On November 2, 1995 I woke up cheerful and excited because it was my seventeenth birthday. I got dressed for school and went to pick up those in my carpool. It was a miserable day, and the roads were more slippery than usual. The street near my school was heavy with traffic. I slowed to stop behind a line of cars. I happened to glance into my rear-view mirror and saw a car coming rapidly toward mine. My heart skipped a beat because I knew right then that it was going to hit us. I tried to open my mouth to yell and warn the others in my car, but I was speechless. When the car hit, we all jerked forward and then were pushed into the car in front. It all happened so fast that afterwards we just sat there in shock. I asked everyone if they were all right. Luckily, they were.

At this point I was still quite calm and got out of the car to assess the damage. When I saw it, I burst into tears. The back was dented and the back window was completely shattered. I could not believe what had happened in just a brief second. We were all so scared! The girl who hit us went to our school. She came running over and apologized, saying that her car had stalled and she could not stop. I told her that it was not her fault. After only a few seconds, a firetruck arrived. Then there were ambulances and police cars everywhere. Our necks hurt, so the EMTs put on braces and strapped us to stretchers. I was still crying. As they put me into the ambulance, two of my close friends came running over, crying and asking if I was okay. I said I was. We were taken to the hospital where they examined us and took x-rays. Luckily, it seemed that we had only suffered from whiplash.

Now it is several days later and I'm still scared to drive, especially when I look into my rear-view mirror. Everyone tells me that it is important to drive and eventually my fear of being hit will diminish. I know one thing for certain, my seventeenth birthday is one I will never forget! ,