There was no way to avoid it. The truck rushed towards the car. As the truck collided into the left side of the car, the car proceeded to flip over. Glass shattered in all directions. The entire drivers’ side of the roof caved in, two tires were flat and all the windows expect for the back one laid in pieces on the road.

According to car-accidents.com, the risk of being involved in a car accident is higher for drivers ages 16 to 19 than for any other age group.

Senior Kerry Quinn got into an accident after making a left turn while exiting Chik-fil-A last November.

“I definitely should have not been in a hurry,” Quinn said. “I now know to turn right and go with the flow of traffic and turn wherever I can.”

After the crash, Quinn said she was nervous the next time she drove her car.

“Driving for the first time after the accident was kind of awkward,” Quinn said. “I sat in my car and got ready to drive for about five minutes before I actually got out of the driveway. I drove super cautiously to school and I’m pretty sure I made a lot of people mad. I didn’t want to make right turns, unless there was a light and I would go quickly on a left turn.”

While riding in her friend’s Volkswagen Beetle, junior Meghan Menasco was hit by a dump truck on her way from weighing her farm pigs for the FFA.

“We were making a left-hand turn onto Rhodes Rd., and my friend thought she had enough room to go, but she didn’t and we got hit,” Menasco said. “I think we spun like thirty feet and ended up in a ditch.”

According to Menasco, the police officer told her that if the car had been going a sixteenth of a second faster she and her friend would have died.

“I was at the hospital all night,” Menasco said. “They glued up a cut on my face, I had a CT scan, and an X-ray. Both [of my friends] got CAT scans and I think one might have gotten an X-ray.”

After the accident, Menasco said she went to visit the crash site.

“I got out of the car and I found pieces of [my friend’s] car,” Menasco said. “I wanted to see for myself because [my friend’s] dad wouldn’t let us see the car after the accident. I think he didn’t want to traumatize us because the car was pretty beat up, I’ve only seen pictures.

Senior Alexa Hornsby was in a car accident last summer when she ran her Volvo into her boyfriend’s Silverado, which caused her boyfriend’s car to hit the car in front of him.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I got in the middle lane and started freaking out and bawling my eyes out,” Hornsby said. “I only had the car for six months and I loved it. [My boyfriend] got out of his car and everyone else came to help us. I hugged him and cried, ‘I’m so sorry.’”

Hornsby got a ticket for failure to control speed and had to take defensive driving classes. Hornsby said the ordeal made her appreciate her parents more.

“[My parents] were really understanding,” Hornsby said. “I gained a lot of respect for them because of that, I wasn’t expecting them to handle it that well. His parents love me, so they were like, ‘oh it happens, it’s no big deal.’”

Menasco said the crash made her realize the responsibilities that being a driver entailed.

“[You have to] be more aware of your surroundings, especially if you have a car full of kids,” Menasco said. “Remember that you’re the one driving and you have other people’s lives on the line.”

Car-accidents.com also reported that teenagers have the lowest rate of seat belt use. Quinn advises drivers and passengers to always wear a seat belt.

“I probably would have died if I wasn’t wearing a seat belt,” Quinn said. “I would have probably gone through the windows. My seat belt saved my life. It might not stop you from getting into an accident, but it will definitely reduce any injuries you might sustain.”