I was driving home from Target going east on 183rd. The light at 183rd and Alburtis (the street I live on) had recently turned green, and 4-5 cars ahead of me were just getting going. So I was slowing, and checking the on coming traffic preparing to turn left.
On the opposing side of traffic, a SUV (I beleive a Jeep Grand Cherokee) was stopped waiting to turn left. I saw another black SUV approaching behind the stopped jeep, but no other cars. The black SUV had slowed enough and didn't appear to be changing lanes, so I decided to turn.
Just as I turned and was past the Jeep I saw her. A honda civic. She came out of NO WHERE. I was into the intersection too far to stop, so my only option was to floor it. She hit me head on. Most likely still going 35-40 miles an hour. I didn't hear screeching breaks, I didn't see her try to swerve, nothing.
It swung the back of my van onto Alburtis, so I ended up in the cross walk almost facing perfectly east. My right side airbag deployed. Both of my girls were screaming.
(Boston was sitting closest to the crash. But thankfully I had slid the captains chairs together for our trip to Utah, leaving the biggest gap between the door and her seat.)I froze, thinking, "did this really just happen?"
I took off my seat belt and turned around to make sure my babies were okay. Thankfully they were.
I called Braden and said, "I just got in the worse accident". He was there in what seemed like 2 seconds.
A neighbor that I happen to know came over and offered to help. She comforted my girls, while I got out of the van to see if the other driver was okay.
She was alone thankfully, and just about my age. The first words out of her mouth after asking if she was alright were, "Everything went flying! My sunglasses, my ear piece, everything." Then she said that she hurt her foot, and didn't know if she could get out of the car. I offered to help, but she declined.
A Post Office worker called 911, and the sheriffs, paramedics and fireman were all there within minutes.
They checked the girls, and both were fine. The other girl had an icepack on her hand, so I guess she hurt that too.
Justin and Stacy came and took the girls home. Boston was starving, so thankfully Stacy had some extra milk on hand, and became a "wet nurse" for Boston ;) (just with a bottle though)
We exchanged information. No report was filed.
All I can figure is that the Jeep was blocking my view of her just perfectly as I approached the intersection. I seriously did not see her at all... and I didn't have any distractions. I also don't think she saw me until the last second either. So either she wasn't paying attention, or the Jeep was blocking her view as well. It didn't look like she had tried to break or swerve or anything. There weren't any skid marks from her car, and it looked like she hit me head on.
Even though the back tire was flat, Braden drove the van home since we were so close.
We filed an insurance claim and the van was towed to the repair shop the next morning. The estimate for repairs is $10,980.37. They estimate it will be done by September 22nd.
In the mean time, we've purchased new car seats per state law, and a new stroller is on it's way since it got mangled in the accident as well.
We don't have rental coverage, so we're only going to rent a car here and there if necessary. We rolled around in this this past weekend. It was a change of pace from the van... although I keep trying to find the button to open the doors on every key remote I hold!
I am so thankful we are all okay. 4 weeks without a van is a small price to pay for no injuries.
PS. I love Allstate
