Fiat Lux

So last night shortly after I pulled onto highway 101 to head home I was hit by another car, spun across the highway and off the side of the road. The other driver said she was swerving to avoid something and didn't notice there was someone on her other side. It probably looked pretty wild - 2 cars spinning across 3 lanes of traffic hitting each other as they spun. Thinking about it, I'm a little surprised the rest of the drivers on the road managed to get out of our way.

It all happened very fast and my main impression as we spun was mostly of blurring shapes in my window with me gripping the wheel and wondering what was going to happen next. She ended up down the embankment and I ended up half on the shoulder and half in the slow lane, facing into oncoming traffic. I'm not certain but I think I was hit twice and spun 510 degrees while heading off the road. At any rate, I was not hurt (albeit very shaken - I could barely stand for a few minutes because my knees were weak). My poor Saturn is another story. The polymer panels on the back left door and above the left rear tire are both badly busted. There's a big dent on the left edge of the back bumper, and most troubling to me, the left rear tire is on an angle instead of perpendicular. I'm told this means the strut is bent. I figure that's why I did not end up in the ditch like the girl who hit me.

The car is not drivable and was towed to a nearby body shop. The back of the envelope estimate I got last night is quite close to the Blue Book value of the car so at this point it's about even odds whether or not Allstate will repair my baby or write her off. The repair guy assures me she will be fixed, not totaled, but I want to be prepared for either possibility. I also tend not to believe anything that anybody in the automotive field tells me until I get outside confirmation. I know that not every auto mechanic is dishonest, but as a woman with a limited knowledge of automobiles, I also know I can get taken advantage of if I'm not careful.

Prior to this the worst accident I've been in was a fender bender about 18 years ago, so I don't have a big pool of experience to draw on for how to react. I was pretty calm overall. Shaken definitely but not angry. Maybe because nobody was hurt and the girl who hit me was so obviously upset and apologetic about it. Maybe it'll hit me later. We'll see.

I did get a little upset when the tow truck driver told me that there was no place to rent a car in Santa Rosa and he'd be happy to drop me off at the 24 hour Denny's so I'd have a place to wait while I figured out how to get home. Visions of being stranded at Denny's, 50+ miles from home and not a change of clothes or even a toothbrush with me, were kind of scary. Fortunately the body shop that took my car has a loaner car - a 10 year old Honda with 120000 miles on it and a roof so low my head brushes against it when I'm sitting at the wheel. Beggars can't be choosers, so I took it and got home only about an hour later than normal.

I hope the car is repairable. I am really fond of my Saturn and losing her would make me very sad. I should know more in a day or so after Allstate gets a person up there to look at the car.