People thought we were dead

In 2002 I was on a new health kick and had been attending belly dance classes. These occurred on a Monday at 6pm. Hardly a time of the week when you would think it dangerous to be on the road.
 
Next, a moment from a film… so surreal you think you are mid-REM dreaming. Coming through a busy intersection we were hit side/front on by a drunk driver at approximately 90 km/h. My first memory was of the smell – a pungent burnt odour, the deploy of the airbags and the smell of CRASH.
 
Adrenaline is a drug. Somehow my friend and I crawled out of the car and waited roadside while people stared in awe. All I could overhear were comments such as, ‘Oh my goodness, they must be dead’ – an opinion shared with the emergency response team.
 
Dead we weren’t – bruised and battered, yes. So many details of the night’s events – from hospital, insurance forms, x-rays, tears and what ifs. In the end it was 3 days in hospital, a lifetime fear of driving and ongoing pain  and lack of mobility in my knee.  
 
After 6 years of fighting between lawyers, medical adjustors and insurance companies, we settled. Who paid? Well, the insurance held by the drunk driver was invalid – she had two previous pending DUI’s.  She did spend 100 days in jail and will never drive again.
 
If either my friend or I had have died, would it have been enough?

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The image was so horrendous it has ruined my life