It was just a regular day at home with my husband and two kids, with another one on the way. We were bored and tired of sitting indoors. We called my husband's sister to see what she was doing, hoping to plan an outing. After some discussion, we decided, "Let's go to a buffet!" I suggested the Main Street Buffet on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, NV. Everyone agreed, and we were excited to go.
While getting ready, I noticed that my husband seemed to be acting strangely, as if something was wrong. I can't remember if I asked him what was troubling him or just decided to let it go. Once we were ready, my husband, the kids, and I packed up and left to pick up his sister.
When we arrived at her home, I remember her coming out, all bubbly and excited because she has such an energetic personality. She got into the car, and my mom came to say hi and see us off. My mom asked where we were going, wished us well, and reminded us to be careful.
As we pulled out of the driveway, I saw my mom looking out the window one last time to say goodbye. Then, we drove off on our way to have some fun.
As we drove down the busy street, I noticed glass scattered all over the road, as if a car accident had occurred. I thought, "Dang, how scary it would be to be involved in a car accident." The conversation continued as we headed toward Las Vegas Blvd. I was sitting in the passenger seat, my husband was driving, and my son, my husband's sister, and my daughter were behind me.
I noticed something was wrong with my husband, so I asked, "What's wrong?" He replied, "Nothing," but I could tell something was bothering him, and he still wouldn't tell me what it was. So I left it alone, took out my phone, opened Facebook, and began scrolling through my news feed. One post caught my attention; it read, "God Will Make A Way," so I decided to share it or repost it on my page.
Minutes after sharing that post, I set my phone down beside me. We were driving down Las Vegas Blvd, and I suddenly felt a strange, indescribable sensation. Everything became silent. We were just a few minutes from the buffet, approaching an intersection. I knew the light was green. As the "passenger driver" in the car, I often look left and right while going through intersections. I noticed a car speeding down the street on our right side and wondered why it was going so fast when our light was green. As I turned to recheck the traffic light, I realized the car was still coming at us quickly. At that moment, both his sister and I shouted, "Te! Watch out!" And then, BOOM! It was all over when I turned my head to look at that car.
Everything went black, and everything went quiet. There was nothing but silence. At that moment, I felt as though I kept waking up just as the car was being hit and rolling over multiple times. It felt like a terrifying ride that I never wanted to experience. For a brief moment, I thought we were dead. I thought I was dead. It truly felt like this was it. I sensed that I was there, but at the same time, I wasn't.
As I came to a realization, I noticed I was upside down in the car. That's when it all sank in: we had just been in a car accident. I couldn't move; everything was so quiet, and I could hear a ringing sound. Moments before I started to panic, I reached over and tapped my husband's arm to see if he was still alive. Then he grabbed my arm and said, "It's okay, it's okay."
"My kids! My babies!" I screamed, panicking as I struggled to unbuckle my seatbelt. I placed a hand on my belly, remembering that I was also pregnant, and worried, "Is my baby going to be okay?" I thought about my daughter, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt—where was she? My mind raced with these thoughts as I continued to scream. I turned my head as much as I could and saw my kids hanging upside down, still strapped into their car seats. Their hands and feet dangled, and their faces were red from crying and screaming. It was a horrifying sight. Within moments, someone grabbed my husband through the driver's side window because we were trapped in the car. They then tried to pull everyone else out. I remember they were attempting to pull me out, but there was glass everywhere, and I knew I would get cut trying to escape. I just had to get out. I remember telling the people helping, "I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant," so they could pull me out more easily from the crushed window. I heard someone yell in fear, "Oh my gosh, she is pregnant!" I still remember the glass pressing into my hands and knees as someone was pulling me out of the car. Once they got me out, I desperately tried to climb back in to get my kids. My mind was racing; I didn't know where I was or who had grabbed me. I was filled with worry about whether my children were okay. Thankfully, they could rescue them from the trunk of the car.
I sat in the middle of the street, not far from the car, unable to move. The pain was intense, and I couldn't get up or walk. My hands and knees were covered in cuts from the broken glass. Two kind women tried to help, finally getting me onto the sidewalk and seated. As I looked around, I saw my entire safe family standing nearby. My eyes then turned to the wrecked car, and I still couldn't believe what had just happened. The only thing I could focus on was the relief that everyone I loved was alive. Strangers, people we didn't even know, were helping us, holding my kids. It felt as though they were angels—showing up out of nowhere. I couldn't remember anyone being outside when we drove by.
The ambulances arrived and took us to the hospital. As the paramedics lifted me into the ambulance, I distinctly remember seeing our car upside down, facing the opposite direction on the other side of the street. It was a terrifying sight. I felt devastated and couldn't stop crying, consumed by worry for my unborn child. I spent the time praying fervently that he would be okay. At that moment, I was only seven months pregnant.
When we arrived at the hospital, they took my sister-in-law and me and placed us in separate areas for examination. I remember waiting anxiously to feel my son move. About 20 minutes after I prayed, he started kicking around. Since I wasn't bleeding, that was a good sign that my baby was okay and that God had heard my prayer. Thank you, Jesus!
While waiting for the doctors to take us to another room, I could hear the chaos around me. There had been so many accidents that day, and the sound of people screaming in pain and suffering was frightening and heartbreaking. I empathized with their pain. Eventually, I was moved to a different room so they could run some tests and check on my son, who was still in my belly. At that time, he weighed only one pound, so if I had to deliver him due to my ongoing contractions, he would have had a very low chance of survival. Thankfully, they didn't have to rush me into a c-section—he was going to be okay.
I couldn't walk at that moment. I remember my husband entering the room to check on us and our other two kids. I was unable to get up and walk yet, but when I finally could, I expressed how I felt as if the car itself had hit me. The driver who crashed into us had struck the passenger side going about 50 mph, causing us to flip, roll over, and spin.
After our terrifying accident, we went home. The thought of being in a car to go home really scared me because of what happened. But thank God for getting us home safely. It's a long story, but this terrifying moment that came into my life took a toll on my life for a very long time and affected me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Being in an accident like that with the people you love is traumatizing. After that day happened, it started to affect me badly. How will I fight this and hold myself together? It seems that even though I was blessed for us all to be alive, I still had my mind playing like a broken record of the whole accident, and it just kept playing over and over and over again.
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