First off, we are all okay. Stephen was driving, and Gramma was in the passenger seat in the front. I was in the back with the boys. We're all a bit sore and shaken up, but we are safe and well and I am humbly grateful to God, and the mechanical engineers at Toyota who designed my Toyota Sienna.
Here's what happened. Another minivan was waiting to turn left across a major road in front of us while we were stopped. It was late rush hour in Atlanta. A sedan going the opposite direction was just driving along at a good speed when the minivan decided to go for it and turn across the oncoming traffic. He didn't even see her. Anyways, the sedan hit the minivan, which spun and slammed into us about 5-10 feet away. Both airbags deployed and the whole car was knocked back a few feet. It was a physics exercise in kinetic energy - like pool balls hitting eachother and transferring all their energy until the last ball is hit. That last ball was us. You can see where he hit us is totally flat:
Well, after the accident, we all got out of the car because there was smoke in the car (probably from the airbags). The kids were really scared, of course. You can see here that Nathan has his "flat face" on, and Ryan is clutching his "purple blanket" and sucking on his fingers like there's no tomorrow. Ben looks okay, but is trying to distract himself with a maze game - this is what he does when he wants to avoid what's happening.
Gramma was complaning of chest pains, and hoping they were from from the seatbelt. She got checked out on the side of the road. Stephen got a huge gash on his arm from the airbag exploding, but he was totally fine other than that. (He's taking the pictures here, so you don't see that)
The firefighters were AWESOME. They showed the kids Gramma's EKG and her heart rate, and they were so kind to all three boys. And, I must say, they were very patient with me.
Gramma had to get transported to the hospital because of the chest pains, where they checked her out and determined that it was a bruised sternum. Thankfully, no cracked ribs, and no heart issues. Thank God for that!
Stephen went to the emergency room with his mom in the ambulance. The car was clearly undriveable and so the firefighters drove me and the boys to the fire station to await a ride. Again the firefighters earned my undying gratefulness with the kindness they showed the boys while I was on the phone trying to find a ride for us home. They showed the kids around the fire station, and even showed them how the fire poles worked (not as simple as you would think). They even changed the channel from the baseball game over to Phineas and Ferb so that the boys could watch TV. Now, THAT is dedication to my kids! Our neighbor, Marc, was able to come get me and the boys and bring us home, and then again came over to watch the boys so I could go pick up Stephen and Gramma at the hospital later that night. Thank yo uso much, Marc - and Roger, too, for lending us Marc and certainly impacting your evening!
In the aftermath, I now feel nothing but immensely grateful: for the safety of my children, the relative lack of hurt to our whole family, the amazing kindness of our neighbors, the performance beyond the call of duty of the firefighters, who made my kids feel safe after such a scary accident. And even more than anything else, I am grateful that my husband, who was in the path of an oncoming minivan with nowhere to go, was saved by a safe car with good airbags.
I think we'll be buying another Toyota Sienna soon. :-)
P.S. The driver of the sedan is also totally fine. Unfortunately, the driver of the minivan that caused the accident was not so lucky. I think he will be okay in the end, but he hit his head pretty hard and had to also be transported to the hospital. He was very disoriented after the accident, and we will keep his health in our prayers.
