I like to browse the Internet from time to time. I enjoy randomly searching through unspecific articles that interest me in some way. I'm not entirely sure why to be completely honest. I find that the best ones to look at are the ones that seem to relate to me in some way, and that's what I did Thursday morning.
As I'm looking through the AOL news feed, because, yes, I am that kind of person, I see the title "Common behavior leaves woman with horrific injuries" with a description that just makes me wonder whether or not I do whatever it is that put her in the hospital. The news really knows how to get into people's heads. So I click on the link. I really want to know at this point. Should I expect to be placed in the hospital soon? Is this some type of health hazard that is slowly killing me and my bodily organs? I practically panic. It's not as bad as my mind wandered off to believe, but I know I won't be doing it again any time soon.
Bethany Benson was on her way driving home with her boyfriend after a visit to her mother. During this long trip, she decides she has been too cramped in such a small space for too long and puts her feet up to rest on the dashboard like I've done, and possibly everyone else, almost a thousand times. At first nothing happened, but the scary thing is that it all changed in a matter of seconds.
The tractor trailer in front of them braked too quickly for her boyfriend to break with enough time, and the car collided with the one in front. In response, the airbags released, slamming into Bethany with a force equaling that of a Formula One race car—nearly 200 mph.
While the boyfriend needs 100 stitches, Bethany's knees struck her and broke her nose, eye socket and a cheekbone. To make things worse (when I didn't think it could get any worse), her feet were broken to the point where she will need specially designed orthotics, and she suffered damage to her mental capabilities as well.
Isn't that crazy? How can something so simple and nearly innocent causes so much damage? I feel so many things about this story; I feel pity, sympathy, fear and shock. Her life is forever altered from this one little thing. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm probably never putting my feet up on the dashboard again. It really is true what people say. Life can change so quickly, in a blink of an eye.
So I challenge everyone that reads this to share this story with your friends, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, pets... Let them know the dangers of sitting in a car improperly. Keep the people you love safe.
