Early Saturday morning (around 3:15AM) I was driving down CA Highway 101 on my way to Monterey to go diving for the weekend. Just north of San Jose, I was involved in a major multi-car accident.
Two cars had hit each other and had stopped in their respective lanes (the left lane ( the one I was in) and the lane just to the right of me). They had neglected to put their emergency lights on or pull off the road. It was raining, dark and the roads were slick. Since they didn't have any lights on, I didn't see them until my own headlights reflected back to me off their cars. By then it was too late.
I along with two other cars, hit the stopped cars. I was too close to swerve to the right two lanes to avoid the accident and swerving to the left would have caused me to hit the people who were out of their cars from the accident before hand and were on the shoulder. I saw there was a gap between the two stopped cars and although I knew it wasn't big enough to make it through, it was my best bet. I braced myself in the split second all this happened in, hit my brakes and hoped for the best. I was going 64 mph.
My car hit the stopped cars and continued traveling about 50 feet, when it finally stopped. Seeing that I had no visible wounds, I got out and provided the person who had been injured by the earlier accident emergency medical care until EMT's arrived. It was then I realized my knees really hurt. I went to the hospital and had my knees x-rayed as they were jammed into the dashboard by the impact.
I suffered no acute injuries, but likely have ligament and cartilage damage. My car was completely totaled. I am now at home, resting with knee immobilizers and crutches. Walking is painful, but tolerable. The whole experience was pretty scary. The good news is that I'm going to be OK.
The Lesson Learned:
The Highway Patrol told me that if I had not been wearing my seat belt, I would have been the fatality in the accident. Because I was wearing my seat belt and my air bags deployed. I was able to walk (well sort of) away.
During this holiday season we all have lots of things to do, places to be and busy schedules. I implore you to be safe, drive carefully and buckle up not just now, but always. Wear your seat belt every time you get in a car! It saved my life.
Two cars had hit each other and had stopped in their respective lanes (the left lane ( the one I was in) and the lane just to the right of me). They had neglected to put their emergency lights on or pull off the road. It was raining, dark and the roads were slick. Since they didn't have any lights on, I didn't see them until my own headlights reflected back to me off their cars. By then it was too late.
I along with two other cars, hit the stopped cars. I was too close to swerve to the right two lanes to avoid the accident and swerving to the left would have caused me to hit the people who were out of their cars from the accident before hand and were on the shoulder. I saw there was a gap between the two stopped cars and although I knew it wasn't big enough to make it through, it was my best bet. I braced myself in the split second all this happened in, hit my brakes and hoped for the best. I was going 64 mph.
My car hit the stopped cars and continued traveling about 50 feet, when it finally stopped. Seeing that I had no visible wounds, I got out and provided the person who had been injured by the earlier accident emergency medical care until EMT's arrived. It was then I realized my knees really hurt. I went to the hospital and had my knees x-rayed as they were jammed into the dashboard by the impact.
I suffered no acute injuries, but likely have ligament and cartilage damage. My car was completely totaled. I am now at home, resting with knee immobilizers and crutches. Walking is painful, but tolerable. The whole experience was pretty scary. The good news is that I'm going to be OK.
The Lesson Learned:
The Highway Patrol told me that if I had not been wearing my seat belt, I would have been the fatality in the accident. Because I was wearing my seat belt and my air bags deployed. I was able to walk (well sort of) away.
During this holiday season we all have lots of things to do, places to be and busy schedules. I implore you to be safe, drive carefully and buckle up not just now, but always. Wear your seat belt every time you get in a car! It saved my life.
