Yesterday afternoon I woke up trying to ready myself for work when I receive a late call fifteen minutes after five o'clock from the hospital's nursing office telling me that I am being cancelled for the work tonight because our census was low and it was my turn to be cancelled.
Damn, I could not do otherwise but to accept the fact that I will be missing a day's worth of my paycheck which I will probably cover from my paid-time-off (PTO) in order for me to have a full amount of my salary on the next paycheck.
Well, technically I will be stucked and bored at home doing nothing after being off for six consecutive days after my PALS class. Having done all my chores and doing some errands few days ago I think it will be the right time to go out and treat my bestfriend for a movie.
I then phoned my bestfriend Kuya George and we planned to watch "Love Happens" starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. We heard that the movie has very good reviews and it was in the top five movies to watch for this week. And we were so excited because the plot was set in Seattle, WA; one of my favorite place in the United States. I remembered our two-week-long vacation there last Spring in May.
So, I told Kuya George to prepare and wait for me to pick him up in fifteen minutes. I then took a warm shower, changed, and grabbed my cream Armani fleece jacket and headed at Kuya George's place in Koreatown to pick him up.
I took the 101 Freeway going east from West Hollywood then exited at Vermont Avenue going south to Koreatown at 721 West New Hampshire Avenue where Kuya George had been living. On the way, I phoned him to just wait for me outside his apartment so that it would be easy for me to pick him up then we can take off immediately when he gets in the car.
When I got there he was already outside the gate, so I honked at him then he went down and get in the car. So, I drove a block from his apartment and made a right on 8th Street going west to Fairfax Place where The Grove Mall is located, where we will be watching the movie.
We passed about five blocks and when we reached the intersection of Oxford Avenue and 8th Street, while we were running on the left lane while on a green light, a red Nissan Altima car suddenly made a left turn on a no left turn lane across the street and while on a red light.
While we were running on a green light and she on a red light turning left suddenly, I collided with the red car on her right passenger side popping her side airbag and damaging my front fender-bumper, my headlight, my hood, and my left wheel while she collided with a white Honda Accord on the left driver side scratching and denting its side and the mug wheels. In short, she was being sandwich in between my beige Toyota Avalon and the white Honda Accord.
Me and Kuya George were frozen for a while inside the car and then we realized that we had just a freak accident. I was contemplating calmly what to do for a while while Kuya George was already freaking out and panicking right beside me. I then asked him if he was okay while I was meticulously checking myself for any injury. Then I saw the Indian driver of the white Honda Accord getting out of his car heading to the driver of the red Nissan Altima asking her if she was okay.
Upon realizing that Kuya George was okay despite knowing that he was a little bit shaken up by the accident, I went out of the car and went to the Korean girl driving the red Nissan Altima checking if she was okay and at the same time spoke to the Indian driver of the white Honda Accord about the incident.
Upon confirming with him who's at fault the three of us were exchanging information with each other while I checked the damages caused to my car as well as with the other two. My car was been damaged majorly but good thing nothing happened with me and Kuya George except with some minor sores and aches all over our body. No bruises, cuts, or whatsoever. We were lucky.
The Indian guy cautiously told me not to move the car so that the police can see what the situation was after the accident and he told me that he will volunteer also to be the witness telling me that the Korean girl was at fault because she made a left turn on a red light in a street with a sign saying "No Left Turn".
The girl says that she didn't saw the sign and that she thought that it was her green light, she then admitted that she got confused and was in a hurry to cross the intersection. Now the intersection was in an aweful traffic because our cars were still in the middle of the street waiting for the police to come and some motorists were already pissed off about the traffic. I can't do otherwise but to just listen with the angry heckles of the motorists and just have to wait for the police to come, not even touching or moving my car until they come.
Then ten minutes later the police came and assessed the accident, then they get each of our statements and testimony about the accident and made a police report about it. I then called my towing service from AAA and told them about my accident and that I needed a towing service immediately which they responded right away while I was exchanging infos with the other parties involved.
I then asked Kuya George if he was okay and told him to just sit at the corner street and wait till I finished talking to the policemen and the two drivers. I have to wait for forty minutes because the girl forgot her car insurance at home and she has to phone her sister to come and bring it while the police issued her a ticket for her offense of making a left turn on a red light while on a street with no left turn sign. She too was been shaken up a little bit by the accident and was in shock and in panic.
After I got the necessary paperworks and information ten minutes after nine, me and Kuya George then hopped in on the towing truck and instructed the tower to bring my car at Olympic Auto Body Shop on 6th Street and Westmoreland Avenue owned by my Korean friend Joseph Chu. The shop was already close that time so I instructed the guy to just leave my car in front of the shop and I will just call Joseph in the morning and come back there tomorrow to ask for an estimate.
I then decided to go at Kuya George's house, which is just few blocks away from the shop, and decided to just stay overnight there. When we reached his house I then called my insurance and filed for an accident claim explaining what had happened and giving all the necessary information needed. The insurance agent on the other line then instructed me to call tomorrow to follow-up for the claim then she gave me the claim reference number to use everytime I make a call checking for new updates.
Then me and Kuya George talked about what had happened and was so thankful that nothing had happened to us except with the minor aches and sores we experienced from the loud impact. Other than that we are just fine.
Well, no matter how careful you are in doing everything, you will never know you will encounter such situation that will put your life in danger.
In our case we were driving safely that peaceful night on 8th Street with the intention of watching a movie but we were stunned with that girl who made a sudden left turn on a red light in a street with a sign saying no left turn. They say that accidents are inevitable even though how careful we are. And it was a bad luck on our part to have met such one.
I did not ask for one though but I had it. It's just unlucky for us to be involved in one that night but if it's an accident it is an accident. If I could only turn back the time and stayed at home, I shouldn't have got involved in one that night. Too bad I made a bad decision of leaving the house.
So, the best lesson I've learned from that freak accident is that you will never know when something bad will happen even though how careful you are in evading one. So next time, we will just have to make the right decision in everything we do so that we can keep ourselves away from harm and danger.
Well, accidents happen inevetably and we all just have to take extreme measures and precautions as well as the right decision in getting away from it. Good luck next time......
P.S.
The next morning I went to Joseph's shop and he gave me a rough estimate about the damages. Then he phoned me a rental car where I got an alternate car to drive while my car is being fixed. I also called my insurance and told them where my car is so that they can go there and check for the damages and also investigate at the same time. Because I felt really sore on my neck and back and also Kuya George felt a lot of pain on his back I then called an accident lawyer to process an injury claim from the girl's insurance. I called in sick that day to have some rest.
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