I came home one weekend while in college and my mom's car was gone, but there was an unfamilure minivan. When I got inside, did the normal pleasantries, and I asked about the minivan, my mom dropped:

Oh, I hit some black ice on the way to work last week and spun and got t-boned. I woke up to the paramedics shaking me from behind. They had to some in through the hatchback because the car was laying on the driver's door. Anyway, we're waiting for insurance before we start looking for another car and they gave me a rental in the mean time.

I had talked to her on the phone in between the accident and my visit and she hadn't mentioned it. She broke 2 ribs and had a hairline fractured of her foot - the other driver had a mild concussion. So all-in-all it could have been infinitely worse, but still.