~RIP Lorenzo~

(yay!  My hashtag post title worked how I wanted it!)

 February, you're only a week old, but you're not starting out very nice!  

So last Friday, Miss Angela was over at my sister Linda's house, dog-sitting.  She got up early (for her) to go to dance.  Nothing unusual there.  At about 10:15am, she calls me, hysterical.  I finally got her to tell me that she was OK, but the car wasn't.  I got the gist that she'd been in an accident!  I gave the phone to Randy while I got dressed. and I heard him talking to who I assume was a police officer.  

Apparently she'd been in the right lane, about 2 miles from the studio, behind an SUV going well under the speed limit.  She glanced over her shoulder to see if she could change lanes and that brief moment was enough for this guy to slam on his brakes and she rear-ended him.  Since it was an SUV, so she went under his bumper.  So probably 0.02% damage to the underside of the bumper, probably just paint transfer.  But the Escort (aka Lorenzo) was totalled.

Thankfully, Angel only had minor bumps & bruises.  Her knee is visibly bruised.  She thinks she hit her throat on the steering wheel (a hazard of being short & sitting close to it) and there's a little quarter-sized bruise on the back of her hand that she says really hurts.  

By the time I got to the scene, the other car was long gone and the flatbed was ready to load it up.  The police officer let her sit in the back of his car to stay warm until I got there.  Which meant, of course, a Snapchat video that caused all of her friends to freak out!  They figured out where she was, but didn't put 2 & 2 together that she was ON her phone and her purse & backpack were next to her.  She wouldn't have those if she'd been arrested!  I walked up to the patrol car and tapped on the window.  When he rolled it down, I pointed at the car and said that was my daughter's car.  He pointed in the back seat and said "there's your daughter!"  Heehee!

 They hauled Lorenzo off to the "storage" lot and I let Angel out of the back of the patrol car and took her home.  I asked if she wanted to go to dance, but she pitifully said she just wanted to go home.  We went home & got Randy (who was very stressed about the whole situation) then stopped for breakfast before heading to the storage lot (aka salvage / junkyard).  He went in and they told him where it was.  So we got all of her personal affects and the tracker & antenna and license plate.  Randy stood there looking at it and wondered out loud if they would just let us sign over the title to them.  It seriously would have cost more to fix than the car is worth.  It's a 2000.  I drove it for 12 years before turning it over to Angel.  She's driven it for 2 years now.  I'm not sure how many miles were on it, but I know well over 160K.  Lots of rust. The huge dent from being T-boned last February.  A leaky gas tank.  And yes!  They let us sign over the title and we'll probably only have to pay for towing.  And more good news - since we're not filing a claim, our insurance won't go up.  

Miss Angela did get 2 tickets, tho.  One for expired insurance (which will be dropped since the current card just wasn't in the car) and the other for following another car too close.  So we'll have to call and get her an appointment at traffic court again.   Yay. 

So now we're car shopping.  We need to get her something ASAP since I had to leave work early today and will again tomorrow to get her to appointments.  My boss isn't happy about that, but she really couldn't reschedule today's since it was a job interview (that she happily got hired right away and now will really need wheels!)  Tomorrow is for the dentist - blargh. 

Anyhoo.  Send good car mojo this way so we find something reasonably priced & reliable quickly!