Have you ever had something so painful happen to you that you just try to block it out of your memory? My guess would be yes. Now when I say painful I don't just mean physically, but also emotionally. Now let me ask you this. Have you ever been to a party, drank, and then drove home? Did you happen to stop and think who you could harm by doing so?
Three years ago I was having the time of my life watching Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley put on an amazing concert. It was full of laughs, screams of joy and singing at the top of my lungs. Little did I know what was to come. Getting out of this concert venue is always a struggle. My cousin drove this time so when we finally got out, we were jamming to Dustin Lynch. As we are stopped in traffic with our exit sign in view, a vehicle comes up from behind with no intention of stopping. My cousin hardly had time to warn us before they hit our car.
I can still hear the noise it made as the cars collided into each other. As soon as I processed what had happened (and possibly regained consciousness), I threw open the door and got out of the car. Seeing the small car we had just been in obliterated was so surreal. In fact, the whole night was surreal. Seeing my other cousin unconscious in the back seat was terrifying. We had been slammed into from behind while we were at a complete stop.
When the man from the car who hit us got out of his car, he walked over and was very obviously drunk. His wife, still in the driver's seat, was too intoxicated to even get out of the car. Being 17 years old and standing there watching helplessly is something I'll never forget. It all moved in slow motion.
Luckily my parents were close by and got there soon after it happened. My mom and dad still say how calm I was. I guess I was just in shock. I had told them we were rear ended, when in fact, the car was completely totaled and they had to cut the top of the car off to get my cousin out of the backseat.
I thank God everyday that my cousin who was driving saw the car coming and turned the wheel. Its hard to think about what could have happened. I don't think any of us would have survived. We definitely had guardian angels watching over us that day. Later we found out the driver blew a .16 on a breathalyzer. This is twice the legal limit.
Luckily we came out with minor injuries, but because of one selfish person's acts, we still feel the pain it caused three years later. My neck hurts every single day. Any task that involves looking down, even for a short period, causes me pain. I still clinch at the sight of headlights behind me. As for our emotions, we all have a hard time thinking about it. It is something that none of us will ever forget. An article could never explain everything that happened to us that night. Or how we feel. Or do it any justice. One person's poor judgement nearly took three lives. And it forever changed our lives and our family's.
Hopefully this will make you stop and think before you get into the driver's seat if you've been drinking. Call a cab. Call a friend. Call your parents. Just please, don't drink and drive.
