Accident

On Friday night, July 4, the Nelson family was involved in a serious car accident. All of the family was driving home from dinner and fireworks in South Jordan on 7800 South approaching the Bacchus Highway. Kathryn was driving and Greg was in the passenger seat when he noticed something was not right at the intersection. 7800 South that far out is long stretches of dark punctuated by lights where there is something significant - you will assume that it is just another stretch of road if it is dark up ahead. We have driven this route to get home to Tooele for the last 6 years and we chose to do it this night because it offers a spectacular view of the Salt Lake valley and the numerous firework shows. There is a light at the intersection and it usually well-lit by street lights as well but we found out later that they were all completely out. Kathryn and I were confused as we unknowingly entered the intersection - she was expecting to see the traffic light. As soon as I realized that we were in the middle of an intersection without a working traffic light or street lights I told her to go forward and we would turn around and go back to the intersection from the other direction. As I was saying this I saw the other car's headlights about 5 ft from Kathryn's door and knew we were going to hit each other. Kathryn also realized it and turned the wheel slightly to the right - this probably saved her life and Savannah's. Our speed was about 10 mph while the other car was going about 40-50 mph, normal for that part of the road. We impacted on our left front corner and their right front corner, more of a glancing blow than anything and both vehicles were able to pull away from each other.
All of the kids were fine but we were all in a state of shock, I got out to see if the other car was OK and they were shaken as well. I called 911 and the police and fire trucks were there within minutes. Fortunately we had Dave and Stacey plus Julie and Jason behind us as we were going back to Tooele so they stopped as well and helped us to get the kids out of the car. Kathryn was still in her seat but wasn't moving - although she was awake but in a daze. She was complaining of neck and back pain so they took her out on a stretcher and took her to the hospital in South Jordan. Some of the kids went with family to Tooele and the rest went to South Jordan with my parents. I went to the emergency room with my father and Kathryn's parents to see what kind of condition Kathryn was in. Kathryn was diagnosed with some whiplash, some clavicle bruising, and her back will be sore for a while but nothing permanent or serious. We gave her a blessing and were back in Tooele around 2:30 am Saturday morning.
This accident could have been much worse - if Kathryn hadn't turned slightly or had sped up when she saw the car then it would have T-boned us in the intersection and those on that side of the vehicle (Kathryn, Savannah, Dallin, and Isaac) could have been severely hurt. The Lord certainly had his hand in averting a much worse situation and we are so grateful that nobody was seriously injured. We are also extremely grateful to those family members who stepped up and took children, diverted their attention while the paramedics removed Kathryn from the car and I filled out accident information, and watched over us in this situation. We are grateful to the members of the West Jordan police and fire departments for their quick and professional reaction to the accident, they may do this every day but that is what makes them so good. We will get through this and hope to learn the lesson the Lord would have us learn.