2 Near Death Experiences In 6 Months
Donation protected
The Back Story
Dec 2016 I moved to Georgia to start a new life with about $100 to my name, if that. Fortunately, I have amazing friends in my life that allowed me to stay with them and their family AND use their 2nd vehicle, until I get on my feet. I worked three jobs while trying to do just that and they even sold me the car. I named him Cooper. (…I can’t even keep my eyes dry as I type that sentence…) We been through so much together throughout my first year here. Many nights he kept me warm in parking lots between jobs, just so that I can make it to and through my next shift. Just days after I completely finished paying him off, and began paying off some accumulated debt, the 1st accident occurred.
Accident 1
A few days after this New year, I decided to take my first solo road trip from GA to DC where a dear friend of mine was celebrating her 30th birthday. We had a blast…a weekend full of memories made.
It snowed quite a bit that weekend also. So the rain that day, on the way home, definitely made the roads pretty icy and very difficult to see once the sun went down. Heavy traffic loaded the highway and flowed fairly smoothly as we all tried to get home as quickly and safely as possible (there were multiple accidents that evening).
I was only an hour and a half away from home when things went completely astray. I was in the very left lane when my car suddenly slid to the left on black ice. Instantly, I turned my steering wheel to the right to gain back control of the car and BOOM! A truck slammed into the back of Cooper so hard, an object dropped down on the right bottom corner of the back windshield, shattered the glass and we went spinning across the highway until we landed on a patch of grass on the total opposite side of the adjacent thruway. The truck driver kept going… And not a single soul stopped to help. Fortunately, AND LITERALLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I was alive without a single scratch.
In a surprisingly mild state of shock, I took a deep breath and got out of the car to assess the damages. I examined the car for a gas leak. I couldn’t tell if there was one or not because it was still raining. So, I stood a significant distance away from the car for a decent amount of time, just in case an explosion were to occur. Once I felt as comfortable I could possibly get, I checked out the rest of the damages…
Poor Cooper :’( …his back windshield was completely busted, bumper shield and right taillight were both hanging. I ended up just yanking the bumper shield off entirely and throwing it in the backseat to avoid it dragging. And to top it all off, I only had liability insurance coverage. I could not afford to tow Cooper the remainder of the way home, so I did the unthinkable… I prayed really hard, got back in my car and drove the rest of the way home driving about 20mph. The kicker… my GPS directed me to a route I had never driven before, for sure I thought I was going to get pulled over at some point… BUT I did not come across a single cop!!!!
The Aftermath
I live in Conyers, where, unfortunately, Marta (GA transit system) is not extended, making it nearly impossible to get to work. I definitely was not in a financial position to afford multiple Ubers every day, which left me out of work for almost 3 months. Within that time, my credit cards maxed out and I also had to close my salon that my best friend and I opened a year prior because I couldn’t uphold end of the rent.
Luckily with some help of family and friends (forever my angels on earth), and two mobile mechanics, I was able to get Cooper up and running again, bearing battle scars and all!
Accident 2
Fast forward, I managed to get in with a temp agency as a quick fix and head start on catching up on my bills and digging myself out of the financial abyss that I’m currently in. All the while, trying to start a new business. Just as I started to get the ball rolling and everything seemed to be falling into place, BOOM!…
I was on my way home from a framily (friends + family) function Saturday night 06/23/18. Just moments down the road after leaving the event, I was driving along a super narrow two way street. All of a sudden, a huge white truck was charging straight towards my direction, out of their lane and into mine. I swerved vigorously to avoid a head on collision, my airbag deployed, the car kept spinning until I felt the car dip heavily off the curb and flipped! The car flipped until it landed on it’s side up against a tree in someone’s front yard. The only way I was able to get myself out, was by kicking a hole through the windshield with my heel and squeezing my body through the glass.
Alone and completely disoriented, I sat in the grass for a few minutes before trying to rummage through Cooper to try and locate my phone and shoes, neither of which I found. Luckily, shortly after three people who heard all of the ruckus came running in my direction. They were in complete disbelief that I was alive AND that I managed to get myself out of car! They called the police and thankfully, sat me until the police arrived. While they arrived, the owner of the property finally came out of the house…insensitively commenting solely on the property she claimed to just have renovated….
The Aftermath
Nonetheless, GOD SAVED ME AGAIN! However, I left the scene barefoot with shards of glass beneath my skin. I was leaking blood out of the lacerations and surface cuts all over my legs, feet, upper arms, shoulders and fingertips resulting from the forcefulness my body going through my windshield.
Cooper was completely totaled. I am now left car-less in Conyers… utterly immobile where I cannot get to work. Taxi cabs/ Ubers are absolutely out of the question. I live 30mins away from work with and need to be there by 6:30am. My situation is thoroughly an inconvenience to the lives of those around me as they have already exhausted themselves from assisting me in other capacities, to best of their abilities, through both tragedies.
It has been a whirlwind of unexpected less than fortunate experiences throughout my journey trying build a quality life for myself here in GA, over the last year and a half. These experiences led me here as my last hope for survival. Without a car, operating my life daily is nearly impossible where I am located… At least until I can manage getting my own place closer to a city where transit is an option in instances such as what I’m currently dealing with.
Cooper was my peace of mind and my main source of independence that allowed me to fulfill my daily life routine, effortlessly. Without a vehicle here in Conyers coupled with my financial situation, I am stuck.
I hate that these recent events led me here to outsource money, as I managed to be a very independent woman up until the last couple of years. But more than anything, I am grateful to God that I have another chance at LIVING. Any donation and/or share of this link, will be so greatly appreciated. Words will never be enough to describe the amount of gratitude I have in my heart for all of you AND the simple fact that there is even a platform that allows those in need to receive help.
Peace, Love, & Kind Regards to each and every heart and soul to read, give, share my story,
Samantha Whitlow
“…For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”Jeremiah 29:11
Dec 2016 I moved to Georgia to start a new life with about $100 to my name, if that. Fortunately, I have amazing friends in my life that allowed me to stay with them and their family AND use their 2nd vehicle, until I get on my feet. I worked three jobs while trying to do just that and they even sold me the car. I named him Cooper. (…I can’t even keep my eyes dry as I type that sentence…) We been through so much together throughout my first year here. Many nights he kept me warm in parking lots between jobs, just so that I can make it to and through my next shift. Just days after I completely finished paying him off, and began paying off some accumulated debt, the 1st accident occurred.
Accident 1
A few days after this New year, I decided to take my first solo road trip from GA to DC where a dear friend of mine was celebrating her 30th birthday. We had a blast…a weekend full of memories made.
It snowed quite a bit that weekend also. So the rain that day, on the way home, definitely made the roads pretty icy and very difficult to see once the sun went down. Heavy traffic loaded the highway and flowed fairly smoothly as we all tried to get home as quickly and safely as possible (there were multiple accidents that evening).
I was only an hour and a half away from home when things went completely astray. I was in the very left lane when my car suddenly slid to the left on black ice. Instantly, I turned my steering wheel to the right to gain back control of the car and BOOM! A truck slammed into the back of Cooper so hard, an object dropped down on the right bottom corner of the back windshield, shattered the glass and we went spinning across the highway until we landed on a patch of grass on the total opposite side of the adjacent thruway. The truck driver kept going… And not a single soul stopped to help. Fortunately, AND LITERALLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I was alive without a single scratch.
In a surprisingly mild state of shock, I took a deep breath and got out of the car to assess the damages. I examined the car for a gas leak. I couldn’t tell if there was one or not because it was still raining. So, I stood a significant distance away from the car for a decent amount of time, just in case an explosion were to occur. Once I felt as comfortable I could possibly get, I checked out the rest of the damages…
Poor Cooper :’( …his back windshield was completely busted, bumper shield and right taillight were both hanging. I ended up just yanking the bumper shield off entirely and throwing it in the backseat to avoid it dragging. And to top it all off, I only had liability insurance coverage. I could not afford to tow Cooper the remainder of the way home, so I did the unthinkable… I prayed really hard, got back in my car and drove the rest of the way home driving about 20mph. The kicker… my GPS directed me to a route I had never driven before, for sure I thought I was going to get pulled over at some point… BUT I did not come across a single cop!!!!
The Aftermath
I live in Conyers, where, unfortunately, Marta (GA transit system) is not extended, making it nearly impossible to get to work. I definitely was not in a financial position to afford multiple Ubers every day, which left me out of work for almost 3 months. Within that time, my credit cards maxed out and I also had to close my salon that my best friend and I opened a year prior because I couldn’t uphold end of the rent.
Luckily with some help of family and friends (forever my angels on earth), and two mobile mechanics, I was able to get Cooper up and running again, bearing battle scars and all!
Accident 2
Fast forward, I managed to get in with a temp agency as a quick fix and head start on catching up on my bills and digging myself out of the financial abyss that I’m currently in. All the while, trying to start a new business. Just as I started to get the ball rolling and everything seemed to be falling into place, BOOM!…
I was on my way home from a framily (friends + family) function Saturday night 06/23/18. Just moments down the road after leaving the event, I was driving along a super narrow two way street. All of a sudden, a huge white truck was charging straight towards my direction, out of their lane and into mine. I swerved vigorously to avoid a head on collision, my airbag deployed, the car kept spinning until I felt the car dip heavily off the curb and flipped! The car flipped until it landed on it’s side up against a tree in someone’s front yard. The only way I was able to get myself out, was by kicking a hole through the windshield with my heel and squeezing my body through the glass.
Alone and completely disoriented, I sat in the grass for a few minutes before trying to rummage through Cooper to try and locate my phone and shoes, neither of which I found. Luckily, shortly after three people who heard all of the ruckus came running in my direction. They were in complete disbelief that I was alive AND that I managed to get myself out of car! They called the police and thankfully, sat me until the police arrived. While they arrived, the owner of the property finally came out of the house…insensitively commenting solely on the property she claimed to just have renovated….
The Aftermath
Nonetheless, GOD SAVED ME AGAIN! However, I left the scene barefoot with shards of glass beneath my skin. I was leaking blood out of the lacerations and surface cuts all over my legs, feet, upper arms, shoulders and fingertips resulting from the forcefulness my body going through my windshield.
Cooper was completely totaled. I am now left car-less in Conyers… utterly immobile where I cannot get to work. Taxi cabs/ Ubers are absolutely out of the question. I live 30mins away from work with and need to be there by 6:30am. My situation is thoroughly an inconvenience to the lives of those around me as they have already exhausted themselves from assisting me in other capacities, to best of their abilities, through both tragedies.
It has been a whirlwind of unexpected less than fortunate experiences throughout my journey trying build a quality life for myself here in GA, over the last year and a half. These experiences led me here as my last hope for survival. Without a car, operating my life daily is nearly impossible where I am located… At least until I can manage getting my own place closer to a city where transit is an option in instances such as what I’m currently dealing with.
Cooper was my peace of mind and my main source of independence that allowed me to fulfill my daily life routine, effortlessly. Without a vehicle here in Conyers coupled with my financial situation, I am stuck.
I hate that these recent events led me here to outsource money, as I managed to be a very independent woman up until the last couple of years. But more than anything, I am grateful to God that I have another chance at LIVING. Any donation and/or share of this link, will be so greatly appreciated. Words will never be enough to describe the amount of gratitude I have in my heart for all of you AND the simple fact that there is even a platform that allows those in need to receive help.
Peace, Love, & Kind Regards to each and every heart and soul to read, give, share my story,
Samantha Whitlow
“…For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”Jeremiah 29:11
Organizer
Samantha Whitlow
Organizer
Conyers, GA