The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Tell me that you know another way to get it done
It's not me, or how I would be
But it's a different situation
A different situation
You lay awake in the night
Just staring at the ceiling above
Pulling pieces of it out is such a waste of time
You keep on fighting to remember
That nothing is lost in the end
When you burn, burn, burn your life down
Get me to the door
Out of bed
On the track
I'm not sure
Starting over
It's a different situation
A different situation
You wake up in the night
And refuse to be afraid of the now
Unfolding pieces of it faster
Don't you waste your time
You've been planning to remember this
So nothing will be lost in the end
Then you burn, burn, burn your life down
Then you burn, burn, burn your life down
I drive around the block
And I'm not looking to my right
I feel the glass against my cheek
And I can't see you in the light
I break my heart around it
Break my heart around it
I drive around the block
And I'm not looking to my right
I feel the glass against my cheek
And I can't see you in the light
I break my heart around this
Break my heart around this pole
It's not me, or how I would be
But it's a different situation
A different situation
You lay awake in the night
Just staring at the ceiling above
Pulling pieces of it out is such a waste of time
You keep on fighting to remember
That nothing is lost in the end
When you burn, burn, burn your life down
Get me to the door
Out of bed
On the track
I'm not sure
Starting over
It's a different situation
A different situation
You wake up in the night
And refuse to be afraid of the now
Unfolding pieces of it faster
Don't you waste your time
You've been planning to remember this
So nothing will be lost in the end
Then you burn, burn, burn your life down
Then you burn, burn, burn your life down
I drive around the block
And I'm not looking to my right
I feel the glass against my cheek
And I can't see you in the light
I break my heart around it
Break my heart around it
I drive around the block
And I'm not looking to my right
I feel the glass against my cheek
And I can't see you in the light
I break my heart around this
Break my heart around this pole
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I feel like this could definitely be about a car wreck, but I don't think that the loved one was in the passenger seat, nor was this person lost. To me it sounds like the narrator of the song was in the passenger seat. "I travel around the block and I'm not looking to my right" (if she were in the passenger seat and not looking to her right she wouldn't see a car coming from that side) "I feel the glass against my cheek and I can't see you in the light" (when the car hit the headlights would have been blindingly bright, thus making her not see the driver as she was looking at her)
I think the beginning of this song (i.e. before the lines "I travel around the block," etc.) are meant to show how the two people involved are dealing with it differently as shown in the part, "but it’s a different situation a different situation you lay awake in the night just staring at the ceiling above pulling pieces of it out is such a waste of time" If the subject of the song was the driver, she would most likely be dealing with the situation in a much heavier way, blaming herself, etc.
And then in the following verse it feels to me like there is some sort of resolution: "You wake up in the night and refuse to be afraid of it now. Unfolding pieces of it faster don’t you waste your time." It seems like the subject, or driver, wakes up in the night with some sort of revelation and finally talks about it (unfolding pieces of it... like telling a story).
p.s. If it turns out this song isn't about a crash, then I'm going to feel like a complete crazy person, haha.