Car Accident...

the Prius with the icy bridge in the background

For those who haven't already heard, I was in a car accident this weekend. Wenda and I were on our way to a craft show in Townsend, about an hour away. About 8 miles from the show, we came around a blind corner on a bridge and saw about 4 cars stopped on the bridge. I slowed down and tried to stop, but the bridge was icy and after sliding around a bit we hit the back of a stopped Tahoe. I'm guessing we were traveling about 55 mph when we hit.

One of the bystanders was shooing everyone OFF the road/bridge in case another car came around the corner. Then he pushed my car down the bridge and off the road to safety.

The car we hit had virtually no damage. A little smudge of paint on the back bumper and one side of the bumper is now slightly lower than the other side. That's pretty much it. I couldn't believe the disparity between the two cars. The front of my car was crushed. We're desperately praying the car isn't totaled.

the damage to the Prius

the damage to the Tahoe

After an hour or so of police talking to various drivers and bystanders, the reconstruction goes something like this:

An older couple in a black car were driving in the northbound lane when the hit the icy bridge, spun out of control and hit the guard rail, resting diagonally across the northbound lane. A gray truck in the southbound lane stopped to help them, parking across the lane, completely blocking the road. One by one, cars came around the corner, onto the bridge, and managed to stop. 3 cars piled up behind the black car while the drivers of the truck and black car stood in the middle of the road talking. That's sort of where things were when we came around the corner, with not enough time or traction to stop once we saw the cars.

Then the guys in the gray truck left before the police arrived.

Thankfully, there were no injuries. I am SO GLAD I didn't have Ellie with me, and I am so thankful for airbags. And I didn't get a ticket since the officer said with the blind corner, icy roads and extenuating circumstances with the other accident it wasn't my fault. I'm thankful for that, too. And after the whole thing, I still feel like the Prius is a very safe vehicle.