The Accident- July 23rd, 2004

At 10:00 this morning, I was at the grocery store doing some shopping for my wife. I received a phone call from my oldest daughter Jessica, crying, saying that I had to get home now. Something had happened to Nicole, my youngest daughter, currently living and working in Cleveland. I abandoned my grocery cart and raced home, only 5 minutes away. When I arrived, my daughter was on our deck with a police officer. My wife, who does childcare in our home, was sitting with her small kids, crying.

The officer told me that Nikki had been in an extremely critical accident. She was badly burned, had numerous broken bones, and they didn't know if she would live. Her car, which was in my name, was destroyed. The accident happened at 2:00am this morning. It had taken this long to trace the vehicle back to us here in Columbus. The police did not know Nikki's name or address, as all of her ID had burned in the accident. She had been flown to Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical Center and admitted as "White Female, Unknown".

Nikki was driving home from work in her 2002 Dodge Neon. While heading westbound on Cleveland's I-480 bypass, near Lee Highway, she somehow hit the back of a tractor trailer at freeway speeds. Her small car exploded into flames on impact, becoming lodged underneath the trailer. The driver didn't notice at first, going another quarter mile or so before pulling over. The car was fully engulfed in flames by now. Several people had stopped to help. Three men finally succeeded in getting Nikki out of her seat, through the back door. Her car seat was burning, and her seat belt was stuck, making extraction difficult. The men reported seeing Nikki thrashing around inside the car, conscious and on fire. Without these good Samaritans, Nikki would almost certainly have died.

By now, Cleveland Police knew who Nikki was and who we were. Shortly after the officer left, I received a call from Dr. Charles Yowler, Director of Trauma at MetroHealth. He was a pleasant, no-nonsense man, who didn't sugar-coat the situation. Nikki was burned over 45% of her body. Most of the bones in her face, especially around the nose and eyes, were broken. CAT scans did not show any brain damage or internal injuries. They had worked until this moment to get Nikki stable. She was critical, but in stable condition. Her outcome was uncertain, and death was still a distinct possibility.

I stumbled and stuttered through his conversation, saying we would be up soon. Dr. Yowler stressed several times to take our time, get our affairs in order, and then drive calmly to Cleveland. He asked if someone could drive us there, but I insisted I'd be OK to drive after I settled down. In any event, it would take us a few hours for my wife to call parents and for us to make arrangements for our house and pets.It was nearly 3:00pm before we could leave. The 2 ½ hour drive took an eternity, and Bonnie and I were nervous wrecks the whole way. We'll update everyone after we find out what's going on.