A mother-of-three has been left permanently disabled after a minor car crash because she had her feet on the dashboard. Source: Fox 8 News
By Maggie O'Neill
A mother-of-three is permanently disabled after a minor car crash because she had her feet on the dashboard.
Audra Tatum, her husband and her 10-year-old daughter were driving down a back road in Chickamauga, Georgia, at about 70km/h in August 2015.
The then-31-year-old was sitting in thepassenger seat with her right leg crossed over her left and her foot on the dash, which she had a habit of doing despite her husband's protestations.
The impact of the crash was minor but the air bag threw Audra Tatum's foot into her face and sentenced to her a lifetime of pain.
Suddenly, a car pulled out in front of them and they smashed into the driver's side of the other car.
The impact of the crash was on Nick's side, but although he and their daughter survived with scratches and bruises, the air bag threw Tatum's foot into her face, breaking her nose, ankle, and her femur in four places.
Today, she lives with two screws in her ankle, two in her hip, and two in her knee, and she cannot stand for more than four hours a day.
Now, Tatum is sharing her story to urge other people not to put their feet on the dashboard.
"All my life I had my legs crossed and my foot on the dash," Tatum told CBS News.
"My husband always told me, 'You're going to get in a wreck someday, and you're going to break your legs'."
On the day, she said, they were driving at a normal speed, in the afternoon, with no traffic in sight.
When the car careered out from a side road, she didn't have time to consider moving her foot.
Recovery cut short: Audra (pictured in hospital) spent three days in the hospital after the crash, rather than the recommended 10 days, because she didn't have health insurance.
"The airbag went off, throwing my foot up and breaking my nose," she said.
"I was looking at the bottom of my foot facing up at me.
"Basically my whole right side was broken, and it's simply because of my ignorance.
"I'm not Superman. I couldn't put my foot down in time."
Airbags inflate at a speed of between 160 and 350km/h.
The Chattanooga Fire Department, which is supporting Tatum's campaign, says she got off easy.
"If you ride with your feet on the dash and you're involved in an accident, the airbag may send your knees through your eye sockets," they said on Facebook.
Video: Real Life Local Example
On our earlier post about the importance of keeping your feet off the dashboard, some...
Because the car that crashed into them was stolen, Nick's car insurance had to cover all the damage done.
And because Tatum did not have health insurance, she could not get the full care doctors recommended.
The car insurance covered her emergency treatment, but she had to leave the hospital after only three days there, instead of 10.
And she could not afford physical therapy. As a result, it took her three weeks to walk after being discharged from the hospital, when it could have taken days. It took more than a month to be able to do so without a walker.
She also had to pay for her own pain medication - six to eight weeks of oxycodone.
Now, two years later, she cannot stand for more than four hours at a time.
Beyond the crippling pain, Tatum said it has ruined her life ambition of becoming a medic.
Screws: Audra now has two screws in her ankle, two in her knee, and two in her hip (pictured).
She had graduated from North Georgia EMT School just six weeks before the crash.
But now, she says, she cannot do the physical work the job requires.
"I can't stand more than four hours at a time. Once I'm at that four-hour mark I'm in tears," she told CBS.
Speaking to Daily Mail Online, Tatum said she has tried working several jobs since the crash but she said it has proved "impossible" to find a job that does not require standing for several hours.
She now works full-time from home, entering data all day. But she is looking for a job that will give her better benefits.
Now, two years later, Audra says she cannot stand for more than four hours at a time.
Her goal is to educate people about the dangers of the simple mistake that almost cost her her mobility, she said.
She has a GoFundMe page and she wants to raise enough money to afford a billboard on a highway where she can advertise what happened to her and convince people not to sit in cars the way she was sitting at the time of the crash.
She also wants to speak at schools and talk to kids who are about to get their license.
