Bizarre End to 2004 (I almost get killed)
Monday, 27 December, started as a fairly normal workday. We had just returned from a long Christmas weekend, traveling over 400 miles each way to spend time with family over the holidays.
I awoke, showered, had breakfast and got into my 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII for the 40 mile trip to my new job I had started two weeks before. I was pleased the showers predicted for the day had subsided somewhat, and marveled at the emptiness of the freeway as I entered by the mall on Blossom Hill Road. One mile down, at Almaden Boulevard, I noticed someone coming up the ramp, so I moved over to the center lane as I approached the 65-mile speed limit. Imagine my amazement as moments later I saw the car approaching, not at a merging angle up the ramp, but at 90 degrees to the traffic flow, directly into the lanes. I had a helpless feeling as the next few seconds unfolded, the car hit me directly on the passenger-side door, my car started spinning sideways and I tried to think of what to do. I had no time to avoid the collision, I just was praying there was no one approaching who might hit me. I managed to stay on the brakes as my car completed its spin which included striking the concrete barrier in the center and left me facing forwards up against the center divider on the overpass to Almaden Expressway. The other driver had stopped in the left shoulder lane, about 10 car-lengths back. I looked around and realized the entire right-side of the car was smashed in, shards of glass from the side windows covered every surface of the interior including my seat, and I was bleeding from several cuts on the back of my hand. I also was in a daze from the shock of it all, and this was to continue for the remainder of the week. Moving my head from side-to-side was becoming painful, but I managed to get out of the vehicle and commenced the process of dealing with the details of the collision. As I mentioned to the California Highway Patrol officer who showed up about 5 minutes later, we had just completed paying off the loan on the car which we had bought only three years earlier. What an irony that now we probably had to start payments over again! Here's a link to a page showing the car when I got it in 2001 and how it looked after the collision.
I awoke, showered, had breakfast and got into my 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII for the 40 mile trip to my new job I had started two weeks before. I was pleased the showers predicted for the day had subsided somewhat, and marveled at the emptiness of the freeway as I entered by the mall on Blossom Hill Road. One mile down, at Almaden Boulevard, I noticed someone coming up the ramp, so I moved over to the center lane as I approached the 65-mile speed limit. Imagine my amazement as moments later I saw the car approaching, not at a merging angle up the ramp, but at 90 degrees to the traffic flow, directly into the lanes. I had a helpless feeling as the next few seconds unfolded, the car hit me directly on the passenger-side door, my car started spinning sideways and I tried to think of what to do. I had no time to avoid the collision, I just was praying there was no one approaching who might hit me. I managed to stay on the brakes as my car completed its spin which included striking the concrete barrier in the center and left me facing forwards up against the center divider on the overpass to Almaden Expressway. The other driver had stopped in the left shoulder lane, about 10 car-lengths back. I looked around and realized the entire right-side of the car was smashed in, shards of glass from the side windows covered every surface of the interior including my seat, and I was bleeding from several cuts on the back of my hand. I also was in a daze from the shock of it all, and this was to continue for the remainder of the week. Moving my head from side-to-side was becoming painful, but I managed to get out of the vehicle and commenced the process of dealing with the details of the collision. As I mentioned to the California Highway Patrol officer who showed up about 5 minutes later, we had just completed paying off the loan on the car which we had bought only three years earlier. What an irony that now we probably had to start payments over again! Here's a link to a page showing the car when I got it in 2001 and how it looked after the collision.
posted by Mark Jaffe at
11:43 AM
|
0 comments
