October 7, 1996 I was heading toward the mall for a birthday lunch for one of the guys at the office. As I drove on the wet, slick, windy 2-lane road, I see that there's a right hand turn. I noticed a big, green Perrier truck in the on-coming lane sitting at the intersection, waiting for the traffic to clear so he could turn left onto the road which was to my right. As I enter into the intersection, I saw this blue Jeep screaming behind the Perrier truck. The Jeep's driver decided that he needed to make that left turn at the intersection too. He totally neglected the trcuk ahead of him and sped into the intersection. He can't see me as the Perrier truck blocked me from his view. As I saw the Jeep make his way into the intersection, I could go nowhere. I couldn't veer to my left since the Perrier truck was there and I couldn't really veer right since it'd leave me exposed to a driver-side collision. I thought that this guy can't be heading into the intersection, could he? He did. I bite the bullet, hoping, the air-bags would really work. I braced for the impact. I could see the driver was panickingly trying to stop, but to no avail. All he could do was skid in my direction. His eyes meet mine, while getting bigger and bigger until impact. I take the hit head-on and grimace. We both take out the front passenger side of our respective vehicles. An intense noise resulted from the collision, nothing like what you hear in a movie. Believe it or not, but my life did not flash before my eyes. I somehow feel shortchanged in that department. Then the pungent odor from the air-bag and whatever was left of the radiator permeated through the air. Even with the air-bag, I was able to see the entire collision. Pain shot up my right arm. I looked down and noticed abrasions. I am sure it was the deployment of the air-bag that cause them. It was better than a bruised sternum and battered face, I suppose. I sat back, amazed I survived a collective 75 mph crash (me going 40 mph, the Jeep going about 35 mph). I unbuckled my seat belt, grateful that I didn't have to me cut out of my car with the Jaws of Life like the last car wreck I was in on spring break in Panama City circa '91. I stepped out the car, the driver of the Jeep does as well. He was very apologetic, repeatedly asking me if I'm okay. I checked for other signs of blood or bruises. I don't find any. My chest was a little sore, and my nose itched from the air-bag hitting it upon inflation. 2 other cars used their cellular phones to call the police. After 5 minutes, a police officer appeared on the scene. After taking a statement from an eyewitness, the officer was sure that the Jeep's driver was at fault. I told the officer my side of the story and maintained a no-fault stance in my side of the story. The Jeep's driver had no driver's licence on him and could only produce an expired temporary automobile insurance card. Thank goodness I had "uninsured motorist" in my insurance policy. The officer took both of our pertinent information and told me that the report will be available in 48 hours. The Jeep's driver was escorted into the back of the police car in order to take him home and produce the necessary insurance paperwork, else he'll be written up for operating a car without a licence and without liability coverage. He was cited for being at fault for the accident. This will make life easier I hope in the insurance claims department. As luck would have it, a co-worker on the the way to the birthday luncheon was travelling on the same road and appeared mere moments after the accident occurred. I quickly grabbed everything out of my car and threw it into her car. A wrecker was called and 10 minutes later, he arrived on the scene. I took one last look at my relatively new car. The front end passenger side was mangled really badly, the passenger door wasn't closing tightly, and the roof was warped. The front grill was shattered, a piece of the front spolier flew off unto the side of the road, the car was oozing bluish fluids. The front passenger side tire and wheel were bent downward at a sad angle. Not a pretty sight. I am hoping that the adjustor totals out the car and I can look for another car. Else, the car will have to be repaired and I have my doubts on the handling and reliability of the car upon collision repair. Since this wasn't my fault and I believe the damage to be pretty extensive, I may have to be an asshole and get hopefully get the other guy's insurance company to total out the car and settle a fair amount for the car. I can't believe this happened to me today. Sigh. I left the accident site with my co-worker. She'd used her cell phone to inform the rest of the people at the luncheon of the situation. She was nice enough to drive me home (only a freaking mile away!) and I dumped all my stuff in the garage and made sure my old car would still run. After 3 attempts, the old trusty Honda started. I followed her to the luncheon at the Olive Garden and proceeded to have lunch. I was kind of sore and the abrasions on my inner right arm were painful, but the chicken parmesan made up for it. I swung by the insurance office and file a report on my accident. I returned to the office, told the boss about the situation, and took the rest of the day off. I went to my usual emergency med clinic and got told that I should go to an emergency room for automobile-related trauma due to insurance considerations. So I made my way to Gwinnett Med Center (a nice 10 mile hike) in the pouring rain to get a check-up. After interminable wait, I was discharged after getting some x-rays taken of my neck, and I get a tetnus shot for the abrasions on my arm. I'm prescribed some muscle relaxers and inflammatory medication. I'm directed to get a followup at an othopedic clinic. Fortunately, it seems that all I have are muscle strains and sprains, no broken bones or massive internal injuries. I do have minor headaches though, but I have not passed out or vomited...yet. I really liked my new car. What a pain in the ass! Shit happens and all that jazz. I guess I'll go talk to the insurance adjustor and see what he says tomorrow. This has been the wackiest 6 months of my life. Just call me Job.