The right turn that turned out to be the wrong turn

I was sitting at the four-way stop on the street that led to my house and I had a decision to make. Would I go straight and turn into my neighborhood or would I turn right and go around the block? It was the first nice day of the year. My windows were down and the sunroof was open as Edge of Seventeen was playing. I had gotten my driver’s license in December, I had never gotten to drive alone on a sunny day when the weather was warm, besides I wanted to hear the end of the song.

I turned right.

As I approached the next stop sign I put my bubblegum pink sunglasses on, took a sip of my coffee, turned on my blinker, and soaked in the sound of Stevie Nicks repeating the words “ooh baby ooh baby said ooh.” I came to a complete stop, double-checked that my blinker was on, looked left right left, and I turned, but instead of going left, I felt the car move right.

All of a sudden the car was no longer moving and as I looked down I saw broken glass littering my lap. Too scared to look at the car that had hit me I stared ahead until finally, I gained the courage to turn to my left. The car that had hit me was a blue 2007 Chevy truck, adorned with my sunglasses lying broken on its windshield. I climbed out of the passenger seat door to talk to the man that had hit me, the driver’s seat door was completely smashed in.

I was filled with regret, both cars sitting in ruin. At first, the man was kind. He called me sweetie and asked if I was ok. I didn’t understand at the time. Why wasn’t he yelling at me? Even though I hadn’t seen him coming I had made the turn when he had the right of way. But then all of the sudden he went silent and sat on the bed of his truck.

With shaking hands, I called my parents. “Dad? I’m okay but the car isn’t. I got into a car accident” I said as Stevie Nicks continued to sing in the background. I haven’t listened to Edge of Seventeen since.

Once my parents got there I walked them through what had happened before the three of us turned to see the man that had hit me hunched over a police car getting handcuffed.

As it turns out the accident wasn’t my fault. At 11 am on a Sunday morning I was t-boned by a drunk driver. He had stopped talking and sat on the bed of his truck because he knew he had been caught. His fate was sealed and it was then that he knew that his truck wouldn’t be the only thing that wouldn’t be on the road for a long time.

The accident resulted in me refusing to drive for four months, holding my breath whenever I got in a car, and still, even almost a year later, feeling terror at every intersection, every light, every stop sign. On my way to and from school, my route takes me by the house of the man who hit me. His truck still sits, front bashed in with pieces missing, facing the road. I have to relive the accident every day. The guilt. The fear. The anger. I am filled with it all at 6:45 am and 2:25 pm every weekday as I drive down Allen Street, as I drive past his house. What hurts the most is that the accident could have been completely prevented.

The PA DUI Association reported that in 2020 there were 264 deaths in alcohol-related car crashes. Drivers’ education would have helped to prevent the accident by making sure that people are informed enough that they make smart choices when it comes to being on the road. In my situation, the man who hit me would have understood the dangers of getting behind the wheel while drunk. Resources for those suffering from alcoholism as well as resources for driver’s education should be readily available to everyone. Every two years people should have to retake something similar to the driver’s permit test to make sure that they are remembering and retaining the proper rules of the road, including information about driving safety. All of this combined could have saved the 264 lives that were lost in 2020 due to DUIs.

Driving is a huge responsibility and should be treated as such. Every single driver plays a role in making the roads a safe place. Remember to always come to complete stops at stop signs, look both ways, go the speed limit, be alert, and never ever drive while intoxicated. Think of who you will be impacting and endangering if you do. Think of the seventeen-year-old girl with her bubblegum pink sunglasses, both of which will never be the same.