I was going about 45mph and did a full 720 spin at least and flew over the curb, through the grass, and sort of into a parking lot. If the curb was any higher I probably could have flipped over. I fully believe the side air bags (that both deployed from overhead and tore open my seats to come out to provide buffers against the doors) saved me from extensive injuries.
RIP my almost new Mazda 3 hatchback. What you don't see are the pics of the other side where my wheels are now horizontal. Was the first car I've ever bought new, and my first real wreck, and my first total auto loss all in one. I had to crawl through the passenger side to get out. It also apparently looked wild enough to make maybe 10 people come running across the road, in the rain, to see if we were alright. It impressed me really to have people trying to get to me in the car, usually people drive right by accidents starring.
Let this be a lesson to the many of you that are new drivers - the learners permit is nothing to fool around with and the rules of the road are actually there for a damn good reason. Seat belts save lives, I may not be posting this right now if I had not mine securely attached. If I didn't try to dodge her so much I would have gone straight into her and possibly ejected her from the car without her seat belt. She could have easily died as could have I. This poor girl now likely won't legally drive until she's 21 or 25, and she was arrested 2 days before her sweet 16 leaving the hospital for all of this.
Airbags ever save anyone here?
