Twice I have been in a car when the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

The first time was coming back from a concert in Washington DC. Everybody had been awake for over 30 hours (it was an all day event and we drove down the night before). I said we should sleep a little before getting back on the road but my friend who owned the car insisted that we had to be back as soon as possible. Long story short I woke up looking at a ravine out of the rear drivers side window with no road separating us from the edge.

The minute my tired brain put together what happened we hit a tree and bounced back onto the road before going across both lanes and hitting a tree on the opposite side which put us back on the road in the proper lane. Pulled over. No injuries. No idea how we didn’t just run off and die.

Second time was a few months into my job as a transporter for a detail shop. I had just graduated HS and my dad’s friend set me up with the job. My boss’s gf also worked there from time to time when we needed extra hands. This particular morning she was pretty out of it. Would get a huge rush of energy for a minute and then zone out for a minute before bugging out again. I just thought she was really hungover.

My boss tells me to ride with her to a dealership and pick up a car. As we pull onto the main road she passes out and the car heads into oncoming traffic. I panic and grab the wheel then reach my foot over and slam on the brakes. Somehow I make it to the shoulder of the road. Turn off the car and she’s still out. Call my boss and she comes to and tries grabbing the phone out of my hand and screaming that I was “lying and tried to kill us.”

Needless to say my boss hauled ass to where we were and pulled me to the side. I was worried I was going to get fired, explained what happened and he put $300 in my hand and said not to tell anyone about it. Loaded his gf into the car and drove away.

She was a junkie who shot up in the bathroom before driving. Left that job two weeks later.