By Shiane Wondra
June 30, 2018, changed
my life. I just finished with my cheerleading car wash and eating lunch with my
boyfriend. I left Meade, which is my hometown, to go to Horsethief Reservoir to
go tubing with my family. I never made it.
Like many teens and
adults, I was on my cell phone while driving. Around 2:30 p.m., I was three
miles south of Cimarron when I was snapchatting my friend that I was about to
see the lake. I was wearing my seat belt, but not correctly. A combine was
parked on county road R and a milk truck was waiting northbound on Highway 23
to turn onto road R but there was a car southbound on Highway 23 so he couldn’t
turn. I didn’t look up in time and I ran right into the back of the semi.
My parents had both
tried to call me and at 2:56 p.m. My Dad texted me telling me to answer my
phone.
Not even two minutes
later my parents got a phone call that absolutely no parent wants. “Mr. Wondra,
this is Gray County Sheriff's office, your daughter has been in an accident.”
All my Dad asked was if
they were taking me to Dodge City. They told him yes and he hung up the phone.
He told everyone I was in a crash and my parents raced to Dodge City.
My Mom asked my Dad on
the way if I was okay and my Dad said, “I don’t know, I didn’t ask.” My Dad
called my brother, who is a Meade City Police Officer, and asked him to call a
Gray County Officer to see what happened. They told them that I hit a semi
going 70 mph.
I was taken by ambulance
from Cimarron to Dodge City. My family met me in Dodge City before the life
flight took me to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, due to my injuries. My best
friend and her family were in Wichita and waited for me to land (thank you
Bachman’s) while my parents drove the three hours to Wesley.
I got into the trauma
center and I had to undergo more testing. I had a large cut to the right side
of my head that took 23 stitches on the outside and so many on the inside that
the trauma PA stopped counting. I also had one running stitch in my arm and six
in between my big toe and second toe from wearing flip flops. I also had
slightly collapsed lungs, a lacerated spleen, a fractured pelvis and broken two
toes. The semi driver declined medical attention at the scene. The trailer was damaged,
and my parents’ vehicle was destroyed.
June 30 changed my life.
It has taken some time to recover from my injuries. I’ve missed the start of my
senior year of sports, but I am alive. You never think it’s going to happen to
you until it does.
Don’t text and drive -
no call, text, email or snapchat is worth your life. Pull over! Your life and
the lives around you depend on it.
Shiane Wondra is a senior at
Meade High School in Meade.
Shiane, Thank goodness you can share your story. It should be a wake up call for many who don't think it will happen to them.
ReplyDeleteLove you Shiane!!! You are such a courageous young lady for stepping up and sharing your story to help save lives!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story . We were not as lucky as we lost our Dannielle from the same hitting the back of a semi . Lets stop texting and driving everyone .
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. God spared your life. Thank you for using it now to spread a message to save others. God Bless you!
ReplyDeleteThe amount of drivers you see on the road now with their phones in their faces is scary! I cringe every time I see a snapchat where the person is obviously driving. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope others will see it and use it as a reminder to put the phone down and just drive.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story, it hopefully reminds everyone to put down their phone and just drive.
ReplyDeleteI have shared your story on my facebook page. Thank you for sharing. My mom, who grew up in Meade, was walking across the street in Garden City on 9/16/2011 when a driver backed over her killing her. On 9/16/2013 my son was driving home from work and a man in the other lane caused a wreck that sent Mike to St. Francis Hospital. He spent 8 weeks in a rehab center recovering from his injuries and learning to walk again. His pelvis was broken in three places. Both lungs punctured by broken ribs, and ended with brain surgery. You have done so much good if just one person puts there phone down. I am so glad that you and your family are surviving.
ReplyDeletethat why i dont text and drive
ReplyDeleteMy husband was killed and my son badly injured when they were hit by a man who was texting instead of watching the road. Instead of running into the back of a pickup pulling a stock trailer that he failed to see was slowed waiting to turn off the highway, he chose to swerve into the oncoming lane and hit my family head on. Our lives changed forever in that instant.
ReplyDeleteTexting and driving, or drunk driving both are killers. I was hit head on by a drunk driver at 60mph. I had broken and dislocated toes in my left foot, a crushed heel in my right, and broke both bones in my lower left leg. I am now permanently disabled, take pains meds 3 times a day. all because someone decided to drink and drive. Both should be jailable offenses. sometimes the life you affect isnt your own. Just dont do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are alive to share your story. So many people need to hear your story. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete