When you are nineteen, you think nothing can hurt you, that you’re invincible. Our young, developing brains are wired to make bad choices, to take risks, and to be impulsive. I thought speeding wouldn’t do any harm, everyone does it, but I was so so wrong. This is my story of how I almost lost my life, and how speeding to go hang out with friends isn’t worth dying for. Road safety and responsible driving are so important because you never know when you might lose control.
I will never forget the number eight, I see it everywhere I go. September 8th, 2023, was the day I should have died. It was a pretty normal Friday, I had no idea how the night would end. I worked at Petco over the summer, and because I had my car on campus and only lived an hour away, I agreed to work once a week or two to stay on the payroll. That Friday, I went to work a closing shift and left Petco around 8:30 p.m. I had plans with my friends after work, and I was ancy to get back to UMass to have a fun Friday night, especially since it was the first weekend after classes started.
It had been raining non-stop all week and had been thunderstorming that day. It was only sprinkling when I was on my way home, no harm in speeding right? Despite the pitch black of the night with only lightning in the sky to illuminate the winding hill town roads of Western Massachusetts, my foot was heavy on the pedal. I was watching for animals and I wasn’t even looking at my phone, but it wasn’t enough. The speed limit read 45 mph, I was going at least 55, but I always speed on these roads, everything is fine.
But then I crossed a bridge, where the downhill bend came too fast, and I slowed down too late. My car slid across the slick roads, and I lost control. Everything went quiet, I didn’t scream, there was nothing. The 100-year-old mother trees, with thick trunks, came closer, and closer. No guard rails to save me. I jerked the steering wheel, I slammed the brakes to the floor, and my car spun and spun and spun. Across the yellow line, my car slid, with multiple impacts, I’m not sure what happened. My head whips back, and I lose consciousness. At some point, 911 was called and my parents came. I was only ten minutes from my house, I should have just gone home.
The damage to my car was incomprehensible, the front end fell off, the back end dented in, windows shattered, tires flat and off the wheels. I was in a ditch on top of the 45 mph road sign, flattened into the ground, ironic. Countless times, I was told I was lucky to be alive. I was assessed and told I had no concussion, but as the days went on, it was undeniable that I was misdiagnosed.
After the accident, I haven’t been the same. I sleep excessively, I feel depressed with little motivation, my social life is struggling and my straight A’s have turned into D’s, all because I couldn’t follow the speed limit. I am working with doctors and mental health workers, disability services, and professors, all of this was avoidable. I am slowly recovering, and even though I am alive, and I am not paralyzed, there are still consequences.
I want to tell my story, to bring awareness to the dangers of speeding because no destination, no job, no interview, no appointment, no friend, no party, nothing is worth your life. Driving the speed limit, in fact, driving slower if there is bad weather, is what I should have done. You are needed in this world, you are loved, and your safety is what is important, not beating the ETA on maps. Drive safe.
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!