Rear Ended

We live in a small college town. On the way from Nana's to the post office, I stopped to let a young man walk across the street. Next thing I know, we are rear-ended and I am shocked as my head slams against my headrest. I look in the rearview and the damage to the maroon Buick I see is HUGE. So I get out and it's some 17 year-old high school guy, but the geeky kind that is probably a good kid overall. All I can muster is, "Do you have your insurance information?" And the whole time I am thinking, "HOW DID YOU NOT SEE ME?!?!?! MY DAUGHTER IS IN THE CAR! I HATE YOU!"

Turns out my back bumper is just scraped, but it was uphill and I think he went underneath me. I hailed a state trooper going the other direction but it turns out that although it's a state highway, the town still has jurisdiction so he calls them for us. And we wait a while. The kid comes over to the sidewalk and Amelia asks him, "Are you the boy who bumped into us?" He didn't hear her, though. She said she was fine and I let her get out and run in the grass. She had a fabulous time rolling and running to her heart's content dressed in one of her cute Halloween outfits. (black and white striped turtleneck with a black t-shirt over it that features a ghost saying BOO!)

I asked the kid if he was looking down or something and his response was, "I was trying to stop." The guy who was crossing the street hung around as a witness (but the cop wasn't interested) and he told me he didn't think the kid had seen me at all. The poor guy was scared out of his wits actually.

The kid's mother comes and her only concern is that her son didn't mess up the radiator that they just had put in. Geez. And neither the mom nor the cop reprimanded the kid about following distances, paying attention, there was a kid in the car, nothing. So nonchalant about it.

I managed to make it to the post office within 2 minutes of closing and then headed to the chiropractor to have him check out Amelia. He said she seemed fine and just to watch her for a few days to see if she complains or touches her neck or head like it hurts.