So I'm driving home and on the phone (handsfree) with my roadtrip partner in crime to be. It's a sunny warm day and traffic is moving at a good clip, 5 miles from home. Coming home early in fact. The fast lane. Lately avoiding the slower lanes because the trucks crush the pave and make it like a 3rdworld roadhazard from one huge crack and dip to the next.
The fast lane though, the fast lane is smooth sailing. Until suddenly there's some rapid breaking and dodges to the left shoulder. Real fast. In tandem. And me, left with pie on my face. Except the pie is a 3ft long 7in" tall and just as thick, hunk of metal. And i think, well, fuck i'm going to hit it, and oh shit, no, it's not going to clear my car. In one immobile mocking swoop it cracked my bumper, took out my radiator, ripped the coolant line, gashed my oil pan, punctured the transmission pan and sent my OH FUCK! button blinking. But just initially i said, Oh, my gosh, i just hit something. Yes, yes, i am going to pull over- as the impact sent dust into my air vents... I watched it spiral to the side and less harmfully parrelled the oncoming traffic and i saw a truck pulling over to the shoulder and wondered if he'd maybe lost a carthrashingdevice. For a few blissful seconds the car seemed okay. i made it to the 2nd lane when ! "ohshit" light came on and then to the slow lane where the check engine light aka "you're fucked" also signaled my steady decline from okay to not.
I thankfully, speedily made it off the freeway, not interrupted by one car, and had enough time to pull under the overpass as my car began to sputter and die. I remained on the phone with my friend, watching the life of my car ooze down the cement, floods of green and black oily death. She expressed her concern that I'd also just lately gotten a ticket and then i mentioned to her that a car hurtled at her just a few weeks ago as she stood by some guys parked car, and he crashed. I began to immediately worry for our safety on the trip. Then: how am i getting to work? And: Oh, yah, this is my parents car and dad saying, well it's only worth $4,000 and now we've got $2,500 worth of damages and blah blah blah.... I'm not quite ready to buy a car I thought. And shouldn't I call someone about the carthrashingdevice? Has someone already called? Has someone else already hit it? Who lost it? Who for fucksake put it there and left it for me to hit? But I should probably call someone shouldn't I??
In instant replay i continue to hit the object deadon. I think about swerving and if i do it punctures my tire, blowing it, and i spin out and get thrashed by oncoming traffic. In instant replay i swerve and miss it and the next guy hits it. In instant replay the other cars honk and warn me in time, but I still hit it. I still hit it. Still. And my car is still not okay.
10 comments:
So glad you are ok. Sounded scary, esp replayed in slow mo... hope you're recovering. This reminds me of how evil LA traffic is... was that too harsh to say out loud? It's evil, really it is, that no one bothered to remove the thing. It could have done other, more serious damage. Shall we have a funeral service for the car, though?
omg!!
what was the thing you hit?
and, yes, glad you're okay.
whew!
How terrifying! Big city traffic is really no bother until you have a road hazard. I'm sorry to hear about your car - that's a terrible sinking feeling. But I'm glad you escaped unscathed, which sounds like it took some maneuvering. Kudos to you for keeping a cool head!
At least you're okay. I recently lost a muffler and R rear tire to some crap in the road - sadly, it was not expensive enough to cover the insurance deductible, so I paid for it all.
yah it was so LAME! it was just a big metal rectangular heavy something or other. no idea- it wasn't a scrap of something or anything that had broken off. it was just like hitting a beam. but i'm okay. very glad the car eventually cleared it and i was able to get over. it just sucks more than anything. today i have to rent a car. wee.
That sucks. You'd think people would secure their crap better, because a big metal thing...not just going to fly out the back of the truck like all the little debris you get pinged with behind the gravel trucks. (Which I also hate 'cause I feel like some rock will fly out and shatter my windshield.)
Oh dude. Well -- foremost, I'm glad you weren't hurt!! Sucks about the car, though. But, like you said, you never know what the alternatives could have been. Here's wishing you luck -- and a sack of cash! -- with getting a new vehicle.
If only the owner of the giant metal thing would come forth and take responsibility...
Complete utter tragedy.
tonight, and this is true, I had to dodge a hot water heater in the middle of hollywood blvd.
This place is a fucking mess.
woah! what!!! horrible. exceptionaly so. glad you're okay though. what're you going to do- fix it or get a new car?
Post a Comment