we were all bundled up in the car, on our way to the downtown lincoln christmas parade. it was saturday, december 3 at around 4:00 and it was quite chilly outside. the kids couldn't wait to get there! they were so cute in their fleece hats and warm mittens. little did we know...we wouldn't be making it to the christmas parade.
we were stopped at the light at the intersection of 7th street and highway 65 in lincoln. we were the first in line, ready to go when the light turned green. kev was driving. the light finally turns green and kev starts to drive through the intersection. before i know it, he puts his foot on the gas to speed up and yells some sort of profanity (a rarity for kevin). we were hit. the impact felt like it lasted for a few minutes, but i know it was a matter of seconds. an older lady, driving at least 45 mph, ran the red light and broadsided us. thank the Lord that kevin saw her coming in the corner of his eye and sped up. she was headed right for the passenger door, kaden's door. thankfully she hit the rear bumper instead. my heart sinks when i think of what could have happened.
we pulled over to the side of the road, right in front of a gas station. right away we made sure the kids were ok. kaden wasn't quite sure what was going on. kyri was crying because she was scared...and because we were going to miss the parade. they seemed to be fine, just shaken up. i couldn't stop shaking. kevin got out to talk to the other drive. he was pretty angry, but stayed calm. the lady got out of her car (which was pretty beat up). she felt horrible for what had happened and knew that it was her fault. just not paying attention...we all make mistakes. our rear bumper was pretty crunched. we could also tell that our trunk was jolted. we called the police to report the accident. the police officer was there for like two seconds. he didn't even come over to the car to ask if the kids and i were all right. weird? so glad that no one was hurt. insurance numbers were exchanged and both cars were able to make it home. so unexpected
when we got home, we called the insurance right away to file the claim report. the other driver had done the same. this was the first car accident that kevin and i had ever been in. scary. we called my mom and her husband mike, since mike owns an auto body shop and deals a lot with car accidents. he gave us great advice on how to talk to the insurance companies. really put us at ease. we needed all the comfort and wisdom we could get. the insurance was going to get us a rental car the next day, to drive while our car was in the shop being inspected. that evening, i also contacted a recommended chiropractor to see if we could get in the next day to get examined. kevin and both were experiencing a lot of pain in our neck and back. awesome! i already had back issues and this really just added to the pain. we kept asking kyri and kaden if they were hurting anywhere, but they seemed to be fine. couldn't be more thankful that God had his hand of protection over our babies.
what a long, long evening. we went to bed physically and emotionally exhausted. would our car be totaled? would we be shopping for a new car soon? would our injuries be extensive? oh boy. lots to think about. at least while we waited on the insurance and our car...we got to drive a 2010 nissan altima hybrid! that sure was fun!
