In a viral TikTok video, a mom recounted a terrifying car accident that made her realize just how fragile life can be. One night, parents Natalya and Andrew Batchman decided they would enjoy a date night without their kids. It was the couple’s first date night without their children in a year.
What was meant to be a romantic night out without the kids turned into a nightmare situation when the parents ended up in a ditch.
More from CafeMom: Identical Twin Teens Separated at Birth Reunited After Friend Spots Similarities in Viral Video
In a short video shared to TikTok, Natalya hinted at how shocking the car accident was.
In a seven-second video, Natalya applied makeup to her injured face. “One minute you’re on a date with your husband without the kids and the next you’re crawling out the sunroof from a car accident,” she wrote over the video.
In the caption, she encouraged her followers to “live your days like they are numbered (because they are).”
In a follow-up video, she explained exactly what happened that night.
@natalyabatchman Live your days like they are numbered (because they are) Praising the lord we are okay. My OOTD content is going to look a little interesting next couple weeks… #creatorsearchinsights #contentcreator #fyp #momsoftiktok #sahm #praisethelord #hallelujah #secondtimemom #caraccident #thankyoujesus ♬ Smile – Morgan Wallen
It was really dark outside as they were driving to their destination, she explained. “The turn came sooner than what my husband thought,” she said in the video, adding that he took it at the “last minute” and “overcorrected.” One side of the road had a ditch. On the other side, there was a “10-foot drop into a pond.”
More from CafeMom: ‘Waiting To Wake Up From This Nightmare’: Mom of 2 Was Killed in American Airlines Crash
The mom described going “airborne a little” and sliding into the ditch. Then, “all of a sudden, everything” happened. “You hear the car going off, you see smoke in the air from the airbag, and you smell it,” she recalled. “My next fear is I don’t want to be in this car while it’s catching on fire.”
In that moment, Natalya was “panicking” because she couldn’t see the door handle and couldn’t figure out how to get out of the car.
Her husband remained calm.
Searching for ways to get out of the car, Andrew realized the sunroof worked. After Natalya crawled out the sunroof, she started running barefoot toward her son, knowing that he was crying and needed her.
They were in the neighborhood, so her kids weren’t far away. “My baby needs me,” she told her husband when he asked where she was going. Natalya described rushing into the house and holding her son right away.
The car accident had an impact on her perspective.
@natalyabatchman GRWM + Storytime! So thankful to be alive!! I hope this reminds you how precious life is and to be grateful for every day! Hold your loved one’s extra tight! #creatorsearchinsights #grwm #contentcreator #fyp #momsoftiktok #sahm #praisethelord #secondtimemom #caraccident #thankyoujesus #storytime #grwmmakeup ♬ original sound – Natalya Batchman
Thankfully, Natalya and Andrew both survived the accident, but the terrifying experience also served as a reminder of just how precious life is.
“I’m so grateful that we made it out alive, and please treat each day as precious as it is,” Natalya said in her video. “It’s honestly such a gift to wake up, to be able to move, and to be alive and spend another day with your loved ones and your little ones if you have any.”
She reiterated this sentiment in the caption, writing, “So thankful to be alive!! I hope this reminds you how precious life is and to be grateful for every day! Hold your loved one’s extra tight!”
