One Glance Almost Killed Me

I should have been on a mortician’s table, not a hospital bed. It’s still hard to believe that I survived a rollover car crash without a seatbelt, all because my friend looked away for a split second.

A late October night is perfection in my eyes. What could’ve made it better than going to a Brantley Gilbert concert with two of my closest friends? We had the teenagers’ mindset. We were invincible.

I almost sat in the front seat of my friend’s truck. I’m so glad that my friend refused to give it up because I wouldn’t have been wearing a seat belt. We began our trip to Rockford to what would have been an awesome concert.

Thirty minutes till the concert and we finally pull off the freeway. My friend looks away to get toll money. He swerves ever so slightly but can’t regain control. He slams on the brakes in panic.

The world stops as we flip.

I think of that old cliché that your life passes through your eyes as death comes knocking. It doesn’t happen. Maybe it’s because I lived, maybe it’s some lie sold for dramatic effect but the only thing that I saw was broken glass flying past my eyes. The shards increase in number with each time we smash into the ground.

It’s over. We lay upside down in a ditch. We are all alive.

I came out with a sore shoulder. A sore shoulder. People are in milder accidents and are seriously injured or die. I am thankful everyday that I am alive but I’m also thankful I was in such a tragic accident. I do look at life differently. I know I’m not invincible.

The news is flooded with stories about texting and driving and drunk driving. People think as long as you don’t text or drink while driving your safe on the road. A split second could be the difference between you seeing another day or not. You may be willing to take chances with your own life but with others it’s better to leave nothing to chance. I’m a lucky statistic, a one in a million. Keep your eyes on the road; it could save your life.