I Got Punched by a Semi Truck
It was Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 at 4:22pm. The roads were clear and the traffic was light as I was making my way downtown walking fast, faces pass and I'm home bound. Just kidding. It was 4:22pm and I was on my way home from a long day at work. Driving down I-70 eastbound in the right hand lane when all of a sudden I see the flashing turn signal of the semi truck next to me in my rearview mirror. Looking down on the dashboard, I could see I was going 65mph and he was unable to see me. Before I knew it to honk my horn or anything, it was too late. Gripping onto the steering wheel, I knew I was in for a ride. The semi truck hit me in the rear end, spinning my car on the highway. I felt like I had flipped upside down and I felt a strong jolt which caused the airbags to deploy. I had realized that this was real. This happened. I had just been super punched by a semi truck and crashed into the cement median guardrail.
I started smelling smoke and I knew I had to get out of my car. I had no clue where I was, what side of the highway I was on, or how to get out of my car. I tried to get out of the drivers side door but it was lodged shut. I quickly fumbled my way through the car to emerge from the passenger side door. I was successfully able to get out. I was greeted by two men running to my car. "Ma'am, are you ok? I am calling 911." "I'm ok. I think I'm ok." The younger gentlemen called the state highway patrol while the older man came and hugged me. "I saw it all happen and I knew there wasn't anything I could do to warn you. Are you ok?"
I was shaken up and not sure what to say. At this point, I am not even sure what was happening. The semi driver came up to me. "Sweetie, where did you even come from? I didn't see you!" "Sir, I saw you in my rearview mirror. How could you not see me?" "Are you hurt? Are you ok?" "I'm ok, thank you for asking."
The trooper pulls up. "What happened? Are you the driver." Me, all shook up and can't figure out what in the heck words are...*raises hand.* The younger gentleman, "I saw the entire thing! The semi driver was going from the left hand lane to the right and he clipped the back of her car." The other man, "That is exactly what I saw." The semi truck driver, "Sir, she hit me."
At this point, I don't care that I was in an accident. That my car is destroyed. I am concerned that this big giant semi is telling the trooper that I hit him. I am in a 2003 Chrysler Sebring. I did NOT hit you. How can I hit you? We are on the highway and I am driving in the right hand lane. You really think I am going to try to break check a semi truck? Any who, I was talking to the trooper and he calls the squad for me as well as the tow truck to send Sheldon on his way. "Just a few minutes and we will have you all cleared. Do you have someone to come get you?" "I do. Well, I will. I can." I called one of my best friends, Drew. Who quickly noticed I was a frantic mess.
While I was waiting for Drew, I noticed my left knee has begun to get bigger and bigger and I was noticing more pain. The adrenaline was slowing down and everything was becoming real. The paramedic tells me, "I think it may be good for you to go to the hospital." I was feeling more pain everywhere and I decided the hospital would be best. I call Drew back to let him know to meet me there at the hospital. He then calls my mother to pick her up, calls my other best friend Victoria to have her meet me at the hospital. My car was the only family car and Drew picking up my Mom meant the world to me. He was taking care of things so I didn't have to. Him doing this little gesture for me meant the world.
As I was in the ambulance, the paramedic started asking what hurt. Well, at this point I wanted to say my heart BUT I knew I had to be serious. "My lumbar spine, superior left patella near the VMO, tip/fib on the right leg, bilateral hands, 4th MCP joint left hand, 2nd and 3rd MCP on right hand, and my forehead. Sensation seems normal, ROM decreased in left leg. Allergies: Sulfa. Med Hx: Hypothyroid." "Are you in the medical field?" "I use to be. Sometimes an old dog remembers her roots." I could not just say my left this and my right that. I freaking got hit by a semi and it sounds like I am doing a medical evaluation on myself. Like, WHO DOES THIS? I should be freaking out??? But no. I am comparing bilateral sides to decreased sensation and whatnot.
We finally get to the hospital where I am quickly joined by Drew, Victoria, and my Mom. Victoria, "At least your nails look good!" I mean, is there anything else that really matters? At the hospital, they cut off all my clothes to address the wounds and bruises. So here I am. My car just got struck by a semi, I am now in a cervical collar in the hospital with my clothes being cut off of me. Yup. This was how I wanted to end all of my Tuesdays. I was taken for CAT scans and the XRays were done and luckily, nothing was broken. Just badly bumped and bruised. The Trooper came to the hospital to give me back my ID and insurance card since I was taken away in a squad. Trooper Harris was a BLESSING arriving on the scene so quickly. He was so helpful and understanding. I told him, "I've never been in anything like this! I don't know what to do?" He called the tow truck, he called the ambulance, and he made sure I was ok. What an officer!
I am thankful for the two men who gave statements on my behalf, the one man who stopped to see if I was ok, my friends who stayed by my side, my mother who has been helping me move around in general, and the Trooper who arrived on the scene. I have been replaying this moment in my head every night before my eyes close. It has been a nightmare that just keeps reoccurring, but that is why I blog about it. So when someone asks me, they can read this and I can help myself move on from this. Everything happened so fast. I was 1/2 car length from my death. Your life can literally change in a blink of an eye. And in this case, a blinker of a semi truck in your rear view mirror.
I started smelling smoke and I knew I had to get out of my car. I had no clue where I was, what side of the highway I was on, or how to get out of my car. I tried to get out of the drivers side door but it was lodged shut. I quickly fumbled my way through the car to emerge from the passenger side door. I was successfully able to get out. I was greeted by two men running to my car. "Ma'am, are you ok? I am calling 911." "I'm ok. I think I'm ok." The younger gentlemen called the state highway patrol while the older man came and hugged me. "I saw it all happen and I knew there wasn't anything I could do to warn you. Are you ok?"
I was shaken up and not sure what to say. At this point, I am not even sure what was happening. The semi driver came up to me. "Sweetie, where did you even come from? I didn't see you!" "Sir, I saw you in my rearview mirror. How could you not see me?" "Are you hurt? Are you ok?" "I'm ok, thank you for asking."
The trooper pulls up. "What happened? Are you the driver." Me, all shook up and can't figure out what in the heck words are...*raises hand.* The younger gentleman, "I saw the entire thing! The semi driver was going from the left hand lane to the right and he clipped the back of her car." The other man, "That is exactly what I saw." The semi truck driver, "Sir, she hit me."
At this point, I don't care that I was in an accident. That my car is destroyed. I am concerned that this big giant semi is telling the trooper that I hit him. I am in a 2003 Chrysler Sebring. I did NOT hit you. How can I hit you? We are on the highway and I am driving in the right hand lane. You really think I am going to try to break check a semi truck? Any who, I was talking to the trooper and he calls the squad for me as well as the tow truck to send Sheldon on his way. "Just a few minutes and we will have you all cleared. Do you have someone to come get you?" "I do. Well, I will. I can." I called one of my best friends, Drew. Who quickly noticed I was a frantic mess.
While I was waiting for Drew, I noticed my left knee has begun to get bigger and bigger and I was noticing more pain. The adrenaline was slowing down and everything was becoming real. The paramedic tells me, "I think it may be good for you to go to the hospital." I was feeling more pain everywhere and I decided the hospital would be best. I call Drew back to let him know to meet me there at the hospital. He then calls my mother to pick her up, calls my other best friend Victoria to have her meet me at the hospital. My car was the only family car and Drew picking up my Mom meant the world to me. He was taking care of things so I didn't have to. Him doing this little gesture for me meant the world.
As I was in the ambulance, the paramedic started asking what hurt. Well, at this point I wanted to say my heart BUT I knew I had to be serious. "My lumbar spine, superior left patella near the VMO, tip/fib on the right leg, bilateral hands, 4th MCP joint left hand, 2nd and 3rd MCP on right hand, and my forehead. Sensation seems normal, ROM decreased in left leg. Allergies: Sulfa. Med Hx: Hypothyroid." "Are you in the medical field?" "I use to be. Sometimes an old dog remembers her roots." I could not just say my left this and my right that. I freaking got hit by a semi and it sounds like I am doing a medical evaluation on myself. Like, WHO DOES THIS? I should be freaking out??? But no. I am comparing bilateral sides to decreased sensation and whatnot.
We finally get to the hospital where I am quickly joined by Drew, Victoria, and my Mom. Victoria, "At least your nails look good!" I mean, is there anything else that really matters? At the hospital, they cut off all my clothes to address the wounds and bruises. So here I am. My car just got struck by a semi, I am now in a cervical collar in the hospital with my clothes being cut off of me. Yup. This was how I wanted to end all of my Tuesdays. I was taken for CAT scans and the XRays were done and luckily, nothing was broken. Just badly bumped and bruised. The Trooper came to the hospital to give me back my ID and insurance card since I was taken away in a squad. Trooper Harris was a BLESSING arriving on the scene so quickly. He was so helpful and understanding. I told him, "I've never been in anything like this! I don't know what to do?" He called the tow truck, he called the ambulance, and he made sure I was ok. What an officer!
I am thankful for the two men who gave statements on my behalf, the one man who stopped to see if I was ok, my friends who stayed by my side, my mother who has been helping me move around in general, and the Trooper who arrived on the scene. I have been replaying this moment in my head every night before my eyes close. It has been a nightmare that just keeps reoccurring, but that is why I blog about it. So when someone asks me, they can read this and I can help myself move on from this. Everything happened so fast. I was 1/2 car length from my death. Your life can literally change in a blink of an eye. And in this case, a blinker of a semi truck in your rear view mirror.
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