I had a sucker in my mouth. An orange dum-dum that tasted more like butterscotch than orange.
The back roads from my house to Ephraim aren't unfamiliar to me. I took them many times in my two years while attending Snow college and then took them even more when my sister was going to school there. However, what is unfamiliar to me is driving without music. While taking those roads I drove my car, one that had a very good radio and stacks of CDs for when the radio would eventually fade away.
Yesterday I was driving on those roads. I wasn't in my car, I was taking my mom's car. The radio went out sooner than I'm used to. I don't know if you've ever driven on highway 6, but it gets very boring if you go too long without radio. Boring enough that I was almost enjoying listening to mostly static with the hint of a melody in the background.
However, the hint of a melody wasn't enough. I reached down to turn it up in hopes that a louder volume would provide more music and less static. I know, very logical. After turning it up I realized that there is a CD player in this car. So I kept my eyes down, trying to figure out how to change it to CD. I finally did and the music was shockingly loud. It startled me and I jumped, swerving the car just a little bit. I panicked and looked up, noticing that I was no longer fully on the road. I was about to hit a post so I quickly turned my wheel to the left. Apparently I turned it a little too hard because I was no headed to the other side of the road. Trying again to fix the problem, I overcorrected.
At this point I no longer had control of the car. As much as I wanted to just stop the motion, get control, and head on my way again, it couldn't happen. I remember clenching the wheel and screaming as the car began to turn on its side.
And then I let go, closed my eyes, and held my breath.
When the car stopped moving, I opened my eyes. I saw glass everywhere, dirt still flying through the air. The first thing I did was say I panicked prayer. I don't even know if I was saying sentences or just parts of words between quick breaths. But I knew that Heavenly Father knew what I needed. And He didn't leave my side from that moment on.
With shaking hands, I reached for the door next to me. I wanted to make sure I could move every body part. The door opened easily and I climbed out, shaking all over (I'm shaking now just thinking about it). Once I was sure I could move, I looked to see if I was bleeding. I found one scratch on my right forearm. It had one drop of blood, barely even noticeable. I remember staring at it and thinking "seriously? That's it?"
I'll skip the details about failed calls to 911, hysterical sobbing, and finally having a car pass by that I could wave down. I'm so grateful for the many people who provided me with comfort, a radio to contact dispatch, and a cover from the rain. They were constantly reminding me to drink water and asking me questions not just about the wreck but also about my life. They really cared about me.
The police officer who came and then drove me out to meet my mom was the nicest police officer I've ever met. He told me he rarely came out to that part of Juab county, and when he did it was for car accidents. However, he told me that the majority of those wrecks don't have survivors.
Everyone kept telling me how lucky I was. I kept telling myself how lucky I was. I climbed out of that car with no problem other than the nervous shake. I don't know how I got through that with just a scratch. My body aches, but it is intact. My breath was quick, but it was there.
One thing is certain, the sucker was no where to be found.
