Red is for STOP!

It's 5 o'clock on Thursday and it's been a pretty good day. I was kept busy at work all day and was ready to go home and relax.

My friend and co-worker Luis steps on the gas as the light turns green (we carpool often). He speeds up as the cars all jockey for position. Out of the corner of my eye I see a red blur flashing through the three lanes of stopped traffic. "Oh shit!" I brace for impact. Luis grunts something and CRASH! I see the airbags explode from their compartments and the hood crumples towards me. My eyes close at this point and I get bounced around in my seat. When we come to a stop I open my eyes and see that we have spun completely around and are facing back at the street we just came from. Smoke is coming from the engine compartment and dust from the airbags is floating around the cabin. We both unbuckle our seat belts and get out of the car. I step into a puddle of liquid that should never be running along the ground; most likely transmission fluid. "Are you ok?" we ask each other.

The driver who had run the red light at least 4 seconds after ours turned green careened off of our car and hit a Toyota Camry that was waiting patiently to turn left. Smashed up against the Camry I can see the driver inside, her head is bobbing around. It doesn't appear to be out of pain but more of an "I can't believe I am so stupid."

Witnesses are now starting to gather asking if everyone was ok. Luis and I will survive and didn't need to go to the hospital. The older lady in the Camry is taken away on a stretcher I hope as just a precaution. Florida Highway Patrol arrives rather quickly and begins to assess the situation. Every witness validates our story; the lady just ran the red light and plowed into us. She doesn't have proof of insurance but the car is leased and she assures Luis that they do and everything will be alright. We'll see.