Since moving back to the midwest, we head out from Indiana each Christmas day and make the trek up I-94 to Detroit to spend time with my wife’s family. This year was no exception. We spent the day eating dinner and visiting and the next day we went to see The Chronicles of Narnia at the local theater.
We hit the road that evening to head home. My wife and I were driving our aging van and our kids (Sean, Mia and Aaron), plus my son’s fiance Beth, were following in our Honda Civic. Near Kalamazoo, Michigan, I passed by a blue tarp lying in the road. I swerved slightly to the right and drove over it. Then it happened.
I saw my son swerve to the right in my rear view mirror to avoid the tarp and the next thing I saw was the car heading across the highway and heading directly for the concrete barrier that divided the east and westbound lanes. They hit the barrier head on at probably 60 m.p.h. I could not believe what I was seeing. I pulled over to the side of the road and put the van into reverse to get as close as I could to the car.
After hitting the wall, the car bounced back into the middle of the road with the front end pointing slightly towards the oncoming traffic. As I approached the car, my son Sean, who was driving, got out of the car and was checking on his sister and little brother in the backseat. There was a fine dust cloud or smoke from the air bags in the interior of the car. His fiance was afraid the car was going to catch on fire so she was trying to get out and away from the car.
At this point I realized that no one was seriously injured. What I didn’t realize is that no other cars were involved. I thought for sure there must be other damaged cars back there somewhere.
We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot of people to thank. Several people stopped to help and call 911. They stayed with us until the emergency personnel arrived and they knew everyone was ok. We don’t know who they were, but we thank them for their help and concern. I think the first fireman on the scene was from the Galesburg-Charleston Fire Department. Their Chaplain, the Rev. Jack Roomsburg, helped escort us to the hospital and gave me his card. They did a great job with the kids, comforting them, loading them into the ambulance and making sure that Mom and Dad knew everything was going to be O.K. Small town fire departments probably don’t get much respect or thanks, but we were very thankful they were there to help us on that lonely stretch of road.
We would also like to thank the doctors and nurses at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In the midst of a busy holiday shift, they did a thoroughly professional job making sure our kids were ready to go home.
And finally we’re thankful to the Lord for His mercy, for watching over us, loving us and protecting us.