It is fascinating how one moment can simultaneously seem like an eternity, and the blink of an eye. When I close my eyes, I can still recall what it looked like to be inside my 2017 Toyota RAV4 as it turned onto its side and slammed onto the pavement. I still remember the clash and bangs of metal and glass, and the frantic cries of my companion next to me. But I digress. Let me back up, and tell you how we got here.
Faith is a college student from Kenya, who was fortunate to have the opportunity to study Neuroscience in the United States, right here in Memphis TN, at Rhodes College. Faith, also an Adventist, had never before left her home in Kenya when she started as a freshman for the Fall 2023 semester. Around October of 2023, Faith called my church and left a voicemail, asking if someone would be willing to pick her up from Rhodes and take her to church on Sabbaths. Since I am the Head Clerk of my church, it is my responsibility to answer the church phone, and check the voicemails, so I was the one who received her voicemail on Friday evening, then called her back the next Sabbath morning.
Our church doesn’t have an official transportation service, so it seemed most efficient for me to go ahead and pick her up at Rhodes, instead of asking another member to do it. It would then become customary for Faith, and her friend, Claudiyah, to attend church with me. Then we’d head over to the Shephard’s house for a Sabbath meal, before I’d drop them back to Rhodes for the evening. The Shephard’s are a church family who took me under their wing on Sabbaths after my father had moved from Memphis to Miami Florida years prior. Even though I was 23 at the time of my Father’s move, I had always attended church with him and then eaten at his apartment after. So with my father no longer being in the city, I then started to go by the Shephard’s house after church on Sabbaths, and this tradition was kept up for almost 10 years at this point.
Fast forward to April of 2024. Faith and Claudiyah had been attending church and eating lunch at the Shephard’s house for the past several months now. We were all like family, teasing and bickering in the loving way that only the Shephards can do. On April 6th, 2024, Faith came to church as usual. Claudiyah had a conflict, and stayed home. I told Faith about my exciting trip planned to Dallas Texas the following day, so that I could see the eclipse coming on April 8th. She was happy for me.
We had communion at church. The women and men separated in the fellowship hall to wash each other’s feet. Then we convened in the sanctuary to partake in the wine (grape juice) and bread. It was a good time filled with worship and humility.
After church, Faith and I got in my car as we started our drive to the Shephard’s house. “What is one of your favorite Hymns?” Faith asked me, still feeling filled and blessed from the communion service.
“I like ‘Redeemed.’ But there are two versions of the song. A fast version and a slow version. I like the slow version because it feels more melodious.”
“Oh yes! I like that one too! Shall we sing it?
So Faith and I began to sing “Redeemed”, hymn 338 in the Adventist hymnal. Shortly after we started the song, Faith pulled out her phone to record our harmony. I smiled and gave a “peace” sign to the camera as we continued to sing.
Upon leaving the small neighborhood which surrounded the church, I approached an intersection which was right next to a Fire Department Station. At this point, some of the details are unclear, and some of the details are crystal clear as the next actions happened so quickly.
Retroactively, I know that my light was green. At the moment, I couldn’t tell you what color the traffic light was because the image of the color of the light doesn’t exist in my memory. Sometimes, I believe that my mind works like a database. I have a relatively good memory as I seem to file certain details away into particular slots and events in my mind. But while my memory can be pretty spot on, specific details are filtered by my subconscious, and therefore, selective by some unknown criteria.
As I was singing the hymn with Faith, I must have seen that the light was green, proceeded into the intersection as was routine, then instantly, and forever forgot the color of the light. A second later, I saw the silver car approaching from my left, the driver’s side. I shrieked and gasped. I tried to turn to the right to get out of the car’s way. It was futile. I heard the bang of the impact. I felt myself lift into the air as the world turned on its side. It felt like being jerked by a roller coaster. I saw the airbags deploy, but my mind wasn’t fast enough to register the meaning of it. Finally the last brutal CLANG crashed our eardrums and we found ourselves at rest on our side.
I looked down at Faith, dangling above her, being held up only by my seatbelt. My first thought was I’m conscious. She’s conscious. We’re okay. No matter what happens, we’re okay. Screw the car, Thank God! We’re okay!
“Hey,” I reached down to Faith. “You’re okay, we’re okay.”
“How are we going to get out?!” Faith cried out in a terrified yelp.
“It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re okay.”
“How are we going to get out?” Faith asked again.
“We’ll figure out a way to get out, but you and I right now, we’re okay.”
It was the only thing I knew to say. I was still in shock and processing what had just happened. But I wanted to calm her down, and I was so glad we were both conscious.
Soon after, we heard voices from outside. Witnesses of the crash. “Are y’all okay?!”
“Yeah! We’re okay!” I called.
Out of the windshield, I saw a man walk around the car to access. Two people talked amongst themselves. A man and a woman. Strategizing a way to get us out.
“We could probably break the windshield to get them out!”
“No, then they’d be hurt by the glass.”
“Maybe the back window.” Then to me, he called “Ay! Is it okay if I break the back window?”
I paused. Irrationally, I had a half second of doubt. Did I really want my window to be broken? Then I realized the ludicrousness of my thoughts. The entire car was going to be totaled. What’s the worth of a broken window if it can get Faith and me out safely?
“Yes! Break it!” I yelled back.
I don’t know how they did it. They must have had a tool to assist. I heard two loud bangs. On the second bang, the back window shattered, and glass fell all over the pavement and car interior. I continued to hear glass knocking about as the kind strangers cleared as much of a path as they could so that we could get out.
I looked down at Faith again. “Okay, I’m going to try to get out first, then you can come behind me.”
“Okay,” She agreed, awaiting my leadership.
I wrestled with my seatbelt, and finally clicked it off with some difficulty, then promptly fell on top of Faith.
“Oh!” She yelped. I guess I didn’t think that through. I was still in shock and disbelief, but now wasn’t the time to freak out or process. I could only focus on the very next task. Get out the car, one foot in front of the other, remember to breathe.
Trying my best to put as little weight on her as possible, I carefully stood up and hunched over, maneuvering my way through the sideways car. Fortunately, I had both of the rear seats laid down since I had recently used my RAV4’s cargo space to transport my bike for riding in the park. I made my way out of the front and stood on the backseat side door as I watched the path before me. It was covered in glass, and I didn’t have any shoes on. I had taken off my church sandals to drive, and who knows where they were now. I spotted one of my sneakers that I had packed to change into later. Then the other one. Still hunched over, I put them both on, no socks included, then walked atop the glass to the broken window. Seeing my backpack, which was tossed amongst other items, I picked it up to at least have one thing with me, then carefully slipped through the narrow, jagged rear window and let myself out of the car.
Finally able to stand up straight, it was then that I realized that I was in pain. My chest and shoulder hurt abnormally with every movement. The pain felt deep and internal. Wrong. Finally, my concern began to set in. I turned towards the car and watched to ensure that Faith made it out safely.
Remember how I said that there was a Fire Station right at the corner of that faithful intersection? The fire truck was already parked in the middle of the road, and EMTs approached us to ask if we were okay. They ushered us into the fire truck. Then, the kind gentleman allowed us to have a moment just to sit, and breathe, and process.
“Are you okay?” I asked Faith. She nodded. But she was on the verge of tears. I held her in my arms. “Are you hurting anywhere?” She couldn’t really answer me. “I’m so sorry…” I said softly. Really to myself as much as to her. Of course, I didn’t get into this accident on purpose. And at the moment, I didn’t even know if I or the other driver was at fault. But more than anything, if I had to be in a car accident that day, I wished that Faith didn’t have to be there with me. I knew I could make it through this, but I wouldn’t wish this on her, or on anyone.
After we had a moment to calm down, the EMTs / Paramedics asked us how we were feeling and if we had any pain. I told them about the chest and shoulder pain I was feeling. Whenever I moved, it felt like my muscles and bones awkwardly rubbed and folded against each other, as if they were not meant to move in that fashion. With my consent, they hooked me up to a machine that would check my heart. I sat for a few minutes with the wires stuck to my chest as the machine read my vitals. Fortunately, the EMT told me that everything looked fine and within the normal range. Faith declined any checks.
Then came the dreaded question from the EMT. “Would you like us to transport you to the hospital?” I can’t remember all the details of what they told us. In a nutshell, they said it looked like we would be okay, but also, getting professionally checked out after an accident is always recommended.
One thing that all Americans know is that if you are conscious and breathing, you DO NOT take an ambulance! The ambulance ride alone could set you back two, or three grand, or even more. Faith and I declined the ambulance ride and signed a waiver, stating as much to keep them in the clear.
We exited the fire truck. It was then that I saw the other car involved in the accident, a little ways down the road. The driver of the vehicle stood nearby with her daughter who couldn’t have been more than six years old.
Instinctively, I knew I had to speak with her. I didn’t even care about getting her contact information, or recounting the details of the crash. I just wanted to know if she was alright.
As I approached the woman, I asked her, just to be sure, “Is that your car?”
“Yes, that’s my car.” She sounded dejected and despondent, but also calm and non-confrontational. Even her daughter seemed… serious and resolute, especially considering her young age. As if this car accident was just a regular Saturday in the amount of hardships she might have already experienced in her short life. She and her mother both looked hispanic.
“Are you both okay?” I asked her.
Now the words she said next, to this day, I’m not sure if I heard correctly. I know what I thought I heard, and my reaction was based on my initial understanding. But when I think back to the moment, I realize that I may have easily misheard her, and sadly, I’ll never know the truth of the matter.
When I asked if she was okay, what I understood her to say was “Unfortunately, we are both unharmed.”
I thought that was a strange response, and I couldn’t understand why she would say that. Is she saying that she wishes she got hurt so that she could sue for injuries, or maybe get a lesser penalty if she is at fault? The uncomfortable confusion must have been evident on my face, and I didn’t know how to respond, so I ended up just walking away.
Upon reflection, I wonder if she had actually said “Fortunately, we are both unharmed.” If that’s the case, then I’ll be the first to apologize for how rudely I walked away after her statement. I’ll never know if I was the awkward one in that interaction, or if she was.
The Firemen had already called the police, then provided four chairs for the four of us to sit. The lady and her daughter sat well away from Faith and me. Then, it was just time to wait. Wait for the police to arrive. Wait for the tow truck. Just, waiting, waiting, waiting.
Faith and I sat in silence. I felt jittery and unnerved as I watched my car lay disheveled on its side in the middle of the road. I couldn’t believe we were both inside that hunk of scrap metal on wheels mere minutes ago.
After only a few minutes of waiting, one of my church members showed up. We were less than 5 minutes from the church, after all. She parked her car at the side of the road and approached Faith and me. “Hey, are y’all okay?” We both nodded. “Do you know whose car that is?” She asked, gesturing to my car laid on its side.
“That’s my car.” I said softly.
“That’s your car?!” The look of shock washed all over her face. “You were in that?”
We didn’t say much, just nodded as she hugged us, and we hugged her back.
Soon enough, more church members showed up. One by one, they kept piling in. I suppose the news was now spreading like wildfire. Heather and Faith got into a car accident. That would catch people’s attention and spark concern.
As members continued to arrive, I knew I had to notify two parties: the Shephards and my boyfriend, Lester. The Shephards had attended church that day, but they had left a little earlier and had just arrived home by the time I texted them. I told them that I had gotten into a pretty bad car accident right down the street from the church. OMW they responded immediately.
Then, I picked up my phone to dial Lester. He is very protective of the people he cares about, and hates to see me hurt. So I knew it would be difficult to break the news that I had been in a car accident, even though it was for the best.
“Hey babe,” He answered after the first ring.
“I don’t want you to panic,” I said calmly, “because I’m okay. But… I was just in a car accident and my car flipped over.”
I heard the worry in his voice as he asked for the details. He asked me who was there with me.
“About half the church is here. The pastor, pastor’s wife, brother so & so, sister so & so…” I looked around and listed all the names of everyone around me. It made him feel better to know I wasn’t alone. “I can’t stay long. I already have a ride coming. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Okay, Love, keep me posted.”
I hung up the phone, and continued to watch the church members around me. Some came to give us hugs, give us water, put a comforting hand on our shoulders, pray over us. The pastor’s wife also offered water to the other driver and her daughter. It felt nice to see how quickly they all piled in, showing how much they cared about us.
I was still processing all the events that transpired, and my thoughts didn’t feel like my own. Whenever I spoke, I stumbled over my words, and I found difficulty focusing on any particular thing or memory; the accident showing its effects on me mentally as well as physically.
Eventually, I spoke to the witnesses of the accident who had helped Faith and me get out of the car by breaking the rear window. A man and his adult daughter. I thanked them. A church member got their contact information for me. They said they could testify on what they saw if necessary. The rumors and accounts of the accident started to spill out from all corners as the witnesses spoke to some of my church members.
“She was speeding.”
“She was on her phone, is what she was doing!”
“Her daughter didn’t even have her seatbelt on!”
“I was sitting at the intersection about to turn right, and you were turning my way when she came and…”
“I wasn’t turning.” I corrected. “I was going straight.”
“Oh… okay, you were going straight and then…”
I tried not to get caught up in all the different accounts. Personally, I had no idea what happened. I couldn’t even recall the color of the light! For all I knew, I could be the one at fault, and unreliable narrators are a common occurrence. Regardless of who was at fault, I knew insurance would sort itself out. It just felt a bit disingenuous to pile all these accusations onto the other driver. Maybe they were accurate. Maybe they weren’t. But I wasn’t in a position to make that discernment in my current state.
The police arrived, and the officer spoke to the other lady first. Then he came to me. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” He asked.
With my jittery mind, I didn’t feel capable of recounting a factual event. Nevertheless, I gave it my best shot. “I was driving down the road, approaching the intersection and going straight. That’s when the other car came from my side and hit me. My car flipped over.”
“And what color was the light when you approached the intersection?”
I tried with all my might to recall. But I couldn’t. “I don’t know. I think it was green.”
“You think it was green?”
“I think it was green because I don’t run red lights, and I slow down at yellow lights. But I don’t remember what color the light was.”
“If you don’t remember what color the light was, that probably means it wasn’t green.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I wish I could tell you what color the light was. If it was red, I would tell you. If it was green, I would tell you. But I can’t tell you because I have no recollection of the color of the light. It’s not in my mind. Faith? Do you know what color the light was?”
She shook her head.
Here, the officer seemed to have mercy on me and dropped his line of questioning. “Alright, so these are the next steps. I’m going to record both of y’all’s informations and give you a record of each. The report will be filed under the incident number in the top corner, and you can look up more details by searching the number.”
I nodded along to whatever he said, just glad to have the interrogation be over with. A few minutes later, when he handed me the sheet of paper with all the relevant details, I tucked it away for safekeeping, but otherwise didn’t even look at it. I didn’t have the mental capacity to pay attention to it at the moment.
The tow truck arrived soon after. With their expert abilities, they were able to flip the car back onto its wheels.
“Look, Heather,” My pastor joked, “It’s ready for you to drive off!”
“Noooo, my baby!” I whined lightheartedly.
Now that the car was standing again, a few church members helped me get all of my personal items from the car, including my keys, which I was unable to get out of the ignition before. It’s so touching how they all gathered to offer help and support in any way they could.
I had a blanket in my car, which I used to wrap around all the other items to be carried at once. A knapsack of sorts. My church sandals, Iron Flask water bottle, sunglasses, Costco Card, and several other little trinkets all bundled up into the blanket to create a mound of valuables. Once we got all my items from the car, the mechanics loaded my car onto the bed of the tow truck and drove off.
“What are you gonna do now?” One member asked us.
“We’re going to go to the emergency room, just to get checked out, and make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea.”
The Shephards had arrived a few minutes prior, and before everyone left, the church members surrounded Faith and me in a circle as the Pastor said a word of prayer over us. I closed my eyes and took in the fact that this could have been so much worse, thanking God for his protection.
Faith and I slowly piled into the Shephard’s car. They took us to a trusted hospital where we both got checked out at the emergency room. The doctors and nurses took X-RAYs and MRIs and thankfully, the results came back within the hour. No broken bones, no internal bleeding, just muscle bruising. THANK THE LORD!!! I can’t believe we both were able to walk away from a flipped car with just some internal bruising!
At Lester’s specific request, I also asked the doctor if I would be okay to get on a plane the following day. I bet you forgot about the eclipse, huh? Not me! It stayed on my mind the whole time!
“Honestly, go for it!” The doctor said. “The only thing to be concerned about is that, with your bruising, it may be uncomfortable to sit in a tight space like a plane seat for a long time, but it won’t cause any extra damage and is not dangerous.”
“So I don’t have to worry about changes in air pressure affecting anything?”
“No, not at all.”
Relieved, I was glad that I could still decide for myself whether I wanted to go on my Dallas eclipse trip, instead of having circumstances force me to cancel.
The doctor prescribed two types of medication for pain and healing, then Faith and I were sent on our way. Since we didn’t actually get to eat anything after church, we stopped by Walgreens both to pick up our medication, and to grab a couple things to eat. Then, the Shephard’s son dropped us both back home. First, we dropped Faith back at Rhodes so she could get some rest and try her best to heal from this traumatic event.
“Oh, Faith, look at your shirt!” It was only now that we realized that Faith’s blouse, which she wore unbuttoned over her dress, was completely torn where the sleeve meets the torso. Unfortunate. It really was a nice shirt.
After Faith was home safe, I was then dropped off to my apartment. It was such a long day and I just wanted to sleep. But, I had a few calls to make. My mother, father, and sister, all living in separate states, needed to be made aware of my accident prior.
So that was going to be fun. I took my time calling each of them, one after the other, recounting the same tale, hearing their reactions and concerns, but keeping it brief. I needed to rest my aching body.
After I spoke to my family, I realized that there was one more thing I had to do before I could tune out for the evening. I opened my car insurance app on my phone and reported the accident. I was still unsure as to who was at fault. But I figured I’d let the insurance professionals handle all the details since that is exactly what I’m paying them handsomely to do.
Then I laid on the couch, and just contemplated. Eventually, I called Lester again and told him all the accounts of the day. “So, I know I was just in a car accident, and I know I’m in pain from bruising. But Lester! We are ABSOLUTELY still going on our eclipse trip tomorrow!” I assured him that the doctor said that a plane flight would be fine. I spent too many months planning for this total solar eclipse. Space doesn’t wait for you to get your act together. Whenever and wherever space is happening, you have to be there, or miss it.
The trip was important to me, and I was still up for it. The car accident already ruined my day. I couldn’t let it take away my solar eclipse trip as well. That is what would make me feel terrible.
In so many words, I was able to convince Lester that canceling our eclipse trip to Dallas would be unnecessary, and the thing that would make me happiest would be to continue to go on the trip as planned, despite the pain I was feeling. He was so concerned about me. It was very sweet.
I rested well that night and got up early the next day to prepare to take my midday flight to Dallas. As expected, witnessing the eclipse was phenomenal. No regrets.