Testimony- Mel Sauder
I absolutely must share my experience and give all the glory to Almighty God for this stunning miracle. Silence is not an option!
Heading south on the 101 from a Scottsdale business meeting, traffic was moving well until reaching the Indian School exit when rush hour traffic came to a complete stop. Everything seemed fine until in my peripheral vision two bright lights appeared in the rearview mirror moving quickly toward me. I remember thinking, “Oh, this can’t be good!” … then nothing.
Sensing the crash, my iPhone immediately called 911 at 6:08 pm and texted a map location and “SOS Crash Detected” to Carol and our kids (my emergency contacts). My phone’s “recents” recorded that there were two missed return calls from 911 and many missed calls and texts from my family over the first thirty minutes. I remember awaking briefly, totally confused but seeing that I had crashed into the Tesla in front of me and calling Carol to tell her that I didn’t know what happened but was in an accident and was waiting for the police (according to “recents” 10 minutes after the crash). I don’t remember anything else until thirty minutes after the crash (per “recents”), calling Carol again as the police officer opened my door and reached for my arm, checked on my status, and asked if there was anyone else in the car. Although I don’t remember, I apparently also briefly talked with our daughter, Heather, and answered a couple of texts including her “Go to the hospital!” Then, nothing until heading to the hospital the EMT showed the picture he took of my car at the scene to help me understand what happened. He snapped a picture of it for me with my phone. Finally, an hour and a half later Carol and Heather prayed over me as they held my hands in the ER. I gave them my passwords and told them about the pic on my phone. That’s all I remember for the first twelve hours.
A 7,500-pound Dodge Ram 3500 heavy-duty four-wheel drive truck rear ended my stationary 2,500-pound 2013 Veloster at an estimated 70 mph. According to the police report, the vehicle following me veered into the HOV lane at the last second and the Dodge Ram driver unaware the traffic was stopped, crashed into me without time to react. From Google, “According to Newton’s second law of motion, a 7,500-pound vehicle traveling at 70 mph hit my 2,500-pound car with approximately 40 MILLION POUNDS of forward-moving force.” The picture on the back of this page with the Ram grill embedded in the back of our blue Veloster is the one taken at the scene by the EMT. The only skid marks at the scene were my small two-foot skids as the truck slammed my car forward (yes, at 70 mph, my car only moved two feet as can be seen in the EMT’s picture). When we went to the impound lot four days later, a nice mid-20’s gentleman took us to find the car. When he found it, he was surprised that I was alive, and even more amazed that I was able to walk the lot with just a walker. As Carol and Heather took pictures, we shared with him what happened. He was visibly shaken, explaining that based on what he sees in these circumstances, he expected that I would have been accordioned between the truck and the Tesla. He added that he would have expected my car to have caught fire when my battery was jarred loose from the impact and the sparks with the car still running igniting the battery; a fire even more likely when my car and the truck slammed into the Tesla ahead. That reality became even more obvious when our friend, Timmy Zowada, created the above illustration of Heather’s vision of the accident (keep reading for more about her vision).
Looking at the other pictures from the impound lot, you can see that the back half of my car is literally gone. The back panel of my car along with the Hyundai emblem is pressed up against the back of my seat. Where are the back seats? Where is all the metal and plastic from the back half of my car? The gas tank? Why did the impact stop just behind my seat? From another picture, you can see my space is safe and pristine as if Jesus Himself held me firmly in His Hands. Notice the front of the car, barely bumped into the Tesla just a few feet ahead, the battery unscathed. How? What happened to the 40 million pounds of forward-moving force? Nothing in the laws of physics even begins to provide an explanation.
Oh, but there is an explanation. In fact, I can confidently tell you what happened! Almighty God revealed it while Carol and Heather were in the ER waiting room. The vision from our daughter, Heather, is clear and accurate.
“Here is the vision I saw last night when we were waiting for you to get the MRI. I was overcome with gratitude and closed my eyes and whispered, ‘Thank you!’ As I said that I saw this …
“The angel looked like a normal man. No wings. No halo. He looked like he was like 5’10” with dirty blonde hair. His hands were pushing up against crumpled blue metal above him. He was straining to hold it up. The crumpled blue metal was unrecognizable and was above him and close to him on the sides, too. It was dark. I couldn’t see the ground or his feet. Couldn’t tell what part of the car it was and couldn’t tell if he was inside the car or outside the car. An angel straining to keep the metal from closing in.”
Spared by the grace of God through His mighty angel. No other explanation available … or needed.
Other than my neck, no broken bones or ribs, just a couple of bruises. A concussion with three brain bleeds and the shingles toward the back of the C-6 vertebrae were fractured, but not the body of the vertebrae itself, so there wasn’t pressure on the spinal cord. The brain bleeds stabilized the first night, only causing temporary balance issues, slow and slurred speech, and headaches, but no surgery. Within two weeks the walker, speech issues, and headaches were gone as the blood on the brain absorbed into the brain. After six weeks the vertebrae stabilized enough to remove the neck collar!
Carol was planning to join us for the meeting, but the investor’s availability conflicted with her one-hour commitment at LifePoint’s 24-hour prayer room. She was not only spared from being in the car, but as she was praying, she was led to pray Psalm 103. Not coincidentally, Psalm 103 concludes with “The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Praise the LORD, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His Word. Praise the LORD, all His heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will. Praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion. Praise the LORD oh my soul.”
God’s love is unconditional. His mercy and grace are both undeserved and beyond measure. Our shield of faith has been galvanized. I am praying for everyone reading this that you know Him personally and that your faith, too, is galvanized. Even when we don’t feel it, please know that HE IS working. HE is still in the business of miracles and answering prayers!
Mel Sauder
