This
is my post from Facebook on October 7 at 6:09 p.m. "Ryan just
called to tell me they (actually the jogging stroller loaded w/our 3 kids)
had been hit by a car. They were walking to the Creamery. B. has a bruise
on his head. J. bit his lip. Amazingly, B. was able to hang on to J.
through it all. A. was giggling by the end of their encounter w/ the
police and paramedics. God is good."
Actually,
Ryan was taking them to Little Caesar’s to give me a break. We don't eat out
often, but when we do it's usually a last-minute $5 pizza so I don't have to
make anything but a salad to go with it. The boys had been sick and it was a
rainy miserable evening, so I was a bit surprised he was willing to take all 3
of them. My mom had visited recently gave us the idea of letting James ride on
Benjamin's lap. Normally, if I have all three of them and Benjamin doesn't want
to walk or ride his scooter or bike, I've carried James in the sling, but it's
too small for Ryan to wear (and not very manly).
Ryan
was crossing the street just north of Benjamin’s school and the driver was
waiting to turn north on 9 East. He was rolling forward to prepare to turn (the
opening in traffic wasn’t until Ryan would have been across the street) so
luckily he hadn't hit the gas and he stopped when he hit the stroller. The
first thing the driver said was "I didn't see you". Ryan's 1st
reaction was anger and said "I know you didn't see us." He had the
guy pull out of traffic to wait for the police. The 911 dispatcher wasn't quite
following that our jogging stroller with 3 kids had been hit by a car. Ryan had
to repeat the situation 3 times. It took about 8 minutes for the police and
ambulance to arrive. Benjamin and Alexander just sat in the stroller quietly
and waited while Ryan held James. The driver had some Smarties in his pocket
and won their approval by sharing with them. The police didn't ticket the
driver, but said that Ryan could get a police report later if he needed
to.
The
boys checked out fine with the paramedics. The collision bowed the frame of the
stroller and Ryan thought the front tire might be bent. There’s a Mad Dog
cycle bike shop right next to Little Caesar’s and Ryan headed down there. By
then James was asleep again. The guy at the bike shop was surprised to hear
that they had been hit by a car and readily agreed to inspect the stroller for
free. He said Baby Joggers were engineered well. It turns out that the front
tire was not bent. One of the struts that come off when the stroller is folded
had disconnected.
After
the bike shop, they got the pizza and made their stop at the Creamery to get a
gallon of milk. James finally decided he was too cold and tired and cried the
last 3 blocks home. Their hour long excursion became a 2 hour long adventure.
When
they got home I told B. he was my hero for holding on so well to J. A. said he
was a hero too. I told him he was so brave b/c he was on the side where the car
hit and it must have been really scary. I hugged my boys tightly that night...
Ryan
and I talked about what the phone call might have been like if the outcome
hadn't been so benign. I can't even imagine...
I
also had never considered the thought of losing all three boys at once. I had
thought about what it would be like to lose each one individually or all three
of them with Ryan, but not all 3 boys at once. I'm glad we got a taste without
having to experience it.
James
bit his lip and possibly his tongue. He was asleep until the impact jolted him
awake.
Benjamin was
screaming for about a minute after the collision and Ryan couldn't figure out
why at first. This is a picture of the bruise on Benjamin's head the day after
the accident from where his head bounced off the jogging stroller
frame.
This was yesterday
afternoon on our way home after I picked up Benjamin from kindergarten.
Alexander did mention the accident when I told him we were taking the stroller
to get Benjamin, but he wasn't too shell-shocked because he enjoyed retelling
the accident story to me and didn't hesitate climbing into the stroller
otherwise. James again wasn’t in the sling because he fell asleep on the way to
Kindergarten and I didn't want to disturb his nap. Benjamin still has a
bad cough when he exerts himself from when he was sick last week. The boys were
on opposite sides of the stroller during the accident with Alexander on the
side of impact.
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