The crazy thing is. We found out shortly after that our crash had been caused by the sudden braking

It was a 1,000 mile drive from Austin, Texas all the way to Phoenix, Arizona. I’d been told by so many people during my journey that Arizona would be a beautiful drive ‘where god paints the sky’. It was something I was so excited for, and rightfully so. It was spectacular to say the least.
Mountains, oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego crazy desert land, rock formations of the likes I’d never seen, crazy open views and mini tornados everywhere. Not to mention the fact that I could see a storm in front of me and actually estimate how long it would be before I entered into it.
At this point in the trip, my friends oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego had flown over to join for me a two week road trip and we were 2/3 of the way through, heading to Phoenix before shooting up to Las Vegas the next morning. We had two cars between the seven of us; the 1995 Ford Mustang and their big red Dodge rental car.
During a 14-hour drive you tend to switch it up a little, friends switch cars, we stop for food, switch again. It’s a good way to keep on your toes, keep yourself awake and keep things alive on the road.
Towards the last hour or so I was driving and I had two of my good friends in the car with me – Lee and Callum. Lee was in the front passenger seat to my right and Callum was in the back seat half asleep lying down. You see, the back of my car was where we took turns to sleep. If someone didn’t want to be disturbed and wanted to lie down – they’d get in the back of my car and enjoy the pillow I had waiting for them!
Callum was in and out of sleep as we neared the end of the drive. Lee and I had been using that time to talk about the hilarity of the trip so far, Taylor Swift and some long-overdue business related updates. oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego About half an hour had passed, we’d been deep in conversation for a while, Callum had woken up, and the sun had set. This brought us just into darkness – you know, that time when the dark has just fallen, then somehow 5 minutes later its pitch black bar the street lights and moonlight.
I don’t remember what time it was, I don’t remember what we were talking about, I don’t remember what song was playing, I don’t remember what I was thinking about. I don’t even remember what t-shirt I was wearing… but here’s what I do remember…
As I realised what was inevitably going to happen, I thought back to one thing my dad taught me from day one of driving “Never swerve left or right unless you have time to see that nobody else can be hit or hit you.”
When you’re in a situation like this your brain goes into survival mode. And in what felt like about 0.001 of a second oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego I was able to weigh up all my options and decide which was best. In my head it went something oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego like this…
Turning into either lane had a high probability of a far worse scenario. If I’d taken the option to swerve, we’d have potentially had a car hitting us in the side at 65 miles per hour therefore forcing us into the red car regardless. This would have definitely caused a serious injury to me or Lee whilst also including an additional car in the accident.
Whilst the above was taking place, I was slamming down on my brakes. Unfortunately, in a 1995 Mustang they were not ABS enabled and were extremely weak. However, the brakes did slow us down to about 40mph from 65mph.
We began to skid for what felt like 15 seconds. In reality it was closer to 3-4 seconds. I clutched the steering oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego wheel with all my strength, stretched my other leg forward and awaited impact. I witnessed Lee in the corner of my eye put his arms forward to hold-off the impact and similarly use his legs to push himself backward into the seat. Callum however made potentially the best choice of his life… seconds earlier he was without seatbelt, sitting in the middle of the back leaning forward talking to us both – he slid to the right, put his shoulder oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego up against the back of Lee’s chair and held on awaiting the impact.
oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego That is quick thinking. Without oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego Callum’s extraordinary quick movement, he would’ve been thrown into the front of the car for sure. Who knows whether he would’ve survived? I suspect he would’ve gone through the windscreen or at the very least flown forwards and been somewhat crushed by the impact – probably causing damage to myself and Lee on the way, too.
As we hit our friends in the red rental car we were flung forward… the loudest of all smashing sounds ringing through my ears. The g-force in the sudden stop like no adrenaline or rollercoaster oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego I’d ever experienced. The seatbelt ripping into my shoulder like a blade. The airbag blowing-up in my face and chest, as if someone were punching me directly in the heart. The sit back. The relief.
Once verifying the guys were ok, my second thought was that we were sitting in what could’ve been a ticking time bomb. It was smoky, really smoky. As I looked around me all I could see was a thick white cloud of smoke. My eyes burning red. That s when I noticed the heat too. It had become intensely hot and I could feel myself beginning to wake up to what could happen. Who knows what part of the engine was mixing with what fluids, what sparks were where and what might randomly ignite. oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego I screamed for us to get out of the car. We all scrambled out rather quickly and ran to the side of the interstate to breath for a second.
I took one look at the car… crouched down, bending my knees so I’m sitting back on my feet and let out a combined breath of relief and disbelief. I couldn’t handle what had just happened. For a second there I was overcome with emotions and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I remember my face uncontrollably shaking as if I was about to burst out – but nothing, I simply took a second to take it all in.
They mostly looked fine, but one or two were holding their necks – though it seemed oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego more precautionary than anything else, checking themselves almost. oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego They assured oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego us they were all fine and were clearly glad to see we were all ok. In fact, more than one asked about Callum oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego first as they knew he’d been in the back potentially asleep. And I quote… “Man, I’m so glad not to see Callum a mangled up mess right now! What happened?”
The crazy thing is. We found out shortly after that our crash had been caused by the sudden braking of a crash about 8 cars in front of us. I don’t know what happened to them; hopefully they all made it out with no serious casualties. But I know that once we were all safely to the side…
After 10 minutes on the side of the road in a really sombre situation, in true lad fashion Dave comes out with Fuck me, I need a beer!” suffice to say we made our way out in celebration of survival, enjoyed the night and came away with an unbelievable story to tell.
"Mike is probably the most talkative guy I've ever known - if he has an 'off' button, I haven't found it! Commonly referred to as 'Chara', he has an uncanny ability to talk passionately about practically any subject. His energy and positivity is infectious. Expect oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego to see him shredding up the dance floor, particularly when Michael oceanfront vacation rentals in san diego Jackson drops. A lover of travel, adventure and meeting new people."
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