Cushioning The Blow
Tina J. of Southern California has her Christmas angel to thank for avoiding serious injury in a car crash. "It happened Christmas Eve," she recalls. I was driving to a friend's house during the hectic Los Angeles rush hour. "The night was pitch black, and it was raining so hard that visibility was nil. The lanes of traffic were very congested. "I was stopped at a red light and my tiny white sports car was the last in a very long line of vehicles.
I was in the far left lane, wedged next to a two-foot-high cement island. "Casually looking through my rearview mirror at the reflection of the street lights and holiday decorations on the dark, shiny, wet street behind me, I saw the three cars.
J. of Southern California has her Christmas angel to thank for avoiding serious injury in a car crash. "It happened Christmas Eve," she recalls. I was driving to a friend's house during the hectic Los Angeles rush hour. "The night was pitch black, and it was raining so hard that visibility was nil. The lanes of traffic were very congested. "I was stopped at a red light and my tiny white sports car was the last in a very long line of vehicles.
"There was one car in each lane speeding towards the stopped traffic. The cars suddenly slammed on their brakes and started sliding and swerving all over the road as they attempted to stop. "I knew for certain that my car would be hit, and having no way to escape it, I murmured, 'Please, God, help me!' I braced for the impact.
Unexpectedly, I felt a very gentle, soft tap at the back of my car followed by a slight lifting sensation. I then heard the crash of cars slamming into other cars. "I waited a few moments to collect myself, and then got out of my car to see what had happened and give assistance to anyone who needed it. "As I exited, I was surprised to find my car sitting on the cement island. I had not felt enough of an impact to have been moved that far. "The car was exactly parallel to its original position, like it had been lifted up and moved three or four feet to the left, then set gently down. It seemed very strange at the time, but I really didn't give it much thought. Fortunately, no one was physically hurt.
However, there was considerable damage to several of the stopped cars and the three cars that had hit them. "What amazed me was that everyone wanted to know how I was and how much damage my car had suffered. I said I was fine and that nothing had happened to me or my car, since I wasn't hit. "With that statement, fifteen people stared at me with disbelief, asking, 'What do you mean nothing happened to you? We saw your car fly through the air! You got hit harder than anyone else!'
"Then we all walked to my car, and I showed them that there was not one scratch mark on it. "I was thankful that there were so many witnesses to this incident, as it opened my eyes to the miracle that had just taken place. From my perspective, I wasn't hit. "I realized that a force had protected me by lifting my car out of harm's way," Tina says. "Although I didn't see or hear anything, I know that feeling of being lifted had to have been my guardian angel."