(Updated at the end with pictures of the car.)
I was turning left on a green arrow and someone ran the red light coming toward me. T-boned me good, and we spun about three quarters of the way around. It's not easy to make a big minivan do that. There was a truck behind me at the light who had to have seen the whole thing, and I saw him drive away after the accident. I hope he gets a flat tire.
I was bringing Isabella and Francesca home from an appointment. (Francesca has been in a medical study since she was a baby and she gives blood every once in a while.) We were about a half mile from the hospital where we had the appointment, when we got slammed.
My Toyota minivan got hit about a foot behind where Francesca was sitting, and her door got pretty well mangled. A few windows got blown out in the process. The other car (also a minivan) had an entire family in it, complete with dog. The other driver got a ticket for running the red light. Thank goodness the police had that detail covered.
I've seen a few car crashes, but this is the first one that I've ever been in. I hope it's my last. It is really amazing how fast things happen, and the violence is shocking. we were incredibly lucky that no one in either car was seriously hurt. The minivans did their jobs.
When the ambulance arrived, Francesca (age 6) and Isabella (age almost-10) were pretty freaked out. The paramedics were talking to them, and Francesca said something about her neck hurting. Of course, they take talk like that very seriously.
Isabella rode in the back of the ambulance with Francesca strapped to a board, while I rode in the front frantically calling Kimberly, having grabbed all our bags and jackets (and my pink floor pump!) from the wreck. I was very happy that the Aurora police officer suggested that I simply abandon the car to his care. We drove the half-mile back to the hospital and Kimberly met us there.Several doctors and nurses later, and after some x-rays, a little medicinal macaroni and cheese, and a splash of Kung Fu Panda on the TV, we were sent home.
The girls got to bed after 11:30 PM, and are weighing the glamour of telling all their friends and teachers at school against the chance at playing hooky. Since it's the designated Valentine's Day for Denver Public Schools, I'm guessing that they'll choose that instead of doing more dangerous driving while Kimberly and I try to sort out insurance claims and so forth.Isabella has already made it very clear that she no longer wants a Mini Cooper, no way, no how.
PS: It's now a few days past the accident. The girls seem to be managing the experience well, although both wanted to stay close to home over the long weekend. Isabella skipped a ski trip with a friend mainly because she doesn't want to be in a car if she can avoid it. Francesca held her ground on Saturday about having a day where we didn't leave the house (and both girls didn't get out of their pyjamas except to take a bath and then get right back in). They have both been great.
Kimberly and I have been running around trying to arrange our lives again. We both missed a day of work, went to the salvage yard (pix below), and got a rental car after juggling our lives and calling the insurance company multiple times. Now we have to find out the disposition of our claim, and buy a new car (unless they decide ours is fixable, which I doubt). I hope we don't lose money on this deal.
All this along with our regular full-time jobs and parental duties. At least we have cycling, which helps us stay sane even if it takes a bit more time and energy.
Update 1: We went today and cleared the last of the miscellaneous stuff out of the minivan. Here's a couple of pix.
I really don't recall it, but apparently we took a hit on the left rear of the car. You can see in one picture below where we were hit hardest (Francesca was sitting in that seat right inside the window), but I didn't recall anything on the left side. However, there's definitely a dent on the left rear, and the fold-down seats in the back of the van no longer fit in their stowed position.
Update 2: I wonder if I can get Kimmy to agree to this as a replacement van:
