"Head-on" is an adjective that will give most everyone the shudders, conjuring various unpleasant thoughts about collisions, unwelcome clashes, or unwanted challenges.
Three days before Christmas, Grand Rapids attorney Jack Buchanan came face-to-face with the term in a chilling car-truck encounter on an icy Michigan road, stirring memories of several other close calls that have added some unexpected spice to his life.
It began somewhat innocently enough when Buchanan went out on a festive shopping expedition, stopping by one of the local malls to pick up a holiday present for his wife Sheila. When he departed on that afternoon mission, the roads were dry and clear, camouflaging a dramatic change in weather to come.
Less than an hour later, Old Man Winter began to rear his ugly head, coating local roads with a slippery mixture of snow and ice, quickly turning highways into veritable skating rinks.
Suddenly, Buchanan's short drive home became a white-knuckle affair, as he attempted to steer his way through treacherous road conditions. Within moments, the trip came to an unceremonious end when his rear-wheel drive car failed to make the crest of a small hill, leaving him stuck in the right lane on a busy suburban road with little or no shoulder for a safe escape.
His predicament was worsening by the minute, as vehicle after vehicle raced by from both directions despite the wintry weather conditions that were about to cause peril even after police help had been summoned.
Then, as Buchanan nervously awaited emergency assistance, a pickup truck came speeding over the hill from the other direction, sliding across the centerline in out-of-control fashion. The resulting head-on collision crushed the entire front end of Buchanan's car, setting off a series of airbags&
