Accident

The kids and I were involved in a car accident in Wednesday afternoon. We are all ok and my car is still drivable so we are feeling very lucky and grateful for our safety. We got home from DC on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning I got a phone call from the aide in Cate's class letting me know that Cate's name had been drawn as the winner of a lunchbox. A local health food store had a coloring contest for all the local schools and cate was the big winner!! After school we headed over there to pick up the lunchbox and a few other things that I was excited to find for the first time in Charleston. On the way home we hit a red light. We were on Mackorkle Ave. driving east (from south charleston to kanawha city where we live) where it intersects with 119, aka corridor G. I was second or third in line and slowly started back up when the light turned green. As we were just about through the intersection I heard the  truck hit us. If you've ever been in a car accident or heard one you know the sound. It is so loud! I don't remember really anything else until I was pulled over on the side of the road and out of my car trying to get the cars behind me to stop and be witnesses. I couldn't believe no one would stop! I also watched the truck that had run a very red light and hit us as it went across four lanes of traffic and a grass median. It hit the guardrail next to the river then crossed the entire highway and hit a sign before zooming down the median and finally stopping about a quarter of a mile down the road. I saw a bumper fly off and other pieces of the truck. It was like I was watching a Movie! Very surreal. I texted Lewis and then called 911. When Lewis didn't text back I called and he answered. He was able to leave work (luckily we weren't far from him, unluckily he was on call and spent the whole time he was with us on the phone answering stinkin calls). Firemen showed up and then a police officer. I never saw the woman who hit us. There was a man on a bike who saw the whole thing who rode up to check on the other woman. He asked her if she was ok or if she blacked out or something and she said she just leaned down to roll her window down. He said she seemed off. He then rode back over to us to see if we were ok and said he would ride back and get a photo with his phone of the truck's license plate in case she drove off. I guess a man in green scrubs had pulled over to see if she needed help and had ended up keeping her from driving off a couple of times. The police officer took my information and my story and then a e drove to a safer place. I waited for the officer for a few minutes while he went to talk to the woman in the truck. I forgot to mention that there were a fire truck, ambulance, and several police cars around her car but I had no idea what was going on over there until the very end. When our nice officer returned he told us that she had been arrested for DUI and that she couldn't even hold up her head she was so wasted. This was her third offense and she was driving illegally with a suspended license. At this point my shaking and crying hit a new level. I felt a mixture of gratitude, anger, relief, and shock. It was crazy and I was so grateful for our safety. We hurried home and Lewis made us a delicious meal of frozen meal noodle bowls and edemame. Then he went back to the hospital to see the four consults he got while with us at the accident scene, I took brooks to get a ride to scouts and we headed off to activity days where we made gratitude jars to fill in the month of November. And I did feel grateful. So very grateful. For my family and my children for our safety and for guardian angels watching over us. We have to wait for the police report and then we will know her name and know if she or the car were insured. I took the car to a body shop and the nice guy there told me the car was totally safe to drive. He hammered the bumper back in place and told me to go buy some red tape at advance auto parts to cover the lights and keep them from the elements and breaking. I am having some back pain but since I don't have an established primary care doctor yet, no one would see me. So, I went to the ER at the women's and children's hospital where I knew a Dr who was working and I was hoping Lewis would come to say hi. They did X-rays which showed nothing and gave me some prescriptions for pain and muscle relaxants. Now we just wait and see.  Does she have insurance? Will my pain get worse? Will the kids have any lasting effects? Will we always feel a little nervous every time we get in the car? But mostly we are feeling lucky and blessed and grateful.