Yup, you were lucky. I bet you learned a couple of things today too.

Here are some I picked up from reading your post:

1) Never assume that a driver will act in a predictable way - the lady in the Suburu. You can have the right of way and still get hit - right, but creamed anyway.

2) When crossing a street, one of the greatest dangers is the traffic which is turning and may turn into you - the truck, for example.

3) Riding on sidewalks is dangerous (I think that is what I understand from your post). Drivers do not look on sidewalks for pedestrians or bicyclists. They are focused on the road. If you do take the sidewalk, remember that entering the street from the sidewalk is very dangerous and you have to double and triple check the traffic.