Last night, my sister, my baby niece, and I were involved in a car accident. While we were driving through a major
We stopped, and miraculously, we were all okay. Sore, definitely, and shaken. But the baby, tuckered out from an afternoon of playing at Ikea, had slept straight through it. Wonder of wonders! We sat tight while we waited for the police officers to arrive.
At the time, we were shocked by the fact that the other driver, who was at fault for the accident, simply drove away. But most of all, nobody stopped. This was a major intersection, at peak time of day, and not a single person offered to be a witness for us. There were no cameras at the intersection, so no way to find the other driver. This was deeply troubling: a car carrying a baby and it mother and niece was simply left to fend for itself after being very badly damaged.
Let's be clear: the accident could have been much worse. We feel incredibly blessed to walk away (even with sore necks and backs). But there is something wrong when the responsible party flees the scene and all witnesses merely continued on without a care in the world.
The story, fortunately, does have a positive ending (well, as positive as they come in this case); when the officers arrived, we learned that the other did eventually stop (nearly a mile away), and we were able to resolve the "legal" details of the incident.
But I did want to share a reminder: Please, if you witness an accident, stop what you are doing. Stay put and offer assistance to the police officers. You never know; the car impacted may have injured passengers, or even a baby on board. If you don't feel comfortable leaving your vehicle, that's fine - call the police and offer your account of what happened.
Thanks, friends. And thanks for all the support and well wishes. Most of all, thanks for driving safely and being a courteous and respectful driver.