[Pseodonym]

Lately my area has been caught in the crazy snow storms that have been happening, although not as bad as New York or Wisconsin, Illinois' has had some pretty rough weather lately. There have been a lot of car accidents and such, and it has all seemed pretty distant before today. Of course I felt bad for those involved and I realized that what they are going through must be really tough, but today it really hit home.

I was at a thing for my Youth Group today and the girl who was in charge of what we were doing, Amanda, has a younger brother. He is a year older than I (17), and was driving somewhere today when he got in a car accident. His car slid off the rode and into a tree which impacted the driver side door. He was found by a stranger (thank god!) who called the police. At the time he was unresponsive and pinned in the car from the waist up. That is when we heard about it. Her sister called and told her what had happened and in a little while we found out that they were trying to get him out of the car and that he had woken up. His legs were pinned, and the car crushed, but his torso was fine. We called off the activity and prayed with and for Amanda, her family, and her brother David, and before we all left we heard that they were using the Jaws of Life to try and cut him out of the car.

There is still no news as to whether or not he is okay, but I'm just hoping for the best. He is a really nice guy...although not a very good driver .

Although the point of this is for me to ramble on about how this has changed my perception a bit. After this everything seems a little closer to home. Before now major car accidents and similar events seemed far away and not something I really needed to worry about. Of course it has always been at the back of my mind, but not at the fore front like it is now. It is amazing how events can change your perception. I myself was in a small accident with my friends last year, and that changed it. This has changed it. I guess it is all part of getting older and understanding what goes on in the world. I hope to god he is okay, but no matter what the outcome I believe this will stay with me for a long while.

[Old Fan]

Don't beat yourself up over this... you need to give it time and distance. You're right about perception - and I hope the young man is going to be alright.

[Pseodonym]

He is okay luckily. It took them about an hour to get him out of the car but when they did it turned out that he was relatively unharmed. Other than some swelling in his legs, and maybe a few torn or stretched ligaments he was fine. Which is definitely a relief He was really lucky.

[Lothithil]

Accidents happen to everyone, even the most careful and skilled drivers.

I'm glad the young fellow is not seriously hurt.

[MacsChick]

This is nowhere as serious as the accident you described, but I was in a minor accident a couple of years ago in the snow. I was going down a particularly icy hill, and I was doing my best to heed all the precautions associated with winter driving--you know, slow down, use a lower gear downhill if you have an automatic (which I do), steer into the swerve if you lose control on a patch of ice and release your foot from the gas pedal, do not slam on the brakes--but nothing worked. As I reached the bottom of the hill, I realized I could not stop! My tires were spinning wildly on a patch of ice. There was a woman waiting at the bottom of the hill at a stop sign, and I just knew I was going to hit her. I had absolutely no traction. I tried to steer out of her way, but I ended up ramming her. Fortunately, neither of us were hurt. She was in a Land Rover, so of course she had no damage to her vehicle. Meanwhile, my little Toyota looked like a crushed soda can. It was frustrating, and I had to pay a deductible from my insurance, but it was a low-speed crash with no injuries. Ever since then, I've been afraid to drive in the snow.

So, I know what you mean. I didn't think of accidents much until I was involved in one. I always thought they happened to other people, not me. I hope this person you know will be all right.