Hey - so, my excuse for babbling like a brook for a change... Cheryl & I were chatting briefly - about hockey & life, and when I said, well, y'know with the car accident & she said "Whoa, girl, WHAT CAR ACCIDENT?" So...my e-friends.....
2 weeks & a day ago I was in a typical urban area stupid car accident, and am essenitally fine - well - some might say a matter of opinion. Typical DC area accident. But, I'm still a little kind of whoozy in post-concussed sort of way.The short of it is - I hit my head, sprained my back/neck/shoulder. It seems like I have some concussion effects. And am supposed to start some PT = once I can figure out how the billing/insurance is supposed to go. Nessie is a little worse for the wear - could use some body work, but it's likely not worth doing as the crumpling is mostly a bit on the rear left & corner of the tailgate/bumper. She protected me. But we'll lose about 6 months off the lifetime of brakes & tires - both of which were quite new (a few months). And now, we have to interview attorneys because we have the same insurance company as the person who caused the accident, and her husband is an attorney - it's become not so clear in dealing with the medical bills, etc - as in they seem to want us to pay for everything on our own personal, etc. Mostly, I'm annoyed because I cannot really stitch because I'm more blurry headed, and I can't really read either - same reason. So stupider than usual e-mail. Most importantly - the Needlework is fine, but I didn't get the rest of what I needed! And I now know why people end up getting lawyers to deal with this kind of stuff because it is really, really a run around.
Anyhow - if you want to read the details - they are below.
Those of you familiar with DC will appreciate this, and since we're all stitchers - you'll totally get it.
I had to do stitching errands, and had gone into Falls Church to swap some threads, returning some Splendor silk, picking up some overdye & Burmilama for my canvas Tropical Birds piece. Was going from Needlewoman East to Waste Knot in Arlington to enjoy more S.E.X. While on Lee Highway, which is a major 4 lane E-W (Rt 29) Rd, at nearly 4, on Thursday, stopped behind 2 cars waiting to turn left, a car stopped behind me, when WHAM. It took 250' for me to get Nessie to stop, and I'd been stopped for about 15 secs. Had to get her on the median, then into just pavement (curb had ended) median, in park, and turned off - standing on brakes. Very fun. The brand new, with paper temp tags Hyundai sedan behind me pretty much totalled - smashed left front, right rear - he couldn't control his car. The guy in front - I hit him, but not too badly - the # 1 car - as soon as he heard it start - hit the gas and peeled out, the # 2 car (which I hit) also kind of zig-zagged as I was trying not to push us into the oncoming lanes - and he beat it. DH suspects they didn't want to chat with the police. We left lots of rubber on the street - smoke pouring out of the hood. Eventually stopped. Fortunately there was a private ambulance in the right lane that saw the whole thing - they were behind a couple of cars, and stopped with the Hyundai up on the right where he landed, and this Volvo XC stopped up on the right ahead - which at first I thought was some good samaritan as the woman hopped out making calls.
Now for the typical Metro DC confusion: I call 911 & am giving the dispatcher info, cross street, house # to which she replies " this is Fairfax You're in Arlington" -me"Well - I'm in the accident" we go thru this a few times, and I finally yell at her that there is only one 911, so she transfers it just as the fire engine shows up Thankfully the private ambulance medics had hopped right out to take care of the Hyundai guy who appeared to be having a heart attack, and had lost control of his car. Plus was driving with his handicap parking tag hanging (Against the law -it blocks your vision), and had a big bandage on his left arm). One of them came to help me, and then grabbed the phone to talk to the silly dispatcher from 911, which helped. About then the engine arrived. This nice guy then told me "no, not a good samaritan - she's the one who caused the accident."
Next - a county ambulance comes - and a couple of guys come over - ask me if I need a bus, and of course I know one of them from the old days, and say no, I'll go on my own after my husband comes for me, blah, blah.
Now I finally get out of Nessie - walk across, get on the sidewalk. But first - assure myself, the Needlework is OK - it has only fallen from the front seat to the wheel well - and put it back on the seat - seems fine.Whew. The Volvo lady comes over - she is flippin' out - can't find her insurance, gives me her business card, we have the same insurance, though, she tells me it's her fault. Because....in rush hour....she decided that...she should READ THE FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER ON THE SEAT BESIDE HER !!! And that by the time she looked up again, well it was TOO LATE TO STOP! I mean REALLY!! She had to be going at least 40+ mph to push the Hyundai & and Expedition that were already stopped so far. I was nice, didn't yell, tried to calm her down. Although when the police first started to interview us she did say we had stopped short & I said -um, no - we were already stopped, then she retracted and corrected herself. She seems very nice - she does like charity parties kind of part-time. The police officer in charge comes to talk to me, after I fill out some forms, and he tells me she's being charged, be sure that my insurance company knows the salient stuff. He's shaking his head about her asking if she can drive her car. Another guy asks if I can move my car & I say no, because it has no brakes - but he's welcome to do it - so the police & fire guys move Nessie to the right.
Next - and saving the best for last. She asked if I'd called my husband
- she was scared to call hers. So I called mine, then she called hers. We arranged our tows. Police took care of totalled car. DH comes, one of the police waits with me & DH, she leaves with some guy (before DH came) - I assume in another car. Next morning 8:30, she calls to make sure I'm okay, tells me that her husband, a lawyer, of course, has told them they're going to be sued - I say, well, I guess you have to worry about the Hyundai guy - as DH is waving paper at me "she may be recording don't say anything." Then she says " I felt bad - we left you there - did you drive your car?" No, we waited for the tow. "Oh, well, our friend came to get me, our son's play little league - he's another lawyer - and he said that stuff (engine coolant) was just the washer fluid - so I drove my car to the shop in Falls Church (5-6 mi). We didn't want our sons to be late to little league. I guess I shouldn't have done that because the mechanic in the shop yelled at me. Me- gasping = what - you cancelled the tow truck? Her - yes -we didn't want to wait and he thought it was just the washer fluid. Did you know there was some bar under the car and it was all bent up? The mechanic said I could've blown the engine or something?" Me "Yup. Why did you do that?" Her "How did you know?" Me "Well - I'm a mechanical engineer, but aside from that, the Fire & Rescue guy who came to clean up all the stuff that poured out of your smashed front end told you it was the coolant, the police told you not to drive it & I told you that the engine safety mounts had probably done their job - the wrecker guy also told you - so like 5 people who know about cars told you not to drive it & a lawyer told you it was washer fluid?" I guess she was really lucky not to harm herself or cause another huge accident on the way.
Ellice