On the Flip Side

I planned a weekend hiking trip with my friend Valentin last April. Little did I know that our adventure would not be on the trails, but on the road. We got a late start that Friday. Valentin had been driving a few hours when it began to drizzle. Our destination was within a few miles when somehow he lost control of the vehicle and began swerving back and forth. We took a sharp turn off the road and started bumping along the unknown landscape in the pitch black.

I realized we were airborne when I felt an odd weightless sensation. At this point, it seemed like we were moving in slow motion, gracefully even, but then the car suddenly flipped over and crashed into the earth. It felt as though a giant snatched the car out of the air and thrust it violently into the ground.

Being upside down in a car was quite a surreal experience. I was hanging there in my safety belt, generally unharmed. Valentin was buckled in next to me without a scratch. We crawled out of the car, dazed and bruised, but alive. I didn’t realize how lucky I was until I saw the scene in the daylight. I can honestly say that a safety belt saved my life.

Kenna, Austin, TX