Friday the 13th was a truly LUCKY day

[racefan8]

at least for my family. I got the phone call from the ER that every parent dreads late Friday evening. My daughter and her friends are sophmores and are all getting the thrill of the new driver's license. They had gone out to pick up a bunch of their friends and were going to stay at one kid's house to hang out. Five kids in the car. The driver was a good kid and insisted on seat belts... thank God. I'll probably get the pics of the car emailed to me, but likely shouldn't post them - no one should have survived. They were on a curving road and an oncoming car crossed the center line. The teenager swerved to avoid, but overcorrected and off they went spinning into a deep ravine and slamming into a tree. My daughter was in the front seat. All the kids were knocked out for a time, the driver coming to first. He saw all his friends broken and bleeding and thought they were dead. Three of them climbed out broken windows, two others had to be cut out. The kid behind my daughter has a concussion and a broken clavical. My daughter escaped with a broken arm, broken fingers, and a staple in her head. The others were treated and released that night.

This could have been so much worse. There was a deep pond within feet of where they landed. The tree stopped them from that. If the had hit the tree any further forward or backward, me or another parent would have been planning a funeral. They all had seatbelts on. They were not speeding. No drugs or alcohol were involved. That same night in Deerfield, IL, there was a similiar accident in which 5 teens were in a car, lost control, slammed into a tree, two of them died. The driver had been drinking, though. Still, the similarities are striking. Our kids were extremely lucky, especially for a Friday the 13th.

[emm5150]

OMG...I can't believe it!!!! I'm so glad K's ok, thank god!!!! If you need anything, just say the word!!! Call me when you get a free moment.

[Van Squalen]

Good to hear she's okay.

Cars and teens, always a sketchy mix. I almost died at least a dozen times before high school graduation. Literally. That whole 'DMV wait until 18 thing' isn't such a horrible idea, to be honest.

[seenbad]

Holy shit. Glad to hear they're ok. My God how horrifying.

[loveevhsince79]

That is awesome news. You're right, it could have been so much worse.

[perticelli]

wow RF8..unbeleivable. Good thing YOU didnt have a heart attack!
THank God ur daughter is gonna be ok. I have friends who were killed by drunken fucks on the road as well...

i decided a while ago..my kids aint driving til 18..even though she wasnt driving at the time. Hope ur doing ok after this.

[racefan8]

Thanks, y'all. Yeah, my stomach lurched when I saw the caller ID said ER. Then again when I saw the pics. Kids are not ours to keep, they are only ours for as long as God wants to let us enjoy them.

It's interesting how the parents have been discussing all of this. We all recognize this for what it was - inexperienced driving. But the p's of the driver say they feel bad that their son was least injured. I beg to differ. His injury is mental and is just as horrible. He thought those kids were dead by his hand. He saw the blood. It got all over him. He heard them screaming in the ER as they set bones. When I got to the ER and heard the details, I saw him standing there crying quietly in the corner. I just went over to him and held him, telling him that it was all going to be ok and that I don't blame him. Thankfully each of the other kids have said the same, and their p's. Hopefully this will aid in his healing. Life lessons truly suck.

[MEANBEE]

Thank God she and her friends are fine. Very scary my daughter gets her permit in 4 months and I am scared shitless.

[emm5150]

Thanks, y'all. Yeah, my stomach lurched when I saw the caller ID said ER. Then again when I saw the pics. Kids are not ours to keep, they are only ours for as long as God wants to let us enjoy them.

It's interesting how the parents have been discussing all of this. We all recognize this for what it was - inexperienced driving. But the p's of the driver say they feel bad that their son was least injured. I beg to differ. His injury is mental and is just as horrible. He thought those kids were dead by his hand. He saw the blood. It got all over him. He heard them screaming in the ER as they set bones. When I got to the ER and heard the details, I saw him standing there crying quietly in the corner. I just went over to him and held him, telling him that it was all going to be ok and that I don't blame him. Thankfully each of the other kids have said the same, and their p's. Hopefully this will aid in his healing. Life lessons truly suck.

You're a good person sweetie, I'm not so sure that I could forgive the driver like you have, I know it wasn't done on purpose, I'd still be a bit uspet and angered, assuming the worse. I'm so glad that you and K are ok!!! Sorry I missed you a few minutes ago!

[ZeoBandit]

Wow.... I'm so glad to hear that everyone is OK. That Deerfield accident happened only a few miles from my house.

[jetguy5150]

Wow! I am so glad to hear that things worked out. Those are the phone calls that every parent dreads. To think how many parents have to get the call that goes the other way. I'm just glad everyone is ok.

[willy4pres]

Im just glad to hear everyone is ok race, just like you said it could have been worse. Im not sure how I would feel about the driver, he is young and we all know how we used to drive at that age. He's going to have a hard time driving in the future.

[KT]

wow...that's a story that they'll relive for the rest of their lives (and they'll probably all be friends for life because they survived this together). I'm so glad to hear that everyone is ok, rf8, and can't imagine receiving a phone call like that. I will say that i've known a lot of good and experienced drivers who make the same mistake this kid made. It all happens in a split second and as much as we'd like to say that we'd do what we know we're supposed to do in that situation, I think most people just react. It's kinda like CPR...I've taken the course 12 times and have been certified for the last 12 years but I still think that when and if it came to having to use it, I'm not going to sit there and think about how many compressions to breaths or how far the person's head needs to be tilted back---I'm just going to react (some of you are now probably thinking, "oh dear gawd...hope i'm never dying in her company"...ha). Seriously, teenage drivers scare the hell out of me (especially here in Houston) but I bet even those of us who've been driving for years and years have done the same thing and just gotten damn lucky.

rf8, it's parents like you who will help this kid overcome the grief he feels. you were supportive and let him know you didn't blame him...i'm sure that'll help him in the coming days.

[Buzzzb]

my friday the 13 th happened a week early.my kid was one of 5 in a mini-van going 130km/ph.......about 75-80 miles an hour on a highway .....the driver,being a new driver was yapping to the other kid in the front seat and when she turned her head forward all the traffic was stopped just in front of them........she drilled the mini-van into the guardrail.......smashing glass all over my kid and 2 of the boys in the van.....spun the van around twice while crossing 3 lanes of early big-city traffic........broke both axels and ended up facing the wrong way on the 8 lane (4 each way) highway........no one was hurt thank you jesus.....but they sure got a wake call...........i am so pleased all these kids (yours and mine) all made it out o.k......they too with a flip of a coin could all be dead.............man it makes you think...........with winter coming here to TOronto and horrible driving conditions i think im gonna do some wet weather training with her...........they are just wayyyyy to precious to have them hurt................

[fast98dodge]

First of all, I'm glad K is ok as well as the other kids... Thank God...

Second, the way you have handled this shows that you are a great person with a lot of class...

I wish there were more parents like you in this world...