We live on a gravel road way off in the country. While the solitude is wonderful, the only problem with living off of gravel roads is that they are not at all forgiving of you have to make an abrupt movement. My wife crested the hill about a quarter mile from our house, and to her dismay saw someone hauling some serious booty up the middle of the road straight at her. She swerved to the right, and immediately fishtailed off the road. She then turned back to the left, ended up hitting an embankment on the other side, which then sling-shotted her back, while at the same time the minivan ended up on the driver’s side.
There are several amazing things that happened, which is why I believe she has some really good guardian angels. First, it happened within a quarter-mile of the house, so when she called me (I was an hour away at work), I called my daughter and had her walk down the road to render assistance to her mother. Second, my wife, who is fifteen weeks pregnant, suffered only a bruise to her back, and actually managed to climb out the passenger side window. What is even more amazing is that until recently, she had gotten out of the habit of wearing a seatbelt, but the minivan is so relentlessly obnoxious about it, that she is back in the habit, and that probably saved her life. Third, other than a broken mirror and a tire that had come off the rim, the minivan was driveable. The damage, given what happened, was surprisingly light. (Some dents on the driver side, some minor electrical issues resulting from the destruction of the electrical connections in the mirror, but other than that, not much….) Given the fact that most of the accidents of this type that I have investigated have resulted in fatalities, my wife is truly blessed….
