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Angelica Hurtado
October 31, 2015
English 111 -19
Essay # 2
Prof. Julia Intawiwat

Bloody Highways

Jane Harris, the mother of two children was always scared to drive in a highway (OBS1)
because of all the terrible accidents she has seen on TV (OBS1). She was an over protective
mother who didnt want her kids to be sick or get injured (OBS2). Nathalie the oldest child
started to drive a year ago and that was something that made the Harris tense (OBS 2). However
they understood that learning to drive was a very important moment in Nathalies life. John
Harris, Nathalies father, paid close attention to his daughters driving and the time she spent
outside by herself (CONTROL1). He just wanted her to be safe.
Nathalie is a very sweet and responsible girl and her parents trusted her driving skills. She had to
go to school very early when the sun (LIGHT1) was still hidden.
Nathalies parents were lucky that their kids were very healthy and strong so they didnt have to
use the basic insurance plan they bought.
One afternoon when Nathalie was driving back home after school, she had a terrible car
accident on the highway. She was taking the exit close to her house and a drunk driver realized
that he took the wrong exit and decided to cross against traffic hitting her car. She thought it had

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been a bad dream (DREAM). The other driver wanted to drive away but he couldnt (ASTRAY)
because he was injured and his body was covered in blood (BL1).
Nathalie had many bruises all over her body but she was alive. However, she called the police
and also her mother. She didnt want to scare her mother on the phone because she knew how her
mother would react and how she would feel about the doctor bills afterwards (OBS 3) She was
scared, confused and couldnt stop crying repeating I am so sorry all the time (CONTROL 2).
The lights of the ambulance and the firefighters (LIGHT 2) that arrived to the scene made her
even more afraid. The highway turned into an unknown place for her, it was like a nightmare;
everybody there asked questions and looked at her like she belonged on a different planet
(EYES). She wasnt able to talk and only shook her head to say yes or no to all the questions the
paramedics asked her. (BODY1).
The Harris arrived to the scene and were relieved to see their daughter alive
(OBS4). When Nathalie saw them, she immediately hugged her mother (BL2) and started crying
even louder. Yet, she knew everything would be okay as long as her parents were beside her.
(LIGHT3). John, her father, kissed her forehead (KISS) and looked at her with a sweet smile as a
sign of support . Her mother looked around and at the entire bloody scene, the ambulance, and
firefighters without knowing what would come next. (LIGHT4).
The ambulance took Nathalie to the hospital and she closed her eyes trying to hide her fears
(LIGHT 5). While Jane rode in the ambulance with Nathalie she felt weak and dizzy (BL3),
Nathalies face looked very bright because of the strong lights inside the ambulance
(LIGHT5). They held hands during the ride to the hospital (TOUCH) in absolute silence, only
looking each other with sweet gestures and smiles. (BL 4)

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When the ambulance arrived to the hospital the nurses were waiting for Nathalie and brought her
into the emergency room. Nathalie smiled to her mom and let go her hand very softly as a sign
that she is going to be fine. (BL 5)
Jane held back her tears until Nathalie went inside the room. Suddenly her fears about her
daughters health appeared again (OBS 5) and she was terrified thinking about all the bills and
payments coming after the accident (OBS 6), even though she knew it was wrong to think about
it while her daughter was in the emergency room.
Nathalies parents were waiting in the hospital for her daughters tests to be finished,
when the police arrived to let them know that the other driver was fine; the Harriss didnt wish
him anything bad after all (LIGHT 7). The police also told them that drunk driver would also
pay for the hospital and the property damages (LIGHT 8). Such a relief for them, but they also
thought that drunk people shouldnt been driving. It was not the first time for him to drive under
the influence of alcohol. He could have killed Nathalie or somebody else. However, the
authorities are still not doing enough to clean streets and highways from these kinds of people.
The Harris hugged each other as a sign of relief (BODY 2) that all the bills would be
paid by the guilty drunk man. They expected Nathalie to be better soon.
The time seemed endless and Jane started to suspect that something was wrong with her daughter
(OBS 7) so she decided to close her eyes and pray quietly on her knees (BL 6). Praying to God
gave her the strength to face this difficult situation (LIGHT 9). Meanwhile, Mr. Harris was
walking around talking on the phone with family and friends (BL7). He talked to his parents and
couldnt avoid crying, (BL 8) even though he knew she would be fine, he wanted to be able to
help his daughter even more (OBS 8).

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Finally the nurses brought Nathalie back to the room. Her parents jumped to see how she
was feeling (BL 9) and she gave them a thumbs up (BL10), that gave them relief
(OBS 9).
The doctor went to the room to talk to Nathalies parents and let them know that she had
bruises but no broken bones or fractures (OBS 10). He explained to the Harris that Nathalie
would be better soon and she was almost ready to go back home. (LIGHT 10) However she
needed to go to the Chiropractor, follow his instructions and finish her rehabilitation until the
doctor releases her.
The Harris family was happy to hear the good news and sat beside Nathalie to give her a soft and
gentle embrace (BL11). The doctor prescribed her medicine and left the room shaking the
Harris hand (BL12). He told Nathalie not to worry about anything and that the most important
thing was that she survived a fatal accident. That is what really matters, he said. Before he left
he touched her head softly wishing her luck (BL13). Mr. Harris felt calmer but still a little tense
(BL14). Jane took all of Nathalies belongings and helped her change into her clothes (BL15).
When the Harris left the hospital they knew that a new life was about to start. Her family was
reunited again and her daughter was alive. All the fears about doctors, sickness and medical bills
were not important, compared to the happiness and how grateful this family was.