A Right of Passage, maybe

It's every parents nightmare, your child getting into an accident. There young, inexperienced and think they are invulnerable. Having lived it as a child and twenty-something I didn't appreciate it fully until now.
       It was raining yesterday. Sometimes the rain came down hard and other times there was nothing. I was in work in Elmsford. It was after two and I hadn't gotten lunch yet. There had been talk about the boss buying lunch, but it had evaporated and now it was late and I didn't know what to have for lunch. I end up going to Frank's Deli in White Plains. It's a little expensive, but the food is good. I get back to the office, sit down at my desk, turn on my phone and start to eat my chicken cutlet on a club roll with mayo and lettuce. At about the halfway point of the sandwich my phone rings, it's Elena. Now she rarely calls and usually if I'm at work I won't pick up. This time a do, but with a little trepidation. I say hello and Elena says hello like nothing has happened. She then goes on to explain that she was in a car accident in New City. I ask her if she is all right. The tone of her voice says everything is, but with her sometimes you need to ask. She says she is fine. I ask her where she is as I begin to close my computer and clear my desk. I don't think she needs my help, but I want to be there. She explains several times but she also has a habit of mumbling sometimes and all I get from her after several attempts is she is in New City, she is near Red Mango and the turn off to go into New City. I tell Ted my daughter has had a small accident and I go, it's quarter after three. Teri calls me as I head down the road. I tell her I  am on my way, but it will be twenty minutes to half an hour before I get there, traffic willing. Down route 9A to the Thruway entrance and onto 287 traffic is not bad. It gets heavy at the merge with 87, but it is not as bad as it would have been an hour later. I'm across the bridge quickly and  I hit the usual traffic in Nyack where the Thruway goes from four to three lanes. I get off in South Nyack swing around on the new exit ramp onto Route 9W and decide my best route at this point is to head as if I am going home and take Congers road straight into New City to Route 304, which is what I do. And always as if on cue  someone pulls out in front of me doing ten miles an hour less than me. I ride their bumper which causes them to drive even slower until they finally turn off the road only to have someone else pull in front of me as I pull past the other Sunday driver.
    Thirty-eight minutes after leaving Elmsford I am on Route 304 heading south. I was calm and relaxed when I left Elmsford. The closer I get to the accident the more uptight I get and the more I need to get there. Elena is still unhurt, but I need to see. I pass the turn to Main Street New City and look up the hill toward Bardonia and I see Police car lights, that must be her. I pull into the parking lot to I think The Smile Place, a dentist's office and park.
     I get my first real close look at Elena's car. I had hoped to change her flat tire with the spare and drive it to get fixed. She has two front flats, not gonna happen.
     I ask her what happened. She says she was going north on Route 304 in the right lane. The Driver of the other car, a young girl with just a permit and no licensed driver in the car is in the left lane possibly tailgating the car in front of her because when it slows down too quickly she is forced to hit her brakes and change lanes to where Elena is driving. She hits Elena's car in the front driver's side fender flatting the front tire. Elena tries to swerve to the right and hits the curb and flattens her other tire. I introduce myself to the police officers and call Chris Kelly to tow her car. About ten minutes later a flat bed arrives from a place I'd never heard of. I ask if Chris sent him, he know no Chris. I tell the police that I don't want this guy to tow the car, I'm waiting for Chris. The officer's friendly attitude disappears. I wait for Chris and of course it starts to rain. I get a picture of the insurance card from the other driver's father. He seems like I nice guy and I feel a little bad until I get to Allstate Insurance a little later.
    The Agent takes all the facts down. I ask him what will happen. The short version is Elena's car could be considered totaled if the repairs exceed the value of the car. And if that is so and Allstate pays for it to be totaled, then it can't be insured by Allstate if I pay to get it repaired. So Chris Kelly has a guy who can give an estimate to bang out the fender, replace the two tires and rims and the broken directional. I feel as if we are going to get the short dirty end of the stick again even though it was not Elena's fault. Such is life I guess.
    I'll write about this more in the future.


















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