Accidents do happen

And in this case it happened to be another car colliding into mine last Tuesday, causing it to spin across another lane onto the footpath.

Yes, I was involved in a car crash. And before you start making remarks about my driving skills: no, it was not my fault 😉 And yes I’m fine. Mostly.

What exactly happened I will most likely never remember – and maybe that’s for the best. In fact it’s one of those things, no matter how much you mull over it in your head, in the end there was nothing I could have done differently, and neither could the driver of the other car. Classic ‘accordeon’ effect: first car slows down, second car reacts a little bit later (brakes harder), third car even later (brakes even harder) and so on. Before you know it you’re going at around 50 an hour and see everybody in front of you hitting their brakes full on. I hit the brakes and instinctively looked in the rear view mirror to check the person behind me. Surely my heart must have skipped a beat, judging her speed it was unavoidable and not even a close call. She tried to divert onto the other lane, smashed into my right rear, which caused the spin and catapulted me to the left.

No life flashes. No slow motion. It was over in a jiffy. As I scrambled to get out of the car, I noticed my glasses were missing. Hmm, no phone to be found either. In the background I could hear a woman sobbing. I looked up and noticed a man running over to me. He tried to sit me down, but my chaotic mind was trying to get a grip on what had happened and focusing in vain on what to do. He explained he was a nearby occupant and had heard the smash. He helped me out of the car and find my stuff. Meanwhile the sobbing of the woman had turned into a more hysterical wailing as she called her husband.

I looked around and saw 2 other cars at the side of the road as well, bringing the total to 4 cars involved. We figured out later I was hit by another car on the left lane, while the other woman also hit the car in front of me. Luckily one of the guys had already called the police and towing was underway. I tried to comfort the older woman, the fact she had crashed into me was of no importance, I could hardly hold it against her while she was shaking in disbelief and trying to come to terms with what happened herself!

I called Bram, partly to check what else I should be doing (insurance? pictures?..), but really he is the one person I always rely on when things get tough. Hearing his voice, slightly panicked and full of concern, brought me back from ‘organizational mode’ to ‘realization’ and I started shaking a bit myself. Luckily there was no time for getting too emotional as the firetruck and towers arrived… Sadly, my little Holden Barina leaked fuel. Felt like somebody was piling up heavy rocks in my chest. At first I thought it would be fine since the front looked pristine still. Alas, the back completely garbled, chassis crooked and petrol tank cracked. To quote Jamal, mister tow guy, “better say goodbye now since you probably won’t see it again”. Bye bye little aqua Holden Barina… hadn’t even named you yet. And for 90% perfect still, such a tease.

Overall, I was much impressed by everybody’s friendliness. Nathan (my boss) came over immediately just to be there for me – despite being snowed under. And it made a big difference, I’m still learning I do not have to figure out everything on my own (you would think that’s common sense right ;-). Jamal the tow guy looked after me as well. And of course the unidentified nearby occupant. I’ll have to figure out a way to thank all those people, Amelie-style. Ah, and of course, the cop, whose catchphrase was “Happy Days” or something.. “Can you sign here please? Happy Days!”.

Anyway, I’m fine. Especially considering it could have been a lot worse. I was a bit scared yesterday as my left arm was still tingly/numb and my neck was completely blocked. The dreaded ‘whiplash’ syndrome. However, feeling a lot better today and I’m confident a couple of more physio sessions will completely resolve it. Luckily there’s plenty of work at the office, so distractions galore 😉 No trouble sleeping either. Still a bit jumpy in the car, for example yesterday, when my colleague’s car suddenly stopped in the middle of the city. I don’t know who was startled more: him or me, lots of high shrieks and laughing that’s for sure ;-). I actually find myself enjoying the commute heaps more, arriving at the office with belly ache of laughing, though I’m not sure he’s all that happy with having his quiet moments disturbed by that crazy belgian girl haha!