A week after graduation— May 15, 2015. I can remember this day better than my actual graduation day.
Like the other seniors, I had already finished school. While all the underclassmen were still in their classes, I had had the entire week off since graduation. May 15 was meant to be an exhilarating day for my friend Alexis and me. The Grow Wild Tour was coming to St. Louis at the Ready Room and our parents had finally given us the okay to go after weeks of begging. Bands like IM5, The Weekend Riot, and The House on Cliff, as well as solo artists like Bailey McConnell and Sam Pottorff were all sets to be a part of this tour. This would be my first lengthy drive since getting my license and my first concert without a parent. I was so stoked to be able to go to The Grow Wild Tour and I was even able to snag two free VIP tickets from one of the bands on the tour.
We started our day in the early afternoon. With food in our stomachs and some stashed for the ride, Alexis, my navigator and I were ready to go. It was approximately noon when we left Springfield for our three-hour adventure to St. Louis. The ride was smooth for the first hour or so with the sweet jams of Disney tunes. However, the weather decided to go awry and it started to downpour.
While it was on and off raining, we stopped in Rolla to stretch our legs: and buy some more snacks. Alexis and I thought to each buy a gift for one of the bands, The Weekend Riot, while we were there, so we both purchased two colored bracelets with little animal-shaped beads. They were the kind of bracelets that come in different colors and each color represents something. I chose Bold for one musician on the tour, since he’s a goofy kid, who I definitely see as bold, while the specific bracelet I picked for myself was Hope.
Our little rest stop and stretches completed, we hopped back into the car and continued on our way to St. Louis. The downpour started up again, but stopped once we ended our second hour. My navigator/DJ, Alexis, had changed the tunes to Broadway musical numbers in the third hour. We were a little behind schedule with the rain, so we had an extra hour added onto our original three-hour adventure. Soon enough, we were more than halfway and near Sullivan, MO.
We were on a slick curve on Highway 44 East of Rolla. Originally in the left lane, we hydroplaned into the right lane and started to spin. I tried to turn us and keep us on the road, but we spun out in a 180. In this moment, I had imagined all the videos I had watched in Driver’s Ed— all the accident videos where they promote seatbelt wearing with the deaths or severe injuries of those who don’t wear them. We were safe about this adventure and both were wearing ours. A few seconds after the spinout, we hit the 214.8 mile marker (on my side), and flipped three times down an embankment. My biggest fear in this moment of chaos was not the thought of my possible death, but I thought about Alexis being the only one of us dying like the Driver’s Ed videos and being the one responsible for her death. As we tumbled down, it was nothing but screams, especially mine as Alexis’ name was all I could say.
THUD.
The car had stopped rolling and when I opened my eyes we had landed on our wheels on the side road, a part of Old Route 66.
Everything was so surreal at that point. The windows were all shattered, the roof was dented in, and everything was basically broken. The car engine was still running, and I was in shock that we were both alive as we stared at one another rambling and freaking out. As we looked for our phones to call 911 and make the calls to our parents, we could hear the faint sounds of a song playing. “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye. I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye— Goodbye!” While this song had been one we listened to constantly our entire fall semester (our theatre production as the Sound of Music) this song played out during the entire accident.
This left us with some bruises and a few cuts from the glass, but considering what my car had looked like, Alexis and I were lucky to have no major injuries. It was the phone call to my mother was heart-wrenchingly painful as I was a nervous wreck, in shock. As she picked up, she expected a call from me saying we got a flat tire or such. My voice was shaking as I tried to piece the words to describe to her what had just happened. Her response sounded worried and scared as she told me she would be there soon.
The hour and half or so we spent in the hospital felt like forever as we waited for my parents. Alexis and I just lounged in the rooms while the hospital staff told us that we would be sore for the next couple days. Because I sit close to the steering wheel and pedals, they explained to me that where the seat belt laid on my shoulder would be the sorest.
They eventually dismissed us from our rooms, allowing us to sit in the lobby as we waited for our parents’ arrival. Alexis and I recollected our thoughts about the accident and how we could totally still make it to the concert since it was only 4 o’clock or so and the venue doors opened at five. However, when our parents turned up, they wanted to take each of us back home. My mom wanted to return to where it all had happened to see it for herself and search for any missing items that fell out of the car on the way down. She was in shock as I showed her and just hugged me while we were there. So emotionally distraught from all this, my stepdad was the one to drive us back home.
The two and half hour ride back to Springfield lead to a lot of reflection and questions. Why hadn’t we been more hurt? Why did it have to rain today? Why is hydroplaning even a thing? Were we never supposed to attend this concert? Why? I just wanted answers to know why the day played out as it had, but I never found any answers nor will I ever.
This was just the beginning of my three-hour adventures on the road. However, this once in a lifetime experience has taught me that not only should you always wear your seat belt, but to be extra cautious when driving in bad weather conditions. Now, I am quite wary when driving in any weather condition. Rain is still my least favorite of any type of hazardous driving situation as I’m still a nervous wreck in it, but it’s a work in progress. Thankfully, driving has become easier and not as terrifying with time, especially with the accompaniment of the bracelets. They remind me of the accident, but like the pink one’s color meaning, they give me hope— Hope of a better, safer future on the road.
So please, always wear your seat belts and drive carefully, especially in bad weather conditions.
