Accident

This morning Cecile was on her way to drop off the kids at pre-school/daycare when a motorcycle driving full speed on the wrong side of the road hit her head-on. Cecile floored the brake but the girl on the motorcycle never even tried to slow down. According to conflicting witness accounts she was texting on her phone or looking at the clothes stalls lining the road in that area.

When I arrived on the scene of the accident the girl had already been rushed off to the hospital with an open wound on the side of her knee. Cecile and the kids were in shock but did not get hurt.

A lady was standing next to Cecile translating what people were saying, giving her tips on what to say and do and just being very kind and helpful. I later asked Cecile who that lady was and she told me that she had seen her baby once at the clinic but that she didn’t really know her. Yet right after the accident bystanders hurried to that lady’s house (we later found out that she lives about 100 m from the scene) and told her: “your friend had an accident”. How these people knew who Cecile was and that she had seen that lady’s baby will always remain a mystery. But she was a real blessing in this situation.

Don’t ask me why but our car is equipped with a heavy duty grill guard designed to provide collision protection in case of a close encounter with cattle or wildlife. Unfortunately it can also cause a lot of damage during an accident. What really amazed me was that the grill guard was not only bent beyond repair but even cracked in several places whereas the motorcycle had sustained only minor damages (the front wheel wasn’t even bent!) There might be some rational explanation but I see God’s hand of protection on that girl.

We have always been told that, in case of a traffic accident in this part of the world, color trumps traffic rules. In other words, if you’re white you’re wrong no matter what. To our surprise witnesses, policemen and insurance representatives all agreed that it was 100% the girl’s fault.

Once everything was said and done Cecile dropped by at the hospital to see how the girl was doing. Except for the wound on her knee she hadn’t sustained any injuries, which is nothing short of miraculous.

Tonight Cecile’s still a bit shaken up but thankful, realizing that things could have been much worse. Praise God for his protection!