And now, some very baaad news for me.

On Thursday 06.07.2007 I (including my passenger Melody) was involved in a car accident on PCH in Corona Del Mar on my way to lunch around noon.

I was heading southbound on PCH (near PCH and Narcissus). A Mercedes was heading northbound and turning left onto Narcissus. The Mercedes started making her left turn and ended up stopping in the middle of my lane. So to avoid a head-on collision, i attempted to make a legal lane change to my right (right lane was open). Instead of the Mercedes staying put where it was, the driver decides to step on the gas and attempted to continue her left turn. Since i was already committed to my right lane we ended up colliding and coming to a rest near the curb.

The driver of the Mercedes didn't even look like she was aware of the oncoming traffic before she jumped into my lane to start her left turn. If I hadn't tried to swerve, i would have ended up hitting her head-on and that would have been alot worse for both of us. I also tried to slam on my breaks, but at either scenario, we would have ended up colliding. If she would have stayed in the first lane and not stepped on the gas pedal, i would have avoided her and things would have been fine.

After the accident we were all able to exit both cars safely, and she came by to say "I am sooo sorry". I started thinking "wow, she actually took responsibility and realized that she made her left turn prematurely".

Later, however, when the police officer asked for her version of what happened, she said "he was speeding through the intersection". I was sooo pissed when she said this, because that wasn't even the case. Anybody driving down PCH between Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach during the week at lunch (noon) knows how busy these streets and how almost overwhelming the traffic can be at times. I don't think i even broke the 35mph speed limit.

Luckily for me, the lady police officer replied "you would still be found at fault because this is an uncontrolled intersection and he has the right of way and you would be impeeding his forward progress".

Then the lady says, "well, i didnt see him".

The officer replied, "you would still be found at fault because its an uncontrolled intersection and you attempted to make a left turn without knowing whether it was safe to make a left turn."

So, luckily for me and Melody (my passenger) we walked out without any serious injuries. Both front airbags in my car were triggered and it even knocked off Melody's glasses.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my car. I weep, everytime i see these pictures of my baby..

Im sooo saaad. Why didn't she look for oncoming traffic before she jumped into my lane.

sigh, so now, i wait and see where they plan on taking my car for repairs and wait for the status and figure out how long it will take to fix my car.

Thanks for reading,

Visual Exposure