My Wife’s Crash Story

Even a “minor crash” can change your life forever.  On November 2nd, 2019, this is what happened to my wife.  

A year and a half ago my wife Zeleen was rear ended while she was stopped at a traffic light in Los Angeles CA.  The vehicle that ran into her was likely going 35 or 40 MPH and hit her so hard that she was rammed into the vehicle in front of her creating a 3 car pileup.  When she called me minutes later I could tell she was in a state of shock and confusion that I’d never heard before.  The young woman who ran into her looked like she was high and said she “didn’t know how to stop.”  Though the police arrived at the scene, they didn’t bother to run an alcohol or drug screen, or even report the accident. 

A tow truck arrived and said he had been called to the scene by Honda Roadside Assistance.  We had called AAA not Honda and were a bit confused but gave the guy the key and he hooked up the car to take it out of the way.  As he was getting the car onto the tow truck the AAA tow truck driver showed up and started yelling at the “Honda” tow truck driver that had our car.  The police officer stepped in and told the guy who had our car to leave our car and get out of dodge. 

What we didn’t know is that there’s an entire industry that preys on unsuspecting crash victims. 

The tow truck driver was going to tow the car to their lot, charge us a fee per day for storage and then impound our car in 3 days if we didn’t pay, and we were seconds away from being their next victims.  We had AAA tow Zeleen’s car to a reputable shop and even though the damage appeared to be minor, the final bill nearly topped $10K and took nearly a month to finish.

Getting the car towed from the accident proved to be just the first in a series of trials that would stretch on for months.

Zeleen had been a marathon runner before the accident, and ran 5+ miles most days. But shortly after getting home following her accident shooting pain began developing in her back, eventually forcing us to take her to urgent care. X ray scans indicated that Zeleen had two herniated discs and two bulging discs in her neck and back. The doctor told her, “you now have the back of a 70-year-old” and that she would not lift more than 20 pounds again for the rest of her life.

No jumping, no impact sports, no more marathons. The condition was irreversible.

During the following month of waiting for her car to be fixed my wife slowly regained her ability to walk around the house, though each step was riddled with pain.  And when we did finally drive the car the starter mechanism failed after only a few trips, stranding us and requiring towing yet again.  We ended up having the car towed back to the shop 7 times over the coming weeks before they finally found an electrical ground that they had painted over during the repair process.  

We now have a 25 pound toddler and she’s getting big enough to where it hurts Zeleen’s back to carry her, and soon she’ll likely be unable to pick her up at all. All from a rear-end crash that didn’t even get reported.  It’s tragic.

It took her three months before she was ready to go back to work as a nurse. A letter of resignation was delivered not too long after. Her back couldn't handle standing for long periods without pain. 

“I’m at the parking lot at work. It hurts - so bad. I can’t walk to my car. Can you pick me up?”

Heartbreak. How do you keep yourself from obsessively wondering “what if?” What if the crash didn’t happen? What if she was just five minutes late to work? 

Soon, my wife won’t be able to lift our infant daughter.

Yes, rear ends don’t usually end fatalities. The police officer at the scene said, “no one's bleeding, so I don't need to write a police report.” I’ve pulled the crash data for the location and her crash isn’t there.  

It was as if her crash had never happened.

How are we supposed to solve problems like this? How are we supposed to make changes when we don't even know there’s a problem?  Every crash matters because every person matters and every crash impacts someone’s life, often forever.  

Crash data aren’t numbers - they are people.

Zeleen’s crash wasn’t inevitable. A simple forward-facing radar camera and an automated braking system could have prevented this.  Better signal timing could have reduced the chance that my wife was stopped at that moment. A dilemma zone detection system could have given the driver who hit my wife a little more time to react.

Safe roads are a basic human right. 

Zeleen's story is one of resilience. She is an indomitable person. She chose to walk every day starting last spring – first one mile, then 4, then 12 – all despite the pain. As long as she walks every day, she can keep most of the back pain at bay and she’s even tried running a couple times again.  

If you’ve been impacted by an experience like this one feel free to post your comments and questions below. 

Written by Andrew Jazen, Chief Executive Officer at Street Simplified.

Andrew received a Master's in Electrical Engineering with honors from the California Institute of Technology in 2016 and then worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Andrew is the CEO of Street Simplified, an intersection safety specialist with five years of experience, and a passionate innovator who has helped agencies across the U.S. solve safety problems at over 100 locations. When not on the clock Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife and new daughter.

Edited by Sarah Ellis, Vice President of Safety Advocacy.