I was driving to school one day on a two lane road in my 1993 Chevy C1500 when I was 16. In a 55mph zone, a truck driver ahead of me was going 35. I had tried to find opportunities to pass him on several occassions, but the traffic was pretty bad. There were abour three other semis behind me who had been laying on their horns for some time (this was a truck route to bypass going throught the downtown area and recieved a lot of truck traffic, especially in the mornings). The guy finally got the idea and got up to 45, but I was running late. Shortly after going over a bridge a passing zone came up and traffic was stopped at a red light at an intersection about a mile away. So I pull out and start passing the semi... as he's going down hill. Yeah, stupid mistake, especially since I heard him accelerate not much longer after I pulled out.
So my 350 cu. inch engine (that's a 5.7 liter for you metric people) couldn't manage to give me the speed to pass... and the light changed. I tried brakeing, but it had been dry for about 3 months and we had a light sprinkle going earlier that morning and the road was slick. Even if I could have, the semis behind me had pulled into my spot, and they weren't about to slow down.
So I pull onto the oncoming traffic's shoulder, attempting to avoid hitting oncming traffic. As I do so, a small Kia something (a Rio or Sephia) pulled on along with me. I swerve back into the lane of oncoming traffic to see to my surprise a Hummer H1 followed by a Ford Excursion and a Suburban.... So I end up going into the ditch to keep from killing or being killed. The problem was, this was no ordinary ditch. I flew down an embankment about 45 feet deep and 25 feet wide. I got enough air that I got to see my glasses float off of my face.
But what goes up must come down, and I did so violently. Actually, it wasn't the fall, it was the mound of dirt filled with pine and oak roots that abruptly stopped my foward movement from a lovely speed of about 55, then I landed. I'm glad I hit it instead of a pine tree a little further to the right. Miraculously enough, I was able to walk away, albeit from the passenger side. Give it up for stainless steel frames and body panels without crumple zones
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I thought I was okay. I had no outward injuries, and turned away the free ambulance ride. My mom came and got me and took me to school, as my truck was undriveable. The front tires came off the rims when I landed. And me bending the steering wheel didn't help much either. I was sitting in home room for all of fifteen minutes before I asked my teacher if I could go to the nurse. The adrenaline wore off rather abruptly about an hour after the wreck. So I end up going to the ER and finding out I have bruised my ribs and shoulders and sprained several muscles in my back. It was that day that I discovered the joys of Vikodin.