Near Accident

I've been putting off writing about this because of how close I came to being seriously hurt or possibly even dying and honestly it brings tears to my eyes to relive it.  Since I love to write and am hoping to become a more interesting story teller, here's my experience...

Just before noon last Thursday, on my way to a dental appointment in Alameda, I was in the slow lane because my exit was coming up soon.  On my right was a wall or barrier of some sort which narrowed my lane considerably.  Along on my left comes an extremely huge truck about to pass me.  I kinda freaked out to say the least.  Firmly gripping my steering wheel I attempted to keep my truck as close to the right side as possible without hitting the barrier and keeping clear of him.  This monster truck hit my drivers side mirror somewhere towards the middle section of his truck as he was passing.  Initially I was shocked that I was actually hit by such a large vehicle and sort of had this 'did this really just happen to me?' reaction.  It briefly crossed my mind this was how I would die and prepared myself for another impact all the while trying to stay calm and in control, trying to keep driving straight down the middle of my lane with tons of thoughts flitting in and out of my mind.

The second crash never came.  He passed me and I was safe and very grateful to be alive and not injured.  I thought of calling 911, asking myself 'Is this a life and death emergency?'  My answer was no because I was not hurt, so instead I called home and left a message on my machine with his Tennessee license plate number.  Honking at him and trying to capture his attention I figured it was safer to get off the freeway at this point than risk going after him and getting myself in a much worse accident.

To say the least I was pretty shaken up but drove on to my dental appointment.  All the while my tooth was being worked on, I was dreading my return drive and couldn't keep from worrying about it.  Thankfully there was still plenty of daylight when I began the journey home in the late afternoon and I stayed clear from trucks of all sizes.  By 5 pm, in all my life, was never more relieved to be home.

One thing I've learned from this and you can as well, is DO call 911.  They could have put an APB out and perhaps the highway patrol would have spotted him and pulled him over.  Our insurance company said they will do their best to contact the registered owner but cannot guarantee anything.

Minimal damage considering...

His paint left behind.

Update:  I was just informed by AAA that the his license plate was not registered.  Not registered.  Can you believe it?