A LIFE WELL-LIVED...

BUILDING A NEW LIFE IN NEW JERSEY WE HAD SOME BAD TIMES TOO Freak accident on NJ Rt 17

Jeremiah was not a year old yet when we attended a birthday party at the Montecillo-Soques, in Mahwah, NJ. As usual. we had plenty of food, drinks, fun and laughs. Some were playing mahjong, and some volleyball. The sun has already set when we bade goodbye, afterall, we still have an hour and a half drive home. Cheche was driving their Honda Pilot suv. At the backseat, Belen was on the driver side, Jeremiah in the middle, I was on the passenger side. We were only a couple of minutes after we joined Rt 17, south-bound, when suddenly "Booonngg"!!!, a loud, so loud, deafening sound. I realized something hit us! The force was so tremendous that all the window glasses on the passenger side were shattered. I felt the vehicle was pushed towards the center of the highway. Instinctively, I covered Jeremiah with my body and spread arms. Needless to say, we were shocked and terrified! Cheche was crying, didn't know what to do, neither did Belen. First thing I did was examine every inch of Jeremiah's self, who was still sound asleep. Nothing!, no broken glasses, thank goodness! My arms were a bit blooded, but nothing serious. Neither Cheche nor Belen had cuts. I told Cheche, Jeremiah is fine and to call the Police. I was impressed how quick a State Trooper responded. Her first querry was if we are all okay, where we come from and where we are heading. Do you know what hit you?, he asked. Not one of us had an answer, although I thought that one of those steel highway signs fell and hit us. He pointed to an object a few hundred feet behind, lying, motion-less on the highway. It was a deer, he told us. And judging from its size looking at it from that distance, it was huge! Both doors on the passenger side were wrecked, and the windows shattered! He logged everything and finally asked us if the car is drivable, otherwise he would call for assistance. It was, and we drove straight not home, but to the hospital Cheche was connected with, make sure Jeremiah was really okay. Thank God, he was, and if it's of any consolation, he won't have memory of what happened.