April Mashburn,  GPC Student

Mustang Wreck

            During the summer of 2000, I witnessed an automobile accident that changed the way I drive, changed the way I think, and changed every other aspect of my life.  I see the result of the accident sometimes when I lie down to sleep at night.  I remember the scene every single time I sit in a driver’s seat.  And each time it enters my mind, I say a prayer of thanks that I am happy and healthy.

            On the way to my father’s office to have lunch, just as I had done each Saturday before, I watched in horror as a 1996 red Ford Mustang crossed the yellow centerline of Highway 129 in Winder and hit a white delivery truck head on.  The truck slid sideways into the ditch on its left as the tangled Mustang spun three times before it landed in the ditch on the other side of the busy street.  Because of its hefty size, the enormous delivery truck was not significantly damaged, but the collision left the red sports car no more that six feet in length, bumper to bumper.

            Since I am trained in CPR and first aid, I raced to the assistance of the driver in the Mustang.  Immediately, I recognized that she was critically injured.  Both of her legs were amputated from the knee down.  She was also bleeding profusely from her cut forehead, ears, nose, and mouth.  As I pressed a spare T-shirt against her forehead to stop the bleeding, and tried to keep her alert and conscious, I noticed that she had not been wearing her seat belt.   

            The police, ambulances, and fire trucks arrived in about five minutes and loaded the injured woman into an ambulance.  I could not help but cry as the ambulance drove away.  After giving the police my statement, I drove the remainder of my trip to lunch and thought to myself, “This was definitely a scene I can never erase.”

            Witnessing this horrible accident has changed the way I view my life.  I am so thankful that I am simply able to walk, drive, and speak.  Each time I get into my car, I buckle my seat belt.  Had the victim of the accident been wearing her protective belt, she might not have lost her legs.  Even though I do not know her name, I know that her life changed that day, and she also changed the course of mine.