This accident happened during the summer after my second year in the seminary in Poland. Every summer we stayed in the seminary for three weeks to do some renovations there. My previous Pastor was assigned to the parish about 40 minutes from the Seminary. Because I didn’t have my own car, I asked my friend if he could lend me his car for one day so I could go and visit Fr. Jan during that on that time.  I didn’t have too much experience in driving, but I considered myself to be a pretty good driver.

It was a rainy Saturday. I left the seminary with another Seminarian early that Morning. We started praying the rosary. On the third traffic light I hit another car.

Perhaps I was still very sleepy. I remember I saw a yellow light and somehow I was sure that driver before me will pass through and me too. But he didn’t. The driver wasn’t from this area. He stopped for the light and I hit his car at full speed about 50 mph.  Nothing too serious happened to his car, only the back bumper fell off. My car was in much worse condition. The motor was now under the steering wheel. The police were called, and I called my friend. After a few hours my friend’s father came and towed the car.  He was happy that nothing happened to us.

I have pondered the circumstances of that accident many times: it was bad weather; we didn’t sleep enough in the days before; I wasn’t a good driver, but I was sure that I was. The accident happened in a perfect for us place, we weren’t hurt, only car. The route which we planned to go was known for being pretty dangerous. Many accident happen near there.  I cannot imagine how much worse it could be on that way if it had happened later that day, with more dense traffic, at a higher speed or with more rainfall. I started then to see that I’m very bad and inexperienced driver, that I need to be more careful, and that I need to take better care of myself. The accident helped me to work more on myself and to be more careful.