It was the worst night of my life
One driver’s bad decision altered Leah’s future forever... Leah Abrams, 42, Auckland, NZ
As I slowly cruised down the street, the cool night breeze filtered through my open window.
Only 10 minutes from home, I was driving back after having dinner with a friend.
Turning into a quiet road, I noticed a flash of headlights.
They belonged to a black SUV, which was hurtling along and swerving erratically – and it was heading right for me!
In an instant, my world turned into slow motion.
Taking my hands off the wheel, I threw my body horizontally onto the passenger side, covering my face with my hands.
A fraction of a second later, there was the loud sound of crunching metal and a crushing weight as he collided with the driver’s side of my car, sending it flying. Smashing into a parked vehicle, my car came to a standstill.
I tried to sit up but was unable to move. Horrified, I realised
I was trapped. A man who had been driving behind me dashed over.
‘It’s okay, an ambulance is coming,’ he said.
But I was pinned between the SUV and the parked car.
‘I think my arm is broken,’ I said weakly.
I could feel it throbbing as I waited, imprisoned by the wreckage.
Panic washed over me when I felt a trickle of blood coming from my forehead.
By the time the emergency services arrived, I was hysterical, desperate to get out.
The car was such a mess though, the fire brigade needed to cut the door off before I was stretchered away.
X-rays showed my right arm had been broken severely in three places and I needed a metal plate put in.
I also had a piece of glass lodged in my forehead.
It was the worst night of my life.
I was so lucky I hadn’t been killed instantly.
While I was in hospital, police officers came to take a statement.
They told me the driver of the SUV had alcohol in his system and had been charged with careless driving causing injury.
Two surgeries later and after a week in hospital, I finally went home.
But I couldn’t return to work.
The nerves in my hand had stopped working and I had to learn to hold a pen and write again.
I also went to counselling to help deal with the trauma.
It took months before I could even get behind the wheel of a car.
And for the next year, I went to rehab and pool therapy every week to repair the damage to my arm.
In court, the driver, aged 26, pleaded guilty.
He was disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to pay $1200 in