On July 17, 2006 I was heading home from doing errands in town with my oldest child, 2.5 at the time. We were sitting at a stop light and an 84 year old man in a brand new F150 rear ended us going about 45. He never even slowed down for the light and later reported he swerved out of the left lane to miss a car. I was in the right lane and no one was next to me at the light. So he got confused and swerved out of an empty lane and hit us. I was pregnant at the time, lost the unborn child, broke my back and neck. My son suffered a skull fracture to the front of his head which cracked all the way down the right side of his skull. The driver was uninjured but his health quickly digressed and by November of the same year past away.
We found out that he had failed a driver test 2 months previously and did not recieve a renewal from the DMV. He decided to drive without a license. Ironicly he was a neighbor in the community we lived in. Neighbors later told me about him having trouble backing out of his driveway and at the mailboxes, almost hitting a house and a power pole in two separate occasions; hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake.
He was also on heart medication, which is usually labeled to not operate heavy machinery or driving while taking.
Our lives are forever altered by this incident. My son recovered well though now 4.5 I wonder sometimes if he is just being a typical boy or if he has damage to his control centers (located in the frontal lobe). He has a terrible scar on his forehead and it is dipped in and discolored some. I have nagging neck soreness and pain and my hips and pelvis will not stay in alignment. Not to mention all the emotional suffering and flashbacks and insecurities plus what my husband and other child went through without a wife and mother to care for them for a time. It was blessed chaos having others come in and help, but small children do not understand all the upheaval and changes. And a husband needs his wife, if yo know what I mean!
About 3 months after this accident I had another eldery woman pull right out in front of me, she never stopped and never even looked. Thankfully I was able to stop in time.
Eldery people driving in this country is a big problem. They slow down, reaction time is severely compromised, their eyes are not what they used to be and some are not mentally intact. Our family has been dealing with a grandfather who just turned 87 and is scary on the road. We have been trying to get him to move closer and give up the keys. I just don't want him to do to someone what was done to us. It would kill him if he ever injured another. As for the man who hurt me and my family, neighbors told me he never recalled being in an accident. He was spared living with what he had done; we are not so fortunate as even almost two years later we are daily reminded that our lives are forever different.