The Ride

The Drive

Ryan Arnoldussen

People have traumatic experiences all the time. I did not go through public rejection like Bob Greene but I did have a traumatic experience when I was 16. My traumatic experience happened when I was a freshman in High School. The drive was not only traumatic but changed my life forever. I have never written about this before.

The Drive There

It all started the morning of April 11, 1990. My friends Ursula, Brandon, Mike and I decided to skip school and drive to the Toledo Bend Reservoir. The reservoir was a great spot for kids who wanted to get out of town. My friends and I go up their about once a week to swim and go fishing. My friends and I stopped at the local store to get beer and fishing supplies. We asked every person to buy us beer. After nine people told us no, the tenth person finally said yes. We were all excited because all of us were under the age of 21 and could not buy beer or any alcohol. After getting the beer from this guy, we all got into the car and proceeded to drive to the reservoir. The man who bought us beer was slim and never even crossed his mind what could happen if he bought us beer. On the way to the reservoir, we drank and listened to music. The drive was easy and all of us took turns driving. There were close calls but nothing happened. I remember seeing our car going across the double yellow lines and driving on the shoulder. We were fortunate not to have anything happen on the way to the reservoir. We finally arrived at the reservoir and little buzzed but made it there safe and sound.

The Drive Back

After spending five hours at the lake, we decided to call it a day and drive back home. All of us were tired from swimming and partying all day. All of us piled into the car laughing and making jokes at each other. For some reason I decided to sit on the right side of the car behind the passenger seat. The first thing I did was put my seat belt on. My friends would always joke about me because I would always put my seat belt on. I thought to myself something is wrong but was reluctant to say anything. I felt something was going to happen. The song that was playing was Highway to Hell by AC/DC. Ursula was driving the car and was having such a great time. I remember seeing the van coming towards us and that is when the accident happened. The police later told me that our car was going 80 mph. Ursula fell asleep at the wheel and our car crossed the double yellow line and hit a van that was carry two passengers. The Highway Patrol and medical helicopters were dispatched to the scene. The Police later told me that it was one of the worst accidents they had ever seen. My best friend Ursula died on impact and was not even recognizable at her funeral. The medical examiner said she broke 14 bones and had numerous cuts and abrasions. Brandon was sitting on the passenger side with no seat belt on and was thrown 20 feet from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. Brandon was not even recognizable due to the blood and other abrasions that he had on his body. His funeral was the