Audra Tatum had a habit that seemed harmless: resting her feet on the car’s dashboard while her husband drove. He warned her about it many times. She did it for comfort, as millions of people do every day on roads around the world.
On August 2, 2015, in Walker County, Georgia, another vehicle crossed into their path and hit them from the side. The airbags deployed in a fraction of a second, and Audra’s foot was thrown backward, striking her face with enough force to break her nose. Her arm, femur, and ankle were also fractured: the entire right side of her body was badly injured. The other occupants of the car suffered only minor injuries.
She spent months in rehabilitation and more than a month unable to walk. As a result of her lasting injuries, she had to give up her career as an emergency medical technician because she could no longer stand for the amount of time necessary to do her job. She decided to share her story so that no one else would end up paying with their body for such a simple gesture as crossing their feet on the dashboard.
