June 19: We were on our way home from vacation. Kaley and I were about an hour behind our family because we had to stop by the office and get a key for the one of the cabins to get a football that our brother had left. Then we did some shopping before we left town; I thought we still might be able to catch up with our family. I had noticed a vibration when we had headed down earlier in the week, but didn’t pay much attention to it because I had just replaced all the tires on my car so they should be fine, right? However, when we headed home, it seemed to be worse. I again brushed it off and told myself I would have my dad check out my tires when I got home. As we were cruising along, I had a funny feeling that I should be paying attention to our location so I could tell my dad where we were if something should happen. I usually get that feeling whenever I’m traveling alone, so I automatically started watching signs and exits but I also knew that I could look it up on my GPS.
1:40pm – The vibration suddenly turned into hard shaking and I could tell by the sound that my rear left tire was coming apart, so I turned the cruise control off. We were going 65. Just as I started braking, the tire completely blew out. I have experienced blow outs and flat tires before, and although I was frustrated that it had to happen on my way home from vacation, I knew that I could handle it...but then the unthinkable happened.
My car is rear-wheel drive, and I had it loaded down with our luggage and supplies from the trip, so when the tire blew out, the car started fish-tailing. I suddenly found myself bouncing and swerving all over the road. I did everything I knew to do to steer out of it and get to the side of the road. I have lost traction on ice before and have always been able to steer out of it, but I knew this time was different. I saw the road signs flashing by and heard my tires squealing and I knew it was all over. I thought I was going to die, and my car was going to be wrecked. The car started spinning and skidding across the road. I tried to steer into the skid, but there was nothing I could do. As we spun around on the highway, all I could do was pray. We finally came to a screeching halt. We were still on the road, and had not hit anything. Thank You, Jesus!!
Relief soon turned into panic as the oncoming traffic starting whizzing by. We were in the left lane facing the wrong direction. I tried to turn my flashers on and realized that my car had died. I couldn’t get it to start. All this time, cars were flashing by at 65 mph. No one was stopping, not even the ones who were behind me and saw it happen. I was panicking; Kaley said she would get out and push us off the road, but I didn’t want her to because I was afraid we were going to get hit. We were both praying this whole time. I finally let her get out because I knew we needed to get off the highway. She jumped out and tried to push but the car didn’t budge, so I got out and tried to push and steer at the same time. We finally got it moving, and I was trying to steer it because I could see that it was headed into the median. Then the back tire went off the pavement and the car started rolling down the steep bank of the median, picking up speed as it went. I was afraid we would never get it out of the deep ditch of the median, but I could see that there was nothing I could do to stop it, and I had to get out of the way or I would get run over, so I got out of the way of the driver’s door, and watched as my car rolled down.
We were now surrounded by cars on both sides, so we got in the car and buckled up, praying that no one would run off the road and hit us. It was about 100 degrees outside and was stifling hot in my car, so I once again tried to turn the key and this time it came on. I turned my flashers on and cracked the windows, but then turned the car off because it wasn’t running well at all (I later found out that my car has an automatic choke that kills the car upon impact or, in my case, when it starts spinning so the engine won't catch on fire). Then I picked up my phone to call my dad; all this time we were thanking God for saving us, and praying for continued safety. I didn’t get choked up until I called my dad; I asked him where he was and found out that they had taken a wrong turn so they were actually behind us. I then calmly starting explaining what had happened. He asked if we were okay, and I told him we were, but I didn’t know about my car…that’s when I started crying. I love my car, and have always taken really good care of it. It’s my baby; I never wanted anything to happen to that car. He stayed on the phone with me the whole time, asking me where we were, and we were able to tell him what towns we had already driven through, what highway intersection we were at, etc. They were about eight minutes behind me. Someone finally stopped and asked if we needed help, but when I told them that my dad was on the way, they drove on and never got out of their car. Finally we saw our family van, so I hung up with my dad while they pulled over on the side of the road.
I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a sheriff pull up. My heart sank. He walked down to my car and asked if everything was alright. I just looked at him like are you kidding?? and said “We are okay.” I had my sunglasses on and was hoping that he wouldn’t be able to tell that I had been crying. He looked at my car and asked what happened. He seemed surprised when I told we were actually headed in the other direction but had spun around when my tire blew out. He then asked for my license. I have never, ever been pulled over or had a wreck or anything, so I was just devastated. I handed him my license through the window and he got in his car and drove over to my parents. I started bawling. I know; I was being way too emotional about it, but I had also had a stressful week, and my emotions were high anyway. I knew he wouldn’t find anything on my record, but I was afraid he would think I was a reckless driver or would think I had been drinking or something like that. Kaley was calm and trying to reason with me. Dad came over and walked us across the highway to the van. After seeing my car he said he thought we could just put the spare on and drive it out without having to call a tow truck. The sheriff handed my license back to me without any comment and he and my dad walked over to my car. I waited in the van while they pulled everything out of my trunk and changed the tire. A highway patrol officer stopped also. After about fifteen minutes, my dad got in and I watched as he drove my car up the bank and out onto the highway. Good ole pony!
Then began the adventure of trying to find a tire that could get us the remaining three hours to home. We were out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by small towns. Dad and I drove from place to place for two hours trying to find someone in this small town who was open on a Saturday afternoon. By another miracle, we finally found someone who had a used tire that would fit my rim. After changing the tire, we were back on the road.
I am amazed that God kept my car on the road and away from other cars and all the road signs. I truly believe it’s a miracle that we were able to walk away from that, and then drive my car all the way home. The paint is shattered on the rear bumper from the shredded tire hitting it, and the car needs an alignment, but other than that I think everything is okay. I should have taken a picture of the tire because it was completely shredded.
I really thought I was going to die, but I guess God isn’t finished with me yet. He must still have something for me to do here on this earth. I am so glad He spared me! I won’t forget my skid marks on highway 13.
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