By Karen Balice-GregoryCommunity Columnist

SundayMar15,2020at2:59PM

There are not very many things that stop me in my tracks but this week something did. In the process of carrying out a fun and relaxing day out of town with one of my great nieces, we were literally plowed from behind by a huge truck on a busy road during rush hour. The driver in front of us was trying to get into the turn lane and I was patiently waiting behind her. It was a major jolt that neither of us saw coming. In all the years that Ive been driving there have been a few misses and a couple of bad weather slides but only one big one prior to this and that happened 50 years ago.

When something like this happens, the reaction to it is relative to all the details, ages, circumstances and perspectives. It took both of us a minute or two just to download what had just taken place. In the next minute, after you check each other out for injuries, you have to make a move both physically and mentally to determine what to do next. Can you safely get out of the way? Is your vehicle even drivable? Why didnt the airbags deploy? Is the guy that caused this going to stop or drive away? Why does my head hurt, it didnt hit anything? I waited for traffic to clear and then pulled into a roadside business followed closely by the driver behind me. He was on his phone the minute I looked back in the mirror and I assumed he was contacting the police.

It took quite a while for him to get out of his truck to talk to us and all the while I was more calm than I ever thought Id be under the circumstances. Unlike some other brushes Id had on the road, this time I was more relieved that nothing worse happened. When the other driver finally approached me and saw the damage he had done he said, One minute I looked down (I suspect at his phone) and the next minute, there you were. He didnt apologize, didnt ask if wed been hurt and had no comment about the obliteration of my car.

It wasnt long before the police showed up to take our statements. I gave my story to the officer and when I asked him whether or not hed be ticketed, he stated that he couldnt share that information with me without the other drivers permission. (Lesson No. 2: insist on permission; Lesson No.1: get the other drivers information.) Miraculously, my car was drivable, had operational brake lights and there was just enough daylight to get home. Im still waiting for the report, dealing with insurance, anxious to find out how much this is going to cost me and if it can even be repaired.

Its a relief that I can handle an emergency so calmly but oh, all those little things piling up now thats a work in progress!

Karen Balice-Gregory is a trustee of the Ionia Public Schools Board of Education and can be contacted at kgregory@ioniaschools.org or c/o Ionia Sentinel-Standard, 114 N. Depot St., Ionia, MI 48846.

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Karen Balice-Gregory: A work in progress - The Daily Telegram