The Diary
of
Anne Ku

5 February 2001 Monday

THREE CAR COLLISION

Driving has never been a true love - even posing in a red convertible I once owned. I'd rather be chauffeured. But in the States, especially a city like Houston, the only way to get around is to drive.

On the road, I would inadvertently lapse into either a zombie mode or scenario analysis mode. The zombie cruises on familiary routes. The scenario analyst asks questions like "what if I blink?" What if I jerked my right hand suddenly? What if somebody stopped suddenly?

This last scenario became reality this afternoon as I was driving up the I-45 freeway. Four lanes became three. Three lanes became two. I slowed down drastically. Then I felt a big bump that made me jump.

The car behind me smashed into my car. I pulled to the left - in the middle of the highway. While my rental car suffered very little damage, the bonnet (hood) of the car behind me was crushed like a tent. The driver came out and motioned that the car which hit him had run off.

I explained that I didn't live here and didn't know what to do. He shrugged his shoulders and said he lived in Dallas. Lucky for my mobile phone, I dialled 911. The driver interrupted my conversation in mid-sentence to say that we were going to take the next exit and wait for the police to arrive. He said that he would follow me off to exit 78.

What looked like 78 from where we stood turned out to be 70. At this point I had to make a decision. I was late for a meeting. I decided to exit. To my amazement, the car behind me just kept going. So I called 911 again as I drove back on the freeway. Having crossed the invisible border, I was no longer in Harris County where the accident had happened. I was now in Montgomery County. I was soon to learn just how the system worked. A hit and run became an administrative nightmare!

Yesterday

Tomorrow

I wasn't hurt. My schedule was delayed. I have no idea whether there was in fact a third car. Lucky for me, I survived.

From my father 9 Feb:

Get ready to feel shocked. Three-car collision! though neither Anne nor her rented car were hurt, yet I'm anxious to know what was the result about what Anne called administrative nightmare.