I bumped into DESTINY!
Seriously.
I bumped into her.
On 95. In bumper to bumper traffic.
Four lane nightmare. I bumped her.
Not a scratch on either car. Not a dent. Nothing.
The traffic was virtually stopped. Enough that after I bumped her (I had been trying to get a snack opened for Aaron) we were able to immediately get out of our cars and access the damage. THERE WASN'T ANY.
But Destiny looked at her UNMARKED bumper.... knocked on it and said that it was now falling off. YEP... I BUMPED HER GOING 2 MILES AN HOUR AND HER BUMPER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED!
Can I just say that it was one of those moments in life when you just want to curl up and cry.
She called the police and then refused to move the car off the road. Which meant I could not move my car off the road. And the traffic had started moving again. Not intensely fast but fast enough that I felt like a sitting duck on a four lane highway with Destiny in front of me refusing to budge.
FINALLY a police car came and helped us off the road. He assessed the NON-DAMAGE, told us to exchange insurance and we were good to go. DESTINY REFUSED. It was not his jurisdiction so we had to wait for another police officer to arrive. SO WE SAT. Aaron stuck behind his seat belt for way too long. I tried to exchange info. She was having none of it. She wanted the police to take me away. So we sat some more.
FINALLY the second officer arrived. He assessed the NON-DAMAGE and said I bumped into her but Destiny was quick to correct him that I had CRASHED into her car. Crashed at 2 miles an hour. He shook his head, said he would make sure the insurance info was correct and we could go on our way.
I figure that after leaving the horrible crash site she headed for the nearest hospital to get the 3 month body brace!
Lesson of the day... NEVER HIT DESTINY!!
Lesson two... When one tractor trailer is ahead of you and is frustrated with the constant 5 hours of bumper to bumper traffic and goes about to change lanes and BUMPS another tractor trailer and then veers into your lane.. BE PREPARED TO HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL FAST!!
Thank the Lord I had been paying attention or I would have been UNDER a tractor trailer.
CAN I JUST SAY THAT I MISS MY HUSBAND AND I AM GLAD I ARRIVED WITHOUT ANY MORE MISHAPS??
Can I just also say that I will never ever drive up 95 on a Sunday afternoon during the summer again??
Enough said... Story told.
Aaron and I are safe in the Ronald McDonald house in Delaware.
God is Good.
I'm pretty sure she's going to have whiplash too.
ReplyDeleteoh goodness Julia what a nightmare!!! I'm on I95 everyday( a little further North) and it is quite possibly one of the only places on earth that could test the patience of even the saints themselves!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you had to meet Destiny, hope she wasn't traveling from from my end... or worse to my end!!
Uh-oh. I think you've caused her undue mental trauma! The kind that she'll have to go get more piercings for so she can feel better! She may charge it to your insurance! O.k. Maybe not. Glad you two are O.k.
ReplyDeleteOH!!! The stinker. Looking for a buck, I'm sure. Thankfully, you are safe.
ReplyDeleteI get to stay away from people like Destiny most of the time, because I live in a small town of 5,765 people as our population sign states....but, you just have to sit and wonder how people are so miserable. Sounds like you kept your cool....not so sure I would have done as well as you.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Lynch
Oh Julia I know how you feel missing your dear hubby especially after what you went through. Too bad we didn't run into each other at Nemour's! Madeline and I were JUST there ( left Saturday) for the WREX. Praying all goes well for Aaron and it will open the door for more arm mobility.
DeleteHugs,
Carolyn
Oh, my, what a travel nightmare! Are there "blue highways" you can take to get back home?
ReplyDeleteDestiny sounds like such a miserable person (and you can interpret that any way you like...). I will try to pray for her, and hope that doesn't sound too sanctimonious. I would have lost my cool multiple times over in your situation,I'm afraid...
I hope the rest of your journey is less "eventful" - hope Aaron and you can find a little fun time during the not-so-much-fun times...
Take care,
Susan in Ky
Cousin to 2 from EE
Oh Julia,
ReplyDeleteWhat drama! Bless your heart. So sorry, thankful you and Aaron are safe!
How frustrating. There's a reason they call it a BUMPER, people.
ReplyDeleteI was riding home from a youth activity with my dad in our less-than-24-hours-old Saturn. This was the first new car my parents had owned since starting to have children a couple decades earlier.
We were stopped at a red light and we got rear ended by a local high schooler. My dad got out and, after asking the kid if he was alright, checked out the damage. There were two little bolt holes (from the license plate of the other car) in my dad's brand new bumper.
He smiled, said, "Don't worry. That's what bumpers are for." and sent the kid on his way with an admonishment to drive a bit more attentively.
Actually, my husband repairs cars. And the woman was right -- If you bump it at more than 3-5 MPH (depending on the model, make, year), you DO need to replace the bumper's internal components, as it won't work properly from that point forward.
ReplyDeleteBut I completely see your point -- sounds like she was a drama queen! I'm glad everything was okay. :-)
Best,
Truewell
I think the cops should have ticketed that person for harassing you, obstructing traffic flow, and wasting the time of a police officer TWICE. How absurd. Some people seem to spew their inner rage onto any person unfortunate enough to cross their path. Sorry you got stuck dealing with that!!
ReplyDeleteOh Julia! I spent several hours RIGHT THERE at DuPont yesterday with Verity and how I WISH I'd known you were RIGHT THERE, too!!!!
ReplyDelete