It's such an incredible story...I have to share.
God was good to protect us!
We went to Florence for a day just to surprise my Mom for her 55th birthday; she, my dad, and sister left the following morning to return to Oklahoma. At the close of our visit, Baby M and I ended up leaving late for our 2hour 20 minute drive, a little before 9pm. For half the trip we had to travel along a 4 lane, divided highway with decent roads but pretty barren (so I always fill up before we leave and make sure we've eaten, etc).
We were about 20 minutes into the drive. I had my cruise control set to 67mph...the speed limit is 65mph. So I was speeding, BUT I will stress that this is a straight-shot highway and there isn't much traffic on the road.
And then I saw it...the cliched deer in the headlights was a reality. Smack dab in front of my car.
The below diagram will fill you in better than I could describe in writing. But I'll attempt to set the scene:
- I immediately hit the brakes which took the car off cruise control
- I swerved my car into the left lane to avoid hitting the deer head-on at 67mph
- The combination of me swerving and braking caused the car to fishtail
- At some point I overcorrected and ran off the ground which caused my car to spin out of control
- I crossed the dividing median and did either a 180 or a 540...I was disoriented so I'm not quite sure if we spun a half turn or 1.5 times
- We landed facing the opposite direction in the median.
Thank God we're alive!We didn't hit anyone.
No one hit us.
We landed off the road rather than facing oncoming traffic.
My car with a higher rollover rate {by virtue of it being an SUV} didn't turnover.
And other than some mud on the front right tire, there was no visible damage. The car was still in perfect drivable condition.
And the deer escaped without a scratch.
Thank you God!
And bless the women in the Explorer who pulled over to make sure we were okay. They drove with me to the nearest rest stop about 4 miles away so I could look at my car in better light and to check my wheel alignment. Wow- we were so fortunate.
12 comments:
Oh my, I'm so glad you and your little man are ok. You must have been so shaken up afterwards. I don't think I would have been able to drive home after that. God is good and he was definitely watching over you that day.
Hopefully you won't be in that situation ever again. xo, Cristi
Save animal.
Thanks Cristi-I was rattled for a while! Driving back home I went 10 mph UNDER the speed limit and actually felt safer with heavier traffic.
God is good!
That's amazing! So glad you're OK!
Thank GOD y'all are okay... HE was watching over you!
I actually had a similar accident with a deer a when I was in college-only i hit the poor animal, and my car was totaled--probably could have avoided it if I didnt swerve!
Rule #1 (as told by my grandfather, who lived in backwoods, AL):
If you happen to see an animal on the road, never swerve and never make an "emergency stop" to avoid hitting the animal. Glad you guys are OK! SCARY!
Thank y'all...it's no "accident" that we're okay =) We definitely had some angels keeping us safe-particularly because I reacted the opposite of what I'm supposed to do, as Hess suggested: I both braked & swerved!
Praise the Lord for His protection! I'm glad He was watching over the both of you :)
Thank you Lindsay!
Wow! How scary! I am shaking just imagining it. I am so glad you are both okay!
Wow!! That's crazy! My heart would still be beating fast...I'm glad you're all okay!
Thank you so much Jamie & Rachel- BEFORE the deer, my family was worried that I might fall asleep so their biggest concern was getting coffee in me. AFTER the deer, my family was worried that I then had too much coffee in me (I keed!).
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