had gone fishing with some friends and Noah was in his room.
I got a phone call from Eli and he was really upset. I couldn’t get much information out of him because I could hear the woman behind him yelling at him. From what I could gather, they were in a car accident and she was blaming him (*very* loudly). I tried to calm him down but the woman was still yelling at him and I told him to call the police and not talk to the woman at all (while Jerry and Noah ran out the door to go to the crash site).
I had no idea it would be as bad as it was. (Fortunately, it wasn’t Eli’s fault, which I’ll explain.)
Most importantly, Eli has only minor injuries. Physically, the seat belt was so tight that it was rubbing her skin so much that she was bleeding from her lap. his nose is quite sore because the airbag hits his glasses; his wrist and knee are also damaged (minor but not cool for someone who likes to lift weights and play baseball). Mentally he is very shaken. She said she keeps hearing the noise of the crash replaying in her head and is afraid to drive or even get into a car.
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| Eli’s car after the accident |
As for the accident… what happened was Eli was driving down a stretch of highway that goes for MILES without a single traffic light or stop sign. He was on his way home from fishing, and before he could realize what was happening or react to it, a woman (who was standing at a stop sign, ready to turn in the direction of Ely) pulled out of the stop. sign right in front of him. The second he got out, Eli hit the side of his car at 45 mph (the speed limit).
Eli said he saw her pull out and heard the crash practically at the same time, and then the next thing she knew, her ears were ringing really bad and she was in pain here and there. He got out of the car and ran to check on the other driver. He was fine; but he got out of the car and started yelling at her saying he ran a stop sign. (There’s no stop sign there, so she was either grossly mistaken or trying to make him believe she was wrong.)
The police arrived to write an accident report and said it was immediately clear what had happened (from the position of the cars, there was no question that he had pulled out in front of Eli). He even admitted it, finally, when the police questioned him. Turns out he wasn’t even supposed to be driving, his license was suspended. So he was driving on a suspended license when he pulled out in front of MY child, causing a serious car accident; he could have been killed.
I am so GRATEFUL that Eli is ok and I am also thankful that the wife was not hurt. (If he was hurt, Eli would feel bad, even knowing it wasn’t his fault.) The Jeep (Patriot) is totaled, as is the woman’s car.
I’m just amazed. Yesterday I was just hitting every now and then trying to think about the situation calmly. Today it really hit me. Eli could easily have been seriously injured or even killed last night. And the woman who caused it was yelling at him, trying to make him feel like it was all his fault.
I’m not sure what happens next. Jerry called the insurance company today and they should contact us that an agent will come out to look at the damage to the car. Eli feels terrible about the car being totaled (we’ve never had a problem with that Jeep and it has a lot of good miles left on it). We don’t have full coverage on it (just the necessary liability insurance) so I’m not sure how the law works as far as damages. I think we will find out from the insurance agency.
As angry as I am, I just can’t say how happy I am that Eli is okay. We had a fun day at Cedar Point and it quickly changed in the blink of an eye. It’s scary to even think about what could have been.