Where Accidents = Crashes

The first gas-powered automobile was built in 1885 and just 11 years later the first fatal traffic accident occurred in London (during a demonstration drive). Today the World Health Organization predicts that by 2020 traffic accidents will be the world's 3rd leading cause of disability and death.

In professional speak no one uses the term accident to refer to traffic incidents. Instead the word crash is used to talk about something that is called an accident by everyone else. Well Saturday night we had a crash. To no fault of our own (I don't like this phrase) we found ourselves in the unenviable position of explaining our situation to a police officer responding to a 911 call. It's weird how in almost all of my traffic experiences (both tickets and accidents, I mean crashes) I can remember the music that was playing. In high-school I rear-ended someone on the way home from work in Milford listening to the recently release Bone Thugs Art of War double disk. Once I got a ticket for speeding on Telegraph while rocking out to Madonna.

Saturday, we stumbled upon one of the new Kanye tracks as we left Atlantic Station and traveled east on 16th (blue) to get back on to 85S and head home. Then all of a sudden I think I heard Lauren say something and I looked up and to my left to see headlights "coming right for us." The driver was traveling noticeably fast and quite obviously outside the intended route as he crossed over the median and into the side of our car (red). Both of us were thrown to our right and our car quickly came to a stop. I hopped out quickly after looking back to see where the car had gone. I thought for sure that this guy was drunk out of his mind and about to make a run for it. I wanted to get the plate number and was already on with 911 when I got out.

Both Lauren and I were ok, and the guy did stop his car and remained at the scene. He was completely sober and driving a newish Nissan (Sentra maybe?). He was pretty upset about the whole thing, not with us, of course but was pissed off at his own poor judgment. I've been there before and it is not fun. Once the cops showed up we pushed our car to the side of the road and waited for what is casually called (by everyone who does not own your car) a 'wrecker'.

Now we're waiting to see what the insurance company decides to do with the car and in the meantime driving around in a 2008 Dodge Nitro (Hummer lite). Sty tuned to find out more. We're both doing fine.