Moose collision's global coverage astounds survivor
A central Newfoundland woman who has no recollection of her collision with a moose says she has been "blown away" by how her story has travelled across the world.
"I always pictured that maybe one day I might win some money. But this is a hell of a way to get your name well known," said Norris Arm resident Michelle Higgins, who drove almost 40 kilometres without realizing her car had been wrecked after hitting the animal.
Higgins went into apparent shock after the collision, which was strong enough to tear back the roof of her car "like a sardine can," while also bashing in the windshield.
Higgins, who first spoke to CBC last week, has been the subject of media coverage around the world, with reports ranging from CNN to British tabloids.
"I'm just blown away that people are so interested in the story," said Higgins, who still can't remember the crash or the succeeding minutes as she drove to work in Gander. She said she was oblivious until her astonished co-workers asked her what had happened.
Two weeks after the crash, Higgins tells CBC News "about 95 per cent" of her significant bruising has gone away. She is still unable to sleep in her own bed, although her body is on the mend. She said the love and support of her three children, and other family members, is helping with her recovery.
"Life is as good as it can get," she said in an interview.
Meanwhile, Higgins does have an answer to one of the questions that had troubled her: how she was able to drive such a distance with no one reporting a heavily damaged car driving along the highway.
She said she has been contacted by a woman who was walking that morning with a friend in the town of Appleton. Higgins said she was relieved to learn that her driving - none of which she can remember - was fine.
"I was grateful she told me, but the first thing I asked her when she told me was, 'Why didn't you report me?' " Higgins said. "I would have thought if I [saw] a lunatic driving down the road with no roof, no windshield, that somebody would have reported me."
Higgins said the woman assumed someone else would report the car. Nor did she think someone would continue to drive after hitting a moose.
"I can see her side of it, too. The car [was] drivable. It was just a convertible," Higgins said with a chuckle.
As for the mystery of her blackout, Higgins said she is sympathetic to those who have been shaking their heads about how it all unfolded.
"People out there don't understand it and, oddly, I understand why they don't understand it, because I don't understand it," she said.
