lost consciousness

Few months back recollection of a car accident came to mind. It must have been 10 years ago, I think.

I remember it was an afternoon when I was driving along Jalan Gasing, near where we lived before. I don't even remember why I was heading towards my bro's school as it was the junction where it occurred.

The only thing I remembered before the crash was trying to make a right turning into Jalan Chantek. Since it was a downward slope, cars from the other direction usually speed through the road. Having trees lining up the divider made it hard to see clearly.

I must have been tired that afternoon, I remember returning from my my part-time job earlier in the day. This was how I reasoned to myself after that, how could I have been so negligent as to make a turning with cars zooming by.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by people, lots of people surrounding my car, the cars that crashed into mine, and another which was affected as a result of the crash. I had no recollection of how the accident happened much less when I even made the turning.

My Proton Iswara was directly perpendicular to the 2 cars on the other side. The 4th car was on the road I was trying to turn into. Traffic on the downward slope stopped, cars on the other side slowed down.

My first thought was my dad. I really thought he would kill me because it was his car I was driving! I quickly gained consciousness and tried to find my phone. The people outside seemed to be relieved that I was alive.

While I tried to call my mum (because I didn't know how I'd explain to my dad that I'd just crashed my his car), I noticed that there were even some tow trucks waiting on the other side. At that point of time, I thought these people must have been really efficient, maybe they were already waiting nearby in case of any accidents. After all, that junction has claimed a life of a church member's kid before.

Since we lived closeby, my mum came in no time. She was very calm. She tried to get me out of the car, while talking to the people surrounding us. Found out that one of the drivers that had crashed into mine, was a pregnant lady. I was so horrified that she would have a miscarriage because of the accident.

I remember my mum helping to sort out things, and bringing me to the hospital and police station. I don't quite remember the sequence of activities that happened immediately after that.

All I remembered was being treated for whiplash, filing a police report, and having to send the car for a thorough repair. I was traumatised for awhile, I didn't make that turning for many years.

I remember crying to sleep because I felt like I had caused a lot of people inconveniences, especially the pregnant lady. And most of all, my dad, because it was his car. He had trusted me with that car, even loaned it to me while I was studying in uni. I think my mum must've spoken to him, because he didn't ask me anything after that. Looking back, I think my dad would have been more concerned about me than his car.

Someone told me it was a miracle that I survived. Having cars going downhill on a slope crashing into a turning car would have resulted in a worse accident. So happened each car crashed exactly into each axle of the tyres, which are apparently the strongest part of the car. If it was at any other point, my car could have been smashed, turned turtle, or I can't imagine what else.

Though the car looked intact after the accident, there were still multiple dents due to the various cars involved. They took a few weeks to repair the car, and we had to lose the NCD because of that.

Only recently did I realise that those people who came surrounding were not there immediately after the accident. Not the tow truck people especially. I actually lost consciousness for awhile. I don't know how long, but it must have been long enough to have them surround me, wondering if I was alive. Long enough for a few tow trucks to make their way over.

My friends used to tease me by calling me "Dangerous Woman", in reference to the number plate DW of the Iswara. Of course I was a lot more brazen back when I first got the car.

Now that I've gotten my own car, and more so after that accident, I'm a lot more cautious on the road. Actually, I'm still driving like normal when I'm alone, but more careful when I have passengers.

Don't know why this incident resurfaced so many years later, I guess it's a reminder that God allowed me to live, for He's not done with me yet. There are still things I'm meant to do.