Friday the 13th bicycle drama

Hello again, although this post is not exactly nature related I do make a bird reference toward the end. I guess I could also make a correlation between the way vehicles view bicycles and the way humans view animals much smaller than themselves, such as ants and insects. I am as much at fault for this perception as anyone, but perhaps this incident will help foster a better understanding for myself at least when it comes to the importance of all wildlife.
When the Laws of Physics Don't Apply
It was a particularly ominous Friday the 13, one that refused to be laughed off as mere superstition. One of our team members had just gotten out of ICU after a week and another friend and coworker had just received unpleasant medical news as well. The office atmosphere was gloomy at best, and although clear skies were outside, it seemed everyone was in a dense fog which no humor could dissapate. I was relieved to be out as I pedaled toward home. It had been a rough couple months in general, and I was actually surprised this day had not hit me directly as well, unless you count the disadvantageous timing of stop lights.
I was only a few miles away and pedaling downhill toward major stoplight at Sabino Canyon and Tanque Verde. I glanced left and the reality of the sight I saw brought my world to a grinding halt. It was a Toyota Tundra, making a left turn across 3 lanes into the shopping lot driveway just in front of my bike. Even if he saw me and tried to stop now it would be too late, and speeding up or braking couldn't prevent the inevitable fact that our paths would soon meet . It was like a classic math problem, "If a Toyota Tundra is traveling at 25 mpht toward a driveway, and a bike is traveling at 18 mph perpendicularly toward the same driveway, which part of the bumper will the bicyclist hit, assuming the truck doesn't change speed and the bicyclist brakes at ??? feet per second." Either way I was about to become a hood ornament.
So I let go of thought and let instinct take over. In fact, it took hours for me to recollect the events as they unfolded, and I still don't know some answers. The rundown looks something like this;
My first task was to avoid the bumper at all costs. He wasn't slowing down and didn't even see me or my bike until afterward (sun was in his eyes). I applied the back and front brakes at once. Miraculously the front bumper passed by first but I was still scheduled for a head-on into the side of the vehicle. My only chance to buy time was to lock the front tire. If the front tire made contact, I would lose all control of my fate. My front wheel locked just before the great beast, and the back wheel began its vertical ascent, sending me toward the passenger door. I raised myself vertically to buy more time for it to pass, but it seemed he was actually slowing now that he was out of traffic lanes.
Life slowed to a crawl as I realized contact was inevitable. As I launched over the handle bars I turned my left shoulder in to receive the first blow, It hit, then slid down, and I could feel it scrape down the front part of the large back tire. My head would land just in front. I figured it may be too late but pushed out with my elbow so my head could be further right, hoping the elbow would be the only part sacrificed. I had already resigned myself to my fate.
I lay face down in the middle of the driveway, arms out, for a minute or two, assessing my injuries and hoping no other vehicles would turn in. In one part of my mind it had seemed my arm had been run over but there was no physical evidence. As I finally stood four streams began from one of my knees, but I don't even remember how they got cut or banged up. My shoulders and wrist were sore, but mostly I just some minor cuts and bruising.
Somebody called 911 and a fire truck came. The driver of the Tundra brought napkins for my knees and offered a ride, but it seemed strange to accept a ride from someone who nearly ran you down minutes earlier. I did use his phone to call Joni for a ride when she returned from work, and half expected her to pass by while we were there. She and her friend Tonya got to the house through another route. They were just remarking how lucky they were not to have taken Tanque Verde home since the radio had reported an accident at Tanque Verde and Sabino Canyon. "We beat the bullet on that one," Tonya remarked as Joni glanced at the phone, noticing a message. "I wonder why Brian's not home yet?" You could say I beat the bullet too.
So it's good to know, even if you've studied in the best schools, that even physics laws can be broken, that and in fact they're only rules. Whether you're a hummingbird crossing the gulf, or a bicyclist avoiding the Tundra, you can make it across, and the truck may just stun ya! Especially if you're out riding on Friday the 13th!