N.L. woman still can't remember hitting moose in collision 3 years ago
Michelle Higgins relieved she's not the only one, but not happy it happened to someone else
A Newfoundland woman who didn't remember hitting a moose in her car three years ago says she still has no memory of the incident and was amazed to hear about a similar case that happened on the island earlier this week.
Early Monday morning, Stephen Bromley, from Conche, struck a moose while driving in his car, but didn't know anything was wrong until someone else asked him what happened.
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"I'm not glad that it happened to him, but it's like wow, it happened to somebody else. To know that someone else had that problem it's like, oh my God I'm not the only one."
Higgins hit a moose while driving to work one day in May 2012, but she had no idea it happened until someone approached her and asked what happened to her car.
She had grabbed her purse out of the car and was walking to the building where she worked when two women came out and approached her to ask what happened.
"I don't know when I would have realized it myself if they hadn't said anything, but it was the actually turning around and looking at my vehicle," she said.
To know that someone else had that problem, it's like, oh my God I'm not the only one.- Michelle Higgins
"Inside it was almost like the bottom fell our of your stomach or something and then I got into panic mode, like, what happened to my car? How could I not remember what happened to my car?"
According to Higgins, her doctor said her brain basically became overwhelmed in the collision and was unable to process what happened, so it shut down and brought her to her destination basically on autopilot.
'Waste of time' trying to remember
Higgins said when she heard about Bromley's collision and the story about how he didn't remember anything, she had some mixed feelings: relief that she wasn't alone, but sadness that it happened to someone else.
"We now have something in common. Two total strangers on the same island have something in common."
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Since her collision in 2012, Higgins said she's driven by the scene of the collision plenty of times, but she's pretty much given up trying to remember what happened.
"I came to the conclusion that it's a waste of time and energy to try and keep remembering," she said.
Higgins said she sent Bromley a message on Facebook just telling him she's happy he's OK, and glad he now believed her story.
Still getting recognized
The story of Higgins' collision travelled across the world and garnered international media coverage, and Higgins said she still meets people who recognize her name.
Two total strangers on the same island have something in common.- Michelle Higgins
"I still get people saying, 'You're that lady that hit that moose,' and it's like, 'How can you not remember?' And I'm like, 'You tell me,'" she said.
After the collision, Higgins had a long recovery for two broken bones in her neck.
She sat on her couch for about three months after the collision with "someone basically babysitting" her to assist with basic daily tasks, but Higgins said she had lots of time to think about life.
While the crash and aftermath were traumatic times, she said there's been some good that's come out of it.
"If you've got something to say to someone that's good, say it. Don't hold back, just say it," said Higgins.
"Tell people what you feel about them or whatever, and that's the person I try to be all the time now. It's not to put off tomorrow what you can do today."