So happy today

[Amy in AZ.]

I got the phone call yesterday. DD crying. "We have been in a car accident." They were on their way to Disneyland and a tire hit them on the Interstate. (At the airport, Wickenburg exit.)

She was trying to explain, and I stopped her to find out if they were OK. "Yes."

Good things, then happened. Good samaritans helped my GDD and they also had a 4 yo girl. Her passenger's uncle arrived and transported them all to the hospital - after the fireman, police and EMTS said that they didn't need an ambulance.

My husband drove up to retrieve our girls and the hospital was great. They did not have to wait long to be seen.

Caitlin had asked to drive her dad's car because it is a Honda SUV and her car is small. The state policeman said that if that tire had gone through the windshield, they would have been killed instantly. As it was, the tire hit directly in the middle of the windshield, were it meets the roof. So, it collapsed in, but did not shatter. Air bags did not deploy.

DD is 25, so is not a novice driver. She saw it hit the car ahead of her and was able to stop her car, after the impact and get the the right hand "Buddy Lane" where there was less traffic. But, for those of you that know the PHX airport area, traffic was moving 75 mph.

So, she had a gash on the top of her head and is shaken up. Her friend had gashes on one arm and GDD was safe and sound in her car seat. Thank God.

Sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses - and hug those around us.

 

[maksoftball]

How frightening! So happy that they are okay.

 

[coachjwb]

Glad they are OK as well ... things like this keep softball in perspective ... I understand why you're so happy!!

 

[1bucketmom]

So glad they are all okay! Life has a way of reminding us what's important.

 

[eddieq]

Glad they're OK Amy. Stuff can be replaced. Loved ones cannot.

 

[Cannonball]

Amy, I am so glad that your family is safe. That is some scary stuff. Who would think that something out of the blue like this would happen. Your DD was thinking about Disneyland and now, I know is so thankful for just surviving what could have been a very bad accident. God Bless your family!

 

[cmustangsfp]

Well I am glad that they are all OK. A car accident is what ended softball for me and my family.
I haven't posted in a while, but still lurk in the shadows.
We got rear-ended because a young kid (18 yo) was texting and driving. He claimed he was reaching down for a drink, but he didn't even brake so he was occupied for more time that it takes to reach for a drink. There were six of us stopped waiting for a stopped school bus. We were the second to last car in the line. He hit the car behind us at full speed (60+ MPH), which knocked them into us and knocked us into the car in front of us. All of us, except one of my DD's were taken to the ER on stretchers. 6 months out and my DW still has not regained full use of her arm. So no pitching, throwing, batting or catching for her. She was my main AC as well as my partner. I can't see coaching without her and she is too driven to sit on a bucket and just watch. Also she helped me drag the equipment to and from the field and load/unload, so a big portion of my help has been taken away. DD's (3 of them in the car) are slowly returning to health by doing "winter" sports like basketball.

I learned a very valuable lesson from this and it is this: Life can change in an instant. Life is very valuable. Enjoy it while you can.

So we are done with softball for a while, maybe forever. I also learned a lot more about auto insurance (and the dark side of insurance companies) than I had known before. One of the worst things about this accident is that our medical bills are already in the $35-45K range (CT-Scans are $3K each). The guy that hit us had the minimum amount required by law. 4 vehicles were hit, 12 people were hurt. His minimum coverage for vehicle was 25K and that was taken up by his totaled vehicle so we had to file on our insurance for our vehicle (declared total loss). His medical coverage is 30/60 so no one person can get more than 30K and the whole group of us can get no more than 60K combined. I am hoping that my underinsured policy will cover us, but we had to hire an attorney, so they get 33%. Our health insurance company wants their money that they have to pay back from any settlement. So we are stuck with medical bills that we have to pay (we didn't have med-pay on our auto ins), we have some bills already threatening to go to collection, our life has been disrupted, we had to give up our travel teams (gave up one and disbanded the other), broke 2 teams hearts (the girls and parents loved us as coaches) and my wife has 3 bulging disks in her back and 2 in her neck. She will never be the same again. One DD is still having issues, though thankfully they are getting better. Any settlement we get from the insurance will probably not cover what we have incurred.

I now advise people to up their uninsured/underinsured and not carry the minimums. The few extra dollars are not worth the risk of what we are going through. You might be OK if there is just one other vehicle involved, but in our case, one stopped school bus plus one inattentive driver and 12 peoples lives are changed. This is his 3rd accident already at age 18. Luckily my wife had upped our minimum from 30/60 to 50/100. I am hoping that it is enough. I wish she had upped it more. We still don't know if surgery is going to be required. And after all this I find out that our insurance company can drop us after all this, even though it was not our fault. Well maybe drop is not the right phrase, they can chose not to let us renew with them.

I'm glad your clan is OK. I know that feeling.

 

[Cannonball]

cmustangsfp, so sorry to hear all of that. I hope that over time, all heal. Tragic story!

 

[3'sDad]

Amy: Buy a Lotto or Powerball tix....borrowing the car was the best thing that could have happened.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

^ The state trooper said the exact same thing!
Mustangs, I appreciate your advice. I hope things improve for you.