After spending most of her career as an estate trust and tax paralegal, Donna Teal became a school bus driver.
“I can honestly say I have wonderful students,” says Teal, who prides herself on never missing a day of work in 12 years and on her excellent driving record.
After work one evening in late July, Teal went to a steakhouse for supper. Driving home to Annville, Pennsylvania, she thought about the delicious leftovers she’d enjoy that week. She turned right at a traffic light in the town of Cleona and got to the next intersection when a car blew through the stop sign in front of her and crashed into her 2005 Buick LeSabre.
“I was shocked, terrified and hurting,” Teal says. “When this crash happened, my purse flew onto the floor and I couldn’t get to it. But I didn’t even have time to stop bouncing from the impact and a woman was talking to me already.”
“That meant the world. Somebody cared,” Teal says. “Right away she showed concern for my safety. She said, ‘We have noticed you were involved in a crash and wanted to know if you’re OK.’ She also asked if I was alone, if there were any children, pets, smoke or flames.”
The Advisor talked calmly with Teal until the ambulance and police arrived. Thankfully, however, she did not have serious injuries.
“I looked like an eggplant from my chest to my stomach from the airbag, and they took me to the hospital to make sure I didn’t have any internal injuries. Just bruising and being shook up,” she says.
Some criticized Teal for spending money on OnStar over the years, but she recognized the value when she bought her LeSabre, and she sees it even more now. She didn’t think twice about activating OnStar in her replacement vehicle, a 2015 Buick Regal.
“I am alone a lot,” she says, “and it gives me a sense of relief that help can be there when I need it.”
