Behind the steering wheel: Koponen shares accident details, stresses safety when driving

By Tuulia Koponen

Staff Writer

“Oh my God.”

Less than a minute later, out of nowhere, a white SUV plowed into the driver’s side of my sedan as I drove through the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and State Highway 121 heading towards a movie theater in Lewisville with a friend.

My car uneasily rumbled down the road, and I pressed my foot, hard, on the brake, my car swerving to a stop and an airbag bursting in front of my face.

I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen and felt myself start to lose consciousness. My friend uneasily inquired “What do we do?” And I just as uneasily replied, “I don’t know.”

That was the end of my driving to and from school days. The damage had been so severe on my car that it could not and would not be fixed.

Although a car accident is unlikely to occur on a neighborhood street, the possibility still exists. Therefore, safe driving should always be exhibited-even on neighborhood roads. Photo by Tuulia Koponen.

While I despise not being able to drive myself to and from school, I am fortunate my friend and I suffered no physical injuries whatsoever.

However, the severe lasting shock and horror of getting into the accident still haunts me.

It initially came to haunt me as I sat trembling in my parents’ car to leave the scene of the accident. As soon as I heard a noise coming from the trunk, I immediately jumped and turned my head, fearing a car was plowing into the back of the car. But, it was only my parents opening the trunk.

I cried myself to sleep that night, vividly recalling every detail of the accident – the haunting images and emotions that would not leave me alone – making it impossible for me to sleep that night even though my UIL Pre-Area Band audition was the following evening.

My brain played tricks on me, re-playing my accident, but instead of feeling the uneasiness of my car rumbling down the road, feeling and seeing nothing – a completely black, unconscious, dying image.

This nightmare still haunts me today. My brain automatically floods with the images of my accident about to re-occur before me whenever I sense any danger as I sit in the passenger seat, and even the few times I have sat in the driver’s seat, since my accident.

It is terrifying. I always feel a little voice inside me wanting to yell out “STOP! PLEASE STOP! NO!” But, it mostly just comes out as a very hurried “watch out” as the danger – as well as the fear – I sense subsides as I ride in or drive a car from now on.

I do not want anyone to face what I had to face and to have sheer horror and fears of almost dying taunt them every time they sense an accident about to occur.

I am so incredibly lucky and grateful though that shock and fear are the only damages I suffered following my accident that unfortunate December night.

It could have been way worse. I could have suffered major consequences – such as death – had the white SUV shattered the window on the driver’s side of my car, and not the portion of the door on the driver’s side as well as the front of the car on that side as it did in my accident.

Therefore, be careful when you drive. Be smart. Pay attention. Obey all traffic laws – even the 30 mph speed limit on Parkway Boulevard. And remember, your driving rights, your car, – or in extreme cases, your life – could be very easily taken away from you by you simply not being careful or smart when you are driving.

It cannot be emphasized enough how important it is to have your full focus on the road when you are driving. If you are even the slightest bit unfocused, you may just end up in an accident within less than a minute – like I did.

And be aware of your surroundings – especially when making a left turn when it is unprotected or entering an intersection when the light turns yellow – the scene at my accident.

Remember that driving is a privilege, life is precious, and both can be very easily taken away from you within the blink of an eye.

While driving is not a daily habit for me anymore, I still have my life – thankfully. I now lack emotional stability while in a car that I quite frankly do not think I will ever regain, but I would rather lack emotional stability while in a car, than a life.

Drive safely. Take my word for it, so you do not have to say the same three words I softly murmured to myself as I faced the inevitable crash that has ended my driving days for a while, and could have quite frankly killed me:

“Oh my God.”