On February 28th, 2022 two men, and two girls, were involved in a traffic collision (we don't say accident because that implies no one was at fault). The main cause was a slow moving school bus (technically, an RV), or was it? What follows is the story of one of those men.
For anyone who follows me on social media should know, I was in a car accident last week. For those who don't follow me on social media... Now you know.There is more to the story than just that I was in a car accident. There is a lot more to the story. And there are pictures!
This trip was to take place on Sunday, February 27th. I was skipping church to help my sister.
My sister recently purchased some land, and it is her hope to basically just park the RV bus on her land and live in it, or to use it for various things and have a camper also to live in. I'm not entirely clear on all of the details. But I do know that the RV bus was purchased for use on land that my sister purchased.
I was able to snap some beautiful pictures on the way to Cebolla, not all of which I will share, because there are a lot of pictures. But, every day I am taken away by the beauty of this state in a similar fashion to when I lived in Alaska. Both New Mexico and Alaska are very beautiful states, but both are also very different states.
The first indication that this was going to be quite the adventure is when my sister texted to let me know that she was running late. The second indication is when we arrived at the location and the seller wasn't even there. The third indication is that the bus wouldn't start.
I had been assured that they had previously had the bus running before coming out to pick it up, but that day, it did not want to start. It took quite a few hours to get the bus running, during which time we painted certain spots white so the RV wouldn't be identified as a school bus.
The inside of the bus had been stripped pretty bare, save for some curtains and the kitchen sink. The previous owner also threw in a few extra tires as well.
We didn't start our trip back until well after the time I was supposed to be home. Another indication that this was going to be an adventure.
Also, the RV bus could barely go above 45mph (or a little over 72kmh for any who don't use freedom units). And, the bus kept breaking down - probably due to loose batter post connectors, but I'm not a mechanic, so I couldn't rightly say.
I was able to get some nice pictures when we stopped to try to get the bus started again.
When we stopped at a gas station to get a bite to eat, the bus wouldn't start. And then it did.
Then when we stopped at another gas station some time later to get more gas, the bus wouldn't start, and the caretaker/mechanic ran into town to try to get a few things to hopefully keep the RV running until we got it back to where it would be staying.
Unfortunately, by this time, it was already pretty late, so I decided to take the van and my nieces back to my house so we could get some sleep, with the plan to drive them to their place on the morrow. This plan didn't last very long as the girls had already gone to bed when I found out that the RV had broken down yet again, this time just outside of Santa Fe.
My sister had it towed to the parish parking lot, and then she and the caretaker crashed at my place that night, with a new plan to attempt to drive the RV to their place the next day.
Well, the next day came. We got ready to leave. I inquired of my sister what the planned route was - if we would crazily attempt the interstate with two slow moving vehicles (the RV, and the van trailing behind with hazard lights flashing), or if we would do the much saner option of taking a back road or a frontage road.
I was informed that the caretaker who was driving the RV didn't like taking the back roads, and preferred to drive on the interstate, so that is what we would be taking. I was not happy about this choice, but I thought it would be safer to trail behind the RV with my hazards going instead of just moving on with my nieces to their home.
We went to the parish to get the bus started, which it did after we changed out the battery post connectors and charged the battery for a few minutes. And then we were on the way to go get gas. And then the bus didn't want to start again, so we had to jump it.
And then, we were on our way. What should have been about an hour drive was looking like it was going to be closer to 2 hours, maybe 2.5.
I was trying to make sure that I followed the RV at a safe distance, and kept my hazards on. It was very slow going, but once we were moving along the highway it didn't seem like we were going to have any issues.
And then... I noticed a car coming up on us from behind. The driver did not appear to be slowing down, or turning his turn signal on to switch lanes to pass us. This was odd, because traffic was amazingly clear on this Monday afternoon, and by that I mean there were no vehicles that I could see in the left lane in front of us or behind us.
This had happened a few times already, a car would approach from the rear, and then as they came up on us, they would smoothly get over and pass us. No honking horns, no hard breaking, no sour looks or rude finger gestures. Just people driving down a clear highway.
But this driver didn't go to the left to pass. Instead he slammed on his breaks, and tried to go right. Except he couldn't go right because there was a guardrail in the way.
He ended up slamming the front left end of his car into the back right end of the van. There really wasn't much that I could do at the moment to avoid being hit since until he slammed on his breaks he had seemed like a lot of other cars before him who had just moved left and gone around us.
When we were hit, the van was pushed into the left lane (I thank God that traffic was amazingly clear), and I was able to maintain control of the van and pull us safely off to the left shoulder.
Being hit, thankfully wasn't that bad. I remember hearing the two vehicles colliding and the sound of a window breaking. My nieces were crying out in fear and confusion, but both seemed to be OK, with no visible injuries.
I took a moment to make sure that I was also OK, before I left to go check on the other driver. The caretaker was already heading towards the van to make sure that the girls were OK, and my sister was already also moving to the other vehicle. I handed him my phone so he could call 911, and then moved on.
I was able to get to the other vehicle before any other vehicles on the highway were passing the scene. I say this just to give an idea of how truly empty the interstate was.
The other driver - I never did get his name - seemed to be much worse off. His left front end was crushed, his airbags had deployed, and he was bleeding from his nose and face. He was also pretty dazed for a few minutes - he had that thousand yard stare. I believe he stated that he was fiddling with his heat/temperature control and didn't notice that we were going so slow until the last moment.
The police arrived and took statements, they also called for ambulances.
My nieces still seemed rather shook up by events, probably in shock, but no visible injuries. When the adrenaline started to wear off the pain started to set in. It was pretty obvious that we had whiplash, and the girls had some other injuries probably related to wearing their seatbelts.
For me, it just seemed like my neck and shoulder area were in pain. The only thing that was good for was taking my mind off of my constant back pain.
When things had calmed down a bit, and I was directed to sit in the RV for the paramedics to look me over, I started sending out texts and emails to let concerned parties be concerned. Thankfully, my brother had decided to take an early day at work so he could drive out and retrieve me from my sister's place instead of me having to wait a few hours until he got off of work and then drove out there. He wasn't too far behind us when I made contact with him.
The paramedics recommended that we go to the ER to be checked out and potentially get x-rays to be on the safe side. We agreed with that sentiment. The other driver declined going to the hospital.
A tow truck came and took the van away. I was a little upset because I had brought a friend's laptop to work on while at my sister's place, and I was unable to go retrieve the laptop and my bag (which also had my phone charger in it) before the tow truck arrived. I had also misplaced my hat, my shemagh, and my cane in the confusion - those were all in the van.
My nieces and I loaded up in one of the ambulances and we were off to the ER back in Santa Fe. My sister and the caretaker were able to get the RV off the interstate and onto a frontage road, and get the RV to her place, with my brother trailing behind in his car.
When we got to the ER, since we were all standing and walking, they decided we could wait a while before we were triaged since they were apparently very full.
We were triaged, which was pretty much just having our necks poked and prodded and being asked if we hurt anywhere else. And then we were ushered back out to the waiting room, where we sat for some time before there was a room available for the girls. And since I was the de facto guardian, I was able to go back with them until their mother arrived. And even when she arrived, they still almost didn't let her back as they assumed I was their father (even though we stated multiple times that I was there uncle) - but we got that figured out, and then I was also given my own private area to relax in.
What is funny is that my brother came by with my tablet and a book for me, and he was let right on back with no issues. Apparently they decided that I needed adult supervision to sit in a very comfortable chair. The chair was very comfortable.
The doctor, who I only saw for a few minutes, decided that x-rays weren't needed after he poked and prodded my neck and shoulder area. I was fine with that, hopefully it meant a less expensive medical bill, which should be covered by my sister's insurance.
The hospital staff were very cordial, and really did seem to care about us, so there is that.
I was released, and then out the door with my brother. And then we made our way back home.
I was contacted the next day by the medical person from my sister's insurance company, and I was assured that my medical coverage up to a certain amount was insured. She too, seemed to genuinely care.
Then the next day, I was contacted by another person from the insurance company to basically get my statement. She also seemed to care.
My sister had a bit of a snafu in trying to locate her van, as the police had not given her a report number, nor did they give her the courtesy of letting her know where the van would be towed to. After a bit of phone tag, she was able to get that information, and then shortly she was able to retrieve what she needed from the van, as well as my items.
Notice the lack of a shemagh
Then, Saturday, I was able to get out to her place to get my things, and returned safely home again. Thankfully, there were no other issues getting to her place and back.
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| Shemagh retrieved |
Also, I was able to quickly fix what was wrong with my friend's laptop - I was just upset that I was unable to get it fixed for her before Tuesday when she needed it. Luckily, there was another laptop available for her to use. Also, also, when I informed her that her laptop was in the wrecked vehicle she was more concerned with how my nieces and I were than with her laptop, so that helped lessen the guilt of losing her computer.
But anyway, that is what happened from my point of view. It truly was an adventure, and one that I would sooner never repeat. The first night I was trying to sleep and couldn't because scenes from the accident kept playing in my head. Not PTSD or anything, just the adrenaline from the day and something exciting that had happened. I have slept fine these last few days with no dreams of the the traffic collision.
My nieces seem to be recovering well, though with some slight pain still. I seem to be recovering fine, as well - I feel stiff and sore like I slept weird more than I feel like I was rearended.
Thank God that things were not worse for us. Thank God the other driver seemed to be OK and that his injuries weren't worse. And maybe next time I'll remember my St. Christopher medal - which I had the day before and then not so conveniently left in my jacket pocket because I opted to wear a sweater instead on that fateful Sunday.
Please pray for me, a sinner.
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