The impact of two vehicles colliding at the mere speed of 30 miles per hour is indescribable, and in my opinion, can only be understood through the physical experience.

The calender read October 18th, 2010, and my older brother Rick, being a newly - licensed teenage boy, was eager to drive us to school. Dragging ourselves out of bed, we all eventually made it to the driveway. Rick, my little brother Chase, my twin Olivia, and I had compacted together in the car. The comfort of the relaxing morning had soon provoked into a morning that I would never forgot.

We were on the highway, and Rick decided he was going to make a turn without yielding, as he was supposed to. Another car, traveling the opposite direction as we were, ceased to slow down. I lacked paying attention, until Chase screamed "STOP!" at the top of his lungs. In less than a second, the vehicle nailed the front of our car. If we would have been going a little faster, the car would of smashed the side of us instead, and the outcome of the situation could have been MUCH more severe, even fatal. My expectations of a car accident were far off, it was much worse. My first thought when we hit was whether Chase and Rick, who were sitting in the front seats, were okay. By taking the airbag to their faces and the most force from the accident, a severe injury would seem to be the typical fate. Fortunately, Chase didn’t get a scratch on him.

We got out of the car filled with a terrible scent of airbag debree, and immediately shut off the engine. Olivia's earring had ripped out of her ear and a contusion had come about her thigh. Rick suffered a minor concussion, hurt his neck, and had slight internal bleeding, while a bruise had just swollen black on my knees. The women in the other car, screaming in horror, dragged herself out from her seat and layed in a puddle of oil. Later on in the day, I asked the doctors if she was okay, and they reported back positively. The police arrived almost immediately, along with an abundent of drivers aiding to our needs. My eyes were tearing up from fear and my body shook uncontrollably. An investigator-type man who seemed to be noting the accident asked us a variety of questions, including one came up the most frequent that day, "were you wearing a seatbelt?" Everyone was wearing one, which definitely protected us all dramatically. Two ambulances had arrived on the scene, taking us to the hospital. We were forced into the Emergency Rooms for hours. It hadn't even reached noon and my day had felt like a century. I had enjoyed all the attention from my friends, family, the doctors, and anyone else apart of this experience, however.

We were finally discharged from the hospital, and I had left with only a band around my wrist. My dad reported back the conditions of our car. The front end was protruded about three feet into the car, the driver’s and passenger’s seat was snapped off and broken, and the middle consol diverged upward. In general, the car was totaled. Everyone always tells me how lucky we are that no one was severely injured, and I’m always speechless. I had went to bed the night of the accident having learned two new things: always wear a seatbelt, which I properly wear every time I’m in a vehicle now, and appreciate every day, because life constantly throws out the unexpected.