This is a personal post I am writing here about the awful thing that happened to me yesterday. It was the last day of May and the weather was horrendous. I had gone out with my mum to help her run errands when she looked at the time and realised my brother was going to be home any minute and he didn't have the keys to the house, so she told me to make my way back home to let him in. I then left her at the post office and was rushing back home, pulling my hood down so I wouldn't get wet, when I was crossing the road and a car hit me.

In that moment, everything felt surreal. I honestly felt like it wasn't me getting hit by the car and me rolling over and landing on the floor. I remember going through a moment of complete immobility wondering quickly if I had died. I was in complete shock hearing pedestrians shouting at me to see if I was alright, and not being able to take in what was happening. It didn't feel real. It felt like I was another person living through a really bad dream.

The driver then pulled over and rushed over to help me up and started asking me if I was alright. I was in complete shock and couldn't stop crying. I didn't have a phone, my mum wasn't with me and I felt completely vulnerable and unsure of what do. I began moving my legs and touching my arms to see if I could move and see if anything was broken. My left hand had scraped on the floor and was bleeding and the back of my leg felt numb and painful.

I began shouting at the driver, asking him why he hadn't seen me. He told me that it was because his windows were all fogged up and the rain was making it impossible to see. I then told him that he could have killed me and he began apologising. I then knew I needed to have my mum by my side and asked him if I could use his phone to call her. At first, she didn't respond and I kept praying for her to answer. I tried again and she did and then told her that I had just been hit by a car but that I was okay. I could hear her voice was agitated and shocked as soon as she heard what had happened and soon came to join me. The driver's wife also came as he was supposed to pick her up around the corner to where the incident happened. They kept telling me to sit in their car because it wouldn't stop raining, but I kept telling them that I wasn't going to get in their car. I then kept looking at his registration number and was trying to remember it because I didn't know what else to do.

When my mum arrived, all shaken up and worried she began asking what had happened. The driver then told us again to get in his car so he could take me to the hospital. At first, he wanted to give us money and call a cab for us, but I didn't want him to get away. My mum then told him that the hospital wasn't too far from where we were, but if he could first drop by our house to get my brother. We got in the car, my leg becoming incredibly painful, and I could see that his windows were completely steamed up and couldn't see where he was driving. When he got to my house, I realised that the air conditioning switch wasn't even placed properly and told him how to do it, but he couldn't understand me very well as he didn't speak much English. In fact, he had only been in England for 7 weeks. I was then very surprised he was even driving as he didn't even know how to work the car or even manoeuvre it properly, as when we made our way to the hospital he nearly collided with another car and even went over the pedestrians' footpath.

I rushed into A&E with my mum and the driver's wife, while my brother stayed with the driver to find a parking space. The nurse at the reception then told me that I had to report everything to the police as it was a traffic accident involving an injury. At that moment, the driver joined us and became incredibly nervous when I told him we needed to report it and I could see that he was scared of what the police would do. He kept telling me that I was fine, and I told him that we needed to report it otherwise he could get into trouble if we hadn't. He kept nodding, but I wasn't sure he even understood what I was telling him as he kept asking what was going to happen.

I called 101, the police non-emergency number, and told them what happened. The driver then wanted to speak to them so I handed the phone over and they spoke for a moment. When the phone was handed back to me, the police officer told me that they were going to come down to the hospital within the hour in order to officially report the accident.

The hour felt eternal, my leg was really hurting and the driver was in deep thought pacing up and down. When the police finally arrived, one began talking to me, while the other spoke to the driver. I could hear from the other officer that the driver was very nervous at retelling what had happened and was even changing the story. I stuck to the truth and had no idea what the driver was saying to his police officer. Then, his police officer told him to leave. They had gotten his statement and he was now free to go. But the driver wasn't leaving, he kept saying that he needed to talk to the police about what had happened and the police officer began to laugh because, "I am the police!" he told him. Eventually the driver and his wife left, apologising to me one last time before the police officers then told me they had gotten what they wanted and would now investigate the driver. They hoped I'd get better soon and then left.

The nurse then called my name and began checking to see if I had fractured parts of my body, which I thank God I hadn't. They X-Rayed my hand and the results seemed all fine. I kept thanking God I was  alive, and that my injuries weren't severe.

This awful experience has made me more aware when out on the road, and has made me value life more. You never know what could happen or when life could reach its end.

But I learnt some things that I hope you guys will consider:

- Look before crossing the road. And I mean really look.
Even if the road seems deserted and no cars are coming, still look both Left and Right to be completely sure.

- When the weather conditions aren't great, take extra care.
Having your hood up can prevent you from seeing clearly, so make sure you stop and look around before crossing the road.

- Always carry a phone with you.
You never know when you may need it.

- Don't be distracted when crossing the road.
Try to be completely aware of the road when crossing it, and don't let your phone or anything else distract you. Cars can really appear from nowhere.

- If driving, make sure your windows are all clear.
Find out what all the buttons in your car do and mean and use them if necessary. Remember, that you should put your fog lights on if visibility drops below 100m.

That's all guys. I know it was lengthy piece of writing, but I really wanted to share my story to make you all more aware of the sudden dangers that could happen.

Remember that police numbers are: 999 (if it's an emergency) or 101 (if you want to contact your local police).

Laila xo