So, we get frantic call from our 17 year old. I'm thinking she's hurt.

She keeps saying she is sorry and is crying so hard we can barely make out what she is saying.

It seems she backed into a dumpster at a local Church. No light to speak of, very dark and the dumpster is midnight blue without any reflective surfaces.

Dumpster 1
Mini Van 0

Kid alive and well. No one else was hurt either.

We'll most likely have to replace the back hatch of the van (bent in like folded paper) but it was drivable. I'm glad we own it out right. If she would have been driving my Saturn I'd be happier--a reason to get rid of it. But at least all that seems to be damaged is the back hatch (and lots of little pieces of glass).

You simply don't know what goes through a parent's mind when you hear about kids calling in with a frantic voice until your kid calls.

I could really care less about the car. No one was hurt. My insurance rates will most likely go up but I can live with that because my kid is in once piece.

All I really care about is that my kid is in once piece.

Ugh. Glad she's alright. I want to see pics of that van though. =)

I remember the first couple years of driving. No one trusts that you can drive well which is the most frustrating and maddening thing in the world.... and then you continue to prove them right by bumping into shit left, right, and center.

Lucky for me, I've never been in an accident that was my fault. The only thing closest was a 1mph impact at a stoplight in the middle of winter. The roads were ice, my tires stopped moving half a block away and the guy in front of my couldn't get traction. I bumped him going about 1mph, if that. We had nearly identical cars too so there was no damage at all.

My brother, however, managed to wreck 6 cars, topple a garage and kill a cat all in the span of 2 seconds. We all learned a valuable lesson about clutches and brakes that day.

Glad she's ok!!

I've learned from experience as a former teen driver (who was in two major accidents that I should have died in all in the span of 8 months...) that if you can call home and tell Mom and Dad what happened...it's not that bad of an accident. (I only hope my kids call home and tell me, and not wait for me to notice the next morning on my way to work!)

I'm glad she's ok Nag!

VAN is costing $2700+ to repair. Very expensive lesson for a 17 year old--look behind you when backing up. Good thing it was mostly covered by insurance (which will now go up).

It was dark, looking from the VAN I didn't see the dumpster either so I really couldn't yell at her. It was just too dark to see it.

Sorry about PICS. The wife didn't want me to take any. Maybe I can get them from the repair shop.

We have been told that we should have the van back by the 13th.

The teenager is getting a little touchy about having to be driven everywhere and the wife just wants to strand her to teach her a lesson.

We need the 3rd car back as soon as possible to prevent WWWIII on the home front.

Kids. Can't live without them once you have them, can't kill them (legally) and can't give them away no matter how much you want to. Well, at least not in TX.

This is my solution

LOL!!!!