An almost fatal crash

By Massoki Maka


For most of my life, I haven't been a thrill seeker. Until recently, the most exciting thing I had ever done was paddleboarding. However, the summer of 2022 would change that. While we were enjoying our 10 day holiday in Dubai, I went quad biking on the dunes of Dubai in 110 degree weather. It completely changed my view on thrill seeking. My 9 year old little sister  and I shared a quad bike which made it even more exciting. When I would drift with the bike she would scream and it would be so funny.

“Soki is really good at drifting on quad bikes”- my sister Malaika Maka said,(without being forced).
I am a 17-year-old with a story like no other. I was born in America but lived most of my life in Ethiopia. My mother is Kenyan and my father is Cameroonian and naturalistically Italian. A mouthful, I know. I chose to come to North Cross because I yearned for a new environment away from the school I had previously gone to in Kenya. Also, being an American citizen made it easier to come to school here because I did not need an I20 visa and could pay domestic school rates.

However, one almost fateful day could have changed the fact that I was able to go to Dubai this summer.

On April 23, 2022 at around 9:30 p.m. I was on my way back to the dorm from work when I decided to use a Lime scooter for the first time. I had my airpods in as I rode around the dimly lit streets of downtown Roanoke, so I could not hear what was taking place around me. I stopped at a red light and looked around aimlessly as I waited for it to turn green. I started back up onto my scooter and turned left onto the road but as I turned I was slammed into by the car next to me. It knocked me to the ground and I had lost all sense of place. My ribs ached and arms and legs were covered with scratches and bruises. My glasses and airpods fell on the road and the contents of my tote bag spilled all over Jefferson street. As the car sped away, it took me a minute to process what had just happened. At 9:33, a passing car stopped because they had seen the whole ordeal take place.

“ Are you ok?”  asked a random, concerned stranger.

Was I ok? I was still in one piece, my airpods and glasses were still intact and I was able to gather all of my belongings. So yes, I was ok. And I thank God that I am ok today, because the fact that I was on the scooter made the accident less fatal than it would have been if I wasn't on it. If I wasn't protected by the grace of God during those almost fatal 3 minutes, exactly 73 days later I would not have been able to enjoy quad biking and camel rides with my little sister.

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