Encounter on the interstate

It was a quiet Sunday evening just before dusk and we were heading down the interstate on what became our 40-day journey across America. The kids were watching a video in the back, and we were enjoying worship music we’d just bought.

Suddenly, a large dark green pickup truck sped past us on the left lane and swerved into our lane and back to the left again. Jimmie hit the brakes.

Then the unreal happened. The truck kept swerving in a zigzag, spun around and flipped over a few times right in front of us and smashed into the trees lining the interstate. We came to an abrupt halt on the shoulder and Jimmie ran to the truck that had now disappeared into the bushes and trees.

My heart raced as I called 911. And because we were traveling through a state we’d never been before, I had a hard time describing where we were. Thankfully there was a billboard and I read off the exit number and the operator told me he had our location.

By now it was completely dark outside. The driver, a young woman, was calling out in agony, “Help! Please, get me out of here! ” She was trapped inside the truck, which had the driver’s side door fully smashed in from the trees that had stopped it. She was bleeding heavily in her head and her left arm had a deep cut that went in a swirl from her shoulder to elbow showing her bone.

The only thing we knew to do was pray for her healing and for help. She begged Jimmie not to leave her alone but there was nothing else he could do.

So he told her, “Call on Jesus to help you. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and tell him you love him.” And she did.

Jimmie ran back up to the road and frantically tried to flag someone down for help but no one would stop. A few minutes later, however, a man did pull over, and Jimmie led him to the truck and together they talked to the driver.

She kept saying, “I’m dying. Please tell my mom I love her.” The man turned out to be a retired police officer, and he asked for her name and other details to keep her conscious. Her name was Miranda and she was traveling to California, which was also our destination.

About 10 minutes later, the police, the ambulance and fire trucks came to the site and got her out using a jaws-of-life to cut off the truck’s door.

They placed her in an ambulance to medevac her to a nearby hospital. We filled out the paperwork for the police, relieved that Miranda was in good hands.

As we left the site of the accident, a summer night storm came on full force with lightning, thunder and strong winds pushing against our van. The GPS said we had another 3 hours before reaching out destination. Looking back, we should have stopped off at the nearest hotel, but we were still shaken-up by what we had just witnessed.

The kids who had kept busy watching a video were now asleep. We kept thinking about Miranda and how we were the only ones who saw her go off the road. It had been a divine appointment. We thanked God for his protection over our lives and for saving Miranda.

Little did we know that the shock and trauma of that road encounter would stay with us in the miles that lay ahead of us.