R.I.P. Rebecca Sophia

Ok, the Bice family has had an extremely eventful week. First my grandma being put in the hospital (she's on 40% oxygen last time I heard, so she's doing well.) Now an accident that has me shaking 2 hours later.

So, my brother, sister, and I were in the van (Rebecca Sophia for those who want to know who she is.) There's a turn lane on 72 that I HATE for this reason alone: a) it's in the left lane, b) to use it you have to slow down to 25 mph at the most in a 60 mph zone, and finally c) everyone who's behind you has to slow down. So, this car who was turning was 4 or 5 cars ahead of me. Everyone was slowing down the best that they could. I hit my brakes because people started moving but someone else turned, so we hit our brakes. Until a red Honda Pilot's driver decided to become one with poor Rebecca Sophia. The driver was probably going 50 mph based on my dad's judgment, mine, the driver's in the car in front of me, and my mother's. He pushed my van 30- 50 feet before we came to a full stop.

My brother and sister shrieked from fear and shock. When I came to my senses after my shock, I looked in the rear view mirror and screamed because our entire back window was bye-bye- and my brother sits right in that seat, so I screamed because I was not prepared to see his head with glass in it. Thankfully, angels kept him safe- no scrapes at all :) Hannah was hysterical when the door wouldn't open, so she thought she was trapped. The kids clung to me, then the older lady who was in the car in front of us because she's a grandma- and my crying didn't help the kids, so that made them panic more. My parents were 1/4 of a mile in front of us, so they turned right back around when I called screaming something about an accident- my poor mother almost fainted when she saw the back crunched in and knew that's where her baby was sitting.

Needless to say, our beautiful van now looks like this:

The driver, who is in high school, showed no remorse. His mother tried to blame me from the get-go. Until the guy who was driving in front of me, who was a police officer for 30 something years, said he heard my van's impact with the SUV THEN he felt the thud from me. So she shut up... until we brought out the camera. She said "oh Jesus, you have to be kidding me!" My dad said it was for insurance purposes. I wanted to say other stuff, but my mom kept telling me to keep my filter on. Thank God for her, right?

the major damage

Needless to say, if Toyota ever needs a real story on the safety features of the Sienna, tell them to come talk to me. I highly recommend this model now. My dad was impressed it crushed the way it was supposed to. Oy with the engineers.