STUFF HAPPENS
I’m often warned to be careful. Whether the warning pertains to my driving, walking or cooking I try to pay attention. I didn’t receive a warning on Friday. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t been warned of a problem in a few days. Friday was a beautiful day. We had just returned from spending 10 days at the camper and as usual I was behind, out and about running errands. It was a beautiful day. Just a trifle hot.
Turning into the Aldi’s parking lot — my car and a bike collided. I put on the brakes as soon as I heard the scream. A young woman was laying on the ground, her bike knocked over. Where did she come from? I HAD NOT seen her. Evidently she was riding in a NEW bike lane, on a NEW bike in the blind spot of my mirror. I DID NOT SEE HER! She was upset, I was upset. The beautiful day had vanished in a heartbeat.
Two fire engines arrived, then an ambulance, then a police sergeant. Luckily proof of insurance was in the glove box of our car. A man had seen the accident from across the street. He told us that we collided at the same time. I know I had my turning directional on, and I had slowed down to make the right turn. I DID NOT KNOW that there was a bike lane. There was no one crossing the side walk, another car wasn’t leaving the driveway. Luckily, just her leg was scrapped but she was concerned that it was broken. Therefore the ambulance took her to the hospital. The sergeant told me to follow him to the hospital, asking if I had a lawyer. “Do I need one?” I asked. “Talk to your friends”, he told me. He had my drivers license and my insurance card, I had no choice but to follow him to the hospital.
I learned that he wasn’t able to write out an accident report. They were in the process of changing shifts when the accident happened and he was the only one available. I was unfamiliar with the hospital — parked my car on the third level of the parking garage and went in search of the emergency room. I think I was only at the hospital for a short time. The accident report showed the point of collision behind the REAR tire of the passenger side. The point of impact added to my belief that I hadn’t seen her.
Leaving the hospital, I COULDN’T FIND MY CAR! I walked up and down the levels of the garage many times. I didn’t want to call my husband to help me look for my car. His key ring had a car finder, mine didn’t. Luckily I finally found the car and continued my errands.
Arriving home, I called a friend and asked her if she knew of a lawyer in case I needed one. I shared the distressing news with the rest of my family. I tried to calm down.
Although I DID NOT SEE HER, I was involved in the accident. I could not relax! She phoned on Sunday with good news. NO BROKEN BONES, just bruised tissue. THANK YOU LORD! If it had to happen, at least she wasn’t severely injured. I’m wondering — Since I received NO WARNINGS — did this have to happen? Then the big question –WHY?
Wandering With Spirit 