Wednesday September 7, 2022 started out as any day would. Little did I know that this day would change my outlook on life FOREVER.

It was picture day so I was dressed as nice as I could. I went to school as one does, went home, did my homework, and relaxed. Then I got a call from my grandfather who asked if I could stop at Walmart to pick him up a few things. I happily obliged and made my way to my car. The trip to Walmart was rather uneventful, which was honestly quite upsetting. Right before I left I got a text from my mom saying to take the back road to avoid heavy traffic. I then went through the checkout and happily made my way back to my car.

While I was driving I remembered that I was told to take the back road so I drove into the left turning lane while turning onto North Center Street. While I was turning I noticed a dark sedan coming towards me. The last thing I saw was the sky spinning and everything went dark.

I remember smelling smoke and burning tires. As my eyes opened, I noticed both airbags in the front were deployed. I was extremely scared as I was able to exit the vehicle. I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt streams of waterfalls making their way down my face. I looked around to see some cars had stopped and people were making their way towards me. Luckily, a nice lady that I work with was right across the street and had witnessed the accident. She rushed over to my side to make sure I was alright. As I looked at the scene before me, I saw my brand new car in one of the worst conditions ever. The whole passenger side was completely totaled and there were pieces of the front bumper all over. I began crying more thinking that I was in trouble and that my life was over.

A couple minutes later I was in a new location. I called my mom, but she didn’t answer so I called again. After a while she finally answered.

“Did you get in an accident?” she asked.

She didn’t seem worried, which confused me. I started crying again trying to explain to her what had happened. She then told me that she was on her way. After what seemed like forever, the ambulance showed up to come check on the horrific event that had just occurred. I sat there sobbing while the paramedics were making sure I was okay. I then heard my mom yell my name and run up to me. I had never seen her cry so hard and it scared me. I began apologizing profusely because I felt so terrible. I had only had that car for about two weeks and it was gone.

I ended up going to the hospital to get some scans done. I had burn marks on my face due to the airbags and a huge bruise on my knee. It was heartbreaking to see all of my family members crying over my recklessness. I am truly grateful to have had such amazing people to help me relax and feel better. I can say that this was probably one of the scariest things that could have happened to me.

This event happened over a year ago, and I now have a new car. I am a very cautious driver because I would never want to experience an accident like that ever again. My old car ended up getting totaled, which made a huge impact on how I view driving in general. To this day I still get nervous driving at that intersection because I always imagine the terrible tragedy that happened on September 7, 2022.