Subject: Surviving a major car accident

Story: Lucky to be alive

By: Shari Pack

                                                 Lori (right) with her brother, Craig

 Lucky to be alive!

Lori B. now 35 years old, is a single mom living in Los Angeles, Lori, who survived a life altering car accident, shares her story and support for seatbelt laws.

Lori grew up in a middle class suburb of Los Angeles. She was a beautiful, smart girl who attended private school. Since both of her parents worked, they relied upon friends on occasion to pick her up from school and take her home. Believe it or not, back in the late seventies, schools were not concerned over with whom a child left the school.

On a typical, sunny, California afternoon, a then, 7 year old, Lori, got into the car of a family friend. The friend did not secure the seatbelt on this child and proceeded to drive her home. Since his car did not have air conditioning, he rolled down his window to circulate the air. This act of rolling down the window was about to change Lori’s life forever.

As strange as it sounds, a bee flew into the car. The driver, who did not hesitate to take his hands off the wheel while traveling 35 mph, began swatting at the bee to get it out of the car. Lori had no control over what was going on and was becoming very frightened.

The car veered to the right lane and subsequently struck two parked vehicles. Lori was lucky in that she didn’t fly through the windshield, which is the usual scenario when a passenger is not wearing a seatbelt. However, Lori did go face first at 35 mph into the dash board glove compartment. As this was an older model, large car, the glove compartment had a metal key lock which protruded from the compartment.

Lori was rushed to the hospital with extensive facial injuries and a head injury. Several layers of skin on her face had been severely damaged. The metal key lock had almost made it to the bone. This beautiful, young girl literally had a large, round hole in her face. In addition, her head injury eventually caused learning disabilities which resulted in substantial struggles in her life.

Unfortunately, the driver had a very minimal insurance policy which barely covered the first day at the hospital. Lori was in need of further medical treatment, specifically, rehabilitation and facial reconstruction.

After the appropriate time had passed, Lori was able to undergo several plastic surgeries to repair the damage to her face. However, she never sought the necessary treatment for her learning disabilities. The surgery to repair her scars was successful for the most part. Today, her scars are barely visible.

With regard to school, Lori’s parents were forced to remove her from private school as she was unable to keep up with the curriculum. Lori struggled for years to get through the public education system. 

Regardless of Lori and her family's challenges to help her lead a normal existence, there are no ill feelings towards the individual who caused the accident. Though the family did not receive enough compensation to obtain all the care and reconstruction necessary for Lori's recovery, Lori enjoys a life filled with the love from her family and friends.