A little over 20 years ago, a dollar bill could have cost me my life.

One afternoon, I was on my way to pick up my mom from work. It was a routine drive down a country road that had a few twists and turns.

Around one twist in the road, I looked down on the passenger’s side floorboard.  Something had caught my eye. It was a dollar bill folded in half.

As I slowed the car, I leaned over and tried to reach for it. I thought everything was fine. However, I looked up and realized that the car was driving off the right side of the road.

I immediately grabbed the wheel with both hands and tried to turn the car back onto the road. Unfortunately, it was too late. The car had hit a few small trees before running head first into a bigger one and the car came to an abrupt stop. It happened so fast.

A few moments passed before I came to and realized what had just happened. I looked around and saw that I was still in the driver’s seat. There were shards of glass across my chest. The windshield was shattered.

Suddenly I smelled smoke coming from the engine. I instinctively reached for the keys and quickly turned off the ignition.

Then I realized I needed to get out of the car. I thought it was going to catch on fire. I quickly opened the door and tried to step out, but I was restrained by the seatbelt. I looked down and fumbled with the release button until it finally let go.

I was free, so I swung my feet out of the car and soon realized I was down in a steep rocky embankment. I looked around, trying to find a way out of there. I tried to climb my way up, but I fell back down. It took me a few tries, before I was able to reach the pavement. I then stood up and brushed off the rocks and dirt. I was relieved to be out of the car, but I was shocked to see what I did. The car was down in the embankment.