I woke early that evening, early for me that is. I was working the graveyard shift, midnight 'till 8am. It was the sound of snowplows rumbling along the street outside my window that woke me. I've lived on this mountain for 3 years now and, in the winter, my sleeping mind hears the plows better than the alarm clock. That sound, metal scraping asphalt, means i have a long drive ahead of me on roads slick with ice. I rolled over, muttering curses at the storm, and checked the clock. 10pm. On most nights I would've still had an hour to sleep but in this weather the 20 minute drive could take more than an hour. I climbed out of bed then and dressed for work, grabbed a bagel from the kitchen and hustled my dog outside to do his business. The roads looked worse than usual, but i had driven in worse and actually enjoyed the challenge. I had just put new tires on my car, studded snow tires for the front and all weather on the back, and was anxious to try them out.
I trudged to my car, a '94 Ford Escort, and was suprised to see 6 inches of snow on the roof. Running through my usual "bad weather checklist", I checked the washer fluid level, tire pressure, windshield wipers, and my seatbelt while waiting for my car to warm up and defrost. There was plenty of time and I wasn't worried or rushed. I put on a tape of my twin's band, made sure everything was secure and within reach, and smiled as the snow tires grabbed and pulled me on my way.
The going was slow but steady with ice patches in the usual places. A sharp wind hits the western side of the 2 mountains I have to cross to get to work, turning the incessant slush to a slick, frozen accident-waiting-to-happen. At the top of each slope I would downshift and let gravity pull me down as I used the manual transmission to keep my speed down. I had no problems with the first slope. The second mountain is commonly refered to as "skytop" and seems to be in constant construction. At the bottom of Skytop is a smaller hill called "Matternville Hill". I crested this hill at almost 40mph as the roads were better maintained this close to town. Again I allowed my gears to control my speed while I "felt out" the road surface. Ice. I remember a white SUV sitting in the ditch along the road, the driver opening the door to look out. After checking my mirrors to make sure there were no cars right behind me I downshifted into 3rd gear, turned on my 4way flashers, and countersteered against the slide until I was traveling at a comfortable speed.....approximately 20mph.
I had seen nothing behind me in my rearview mirror and was turning my head to check my sideview mirror when I was simultaneously thrust forward and struck in the head. I later learned that it was a speaker from the dack dash that hit me. My head was turned to the left for just a second but what i saw there changed my life. I was about to die. Where my trunk should've been was the last 3 feet of an immense red, black, and chrome bus. My trunk now resided in the backseat and the bus' tires were right outside my driver's side backdoor. All of my windows were shattered, flying through the car like crystaline daggers. The following second lasted an eternity as I saw my life played out before me. Yes, it really is true. Your life does flash before your eyes the second before you die. I saw my life and was satisfied that I had lived it as best I could. I sent out a mental goodbye to my twin.
My body was flung forward and to the left, the seatbelt stopping me inches from the windshield. I swung around in an arc then, controlled by the seatbelt, just barely brushing the steering wheel. My body was sideways when I was slammed back into the seat the second my car logded into the bank. I was alive.....and i was furious. I was in shock and all I could think of was the $700 I had just spent to have my car winterized and some repairs done. My body screamed as I reached up to turn my car off. I could not turn my head to the left at all, my head felt as if it were on fire, and my back seemed full of broken glass. All I could do was sob and scream as the snow fell on my face through the broken windows. They had to use the "jaws of life" to cut me out of the car. There was an EMT next to me in the rear passenger seat, holding my hand and trying to calm me as I was swept away by the mother of all panic attacks. He had handed me the prism suspended in a crescent moon, a gift from my mom, that had been hanging on the rearview mirror when I asked for it and I clutched it to my chest as if it were life itself. They eventually removed the rear driverside door and pulled me from the car and onto a backboard. They leaned me against the side of the car for support as they searched for safe footing and I was given my first glimpse of the twisted bulk that remained. |
