on how we were in an accident, and i got slapped

yesterday there was road construction in front of our office all day long.  and it was loud.  as we were leaving work, we noticed they had dug a trench down the entire street, and we could not get our car out of the driveway, much less drive it down the torn up street.  so, we left the car and took a cab home.  only, we weren't planning on going home: we had planned to go to our friend's home for dinner, just a few blocks away from our house.

we had the cab driver take us past our house, where we stopped briefly as ben and i argued over whether or not to take our bags upstairs before proceeding on to our friend's house.  we were already running a bit late, so we decided to continue on without dropping the bags.  we then turned left, onto a side street, where we were about to pass through an intersection which has no traffic signals.  as we approached the intersection, i noticed a silver car coming rather fast toward the intersection.  he did not have the right of way, and i assumed, as i often do after living in turkey for 3 years and witnessing countless near-misses, that he would stop at the last minute.  only, he didn't.  we passed through the intersection, our driver unaware of the oncoming car, just as the silver car drove straight into us, hitting the door on the right side of the cab, where i was seated.

you often think about these types of collisions happening (or, i do, anyway), with so many people driving about absentmindedly.  in turkey it's worse, with crazy drivers and a lack of traffic control.  in fact, just as we were coming up the hill toward our house it had occurred to me just how awful it would be if i were in an accident while pregnant.  at that point i had put on my seatbelt (i had forgotten to put it on when i first got in the cab).

the silver car had hit us going at a good pace, which jolted us, causing me to hit my head on the window, and veered our cab to the left side of the street.  the silver car had bounced back and was up on the sidewalk.  i did not notice at the time, but the driver of the silver car jumped out of the vehicle and took off on foot as soon as the accident happened.  i checked quickly to make sure i was uninjured, and then i started crying from the sheer shock of it.  ben made sure i was ok and then jumped out of the cab to see if he could find the driver, who had left his 4 passengers behind.

i sat there trying not to get hysterical, thinking of how much worse it could have been, and trying to hide my face so that the 10 or so people who had quickly gathered to see what happened (as turks do) would not see me cry.  for whatever reason i was embarrassed.  at that time, my door opened and ben asked if i was ok again, and i reassured him i was.  i turned my head back to hide my face, then heard a voice:  an older woman, dressed conservatively in a head scarf, had reached her head in the cab and was looking directly in my face, holding my hand and shouting at me.  she was clearly concerned that i was injured, could see i was pregnant, and was asking if i was ok.  being shocked and upset, i couldn't gather the words to respond, and just sat there staring at her.  after another minute of this, she drew her hand back and slapped my face - hard.  i just continued to look at her, now stunned not only from the accident but also from being slapped across the face so hard!  she looked at me and said 'you're ok.  you're just scared,' and she stood up out of the cab, but continued to hold my hand.

after a moment, ben reappeared and helped me out of the cab.  we walked home where he sat me down and gave me some water before returning to the scene of the accident to try to find the driver.  he was furious, rightfully so, and i was exhausted.

eventually the police arrived, the driver returned, and was given a summons for a court appearance.  apparently he'd had his license revoked for a previous DUI and should not have been driving in the first place, hence fleeing the scene.  ben was down there for 2 hours before he returned home.  meanwhile i called my parents, who talked to me until i was calm and relaxed.  dad reminded me of the many bizarre experiences that i've had during this pregnancy (the rat, for instance?), and we laughed thinking about how i will no doubt one day bore my son with repeating these stories of 'when i was pregnant with you.'  i can hear it now!