A Horrific Encounter

Written & experienced by: Diwant

This is an experience I wanted to share with you all, albeit different from the previous entries which are mostly weddings and other events. But nonetheless, it was somehow connected to wedding (engagement actually) eventually. For me, this expereince does not come very often, and I’m sure most of you guys as well, unless you house is sitting beside a street circuit or something. This event happened last month, JUST after I finished my engagement assignment at Subang SS19. I was about to make a corner leading to the main road before this thing, THE moment, happened in front of my bare eyes:

This picture was taken barely 10 seconds after impact.

My first reaction was to stop the car, get out of it (while saying “pi dah dia ni” in my head), grab the camera and run towards the car to check the condition of the driver. But to my relief, the driver came out of the car when I took that picture. The driver was unhurt. Then a few moments later, a guy claims to be waitingat the back of the crashed car came out, saying that it was not the black Camry driver’s fault, but the driver who hit him.

This guy was so helpful to the victim, and prepare to be a witness if requires so by the authorities.

Traffic congestion started to build up minutes after impact. Note the debris everywhere.

The vehicle that hit his car? A factory bus, probably running at least 70km/h, hit the car on the side and sends the Camry spinning to the divider. The impact was so great, it looks like this Camry is some kind of a military tanker, seriously. The bus didn’t make the stop until about 200 metres from the crash scene, when the bus driver said his brake didn’t work. He clearly admit his mistakes that he had run a red light, but a common reason was given, “the brake pedal didn’t work”. I don’t want to speculate here, but judging by the speed he was carrying, it looks like he’s trying to beat the red light, when this Camry driver started to move from his green position.

What a Toyota Camry can do to your bus if you try to run them

Luckily for both, there were no serious injuries to the Camry driver, only a ‘slight headache’ claims the driver. But looking at the marks on the car, he was about 100cm from the worst, 100cm. Umur masih panjang. If he had press the pedal like 2 seconds before that, it could be worse than this. A few minutes later, a callman came, discuss some details about the police report and towing of the car, they managed to settle the matter and would like to proceed to the police station.

But what I was so impressed about the whole thing was that the driver was so compose, even though he was just inches away from a serious threat to his life. He even called his insurance agent just moments after the impact, asking how to solve the situation regarding towing and claiming. He didn’t even show signs of shocked or frightened. Maybe he has been through far more worse situation than this. Yeah maybe, he’s an ex-cop by the way. Then I spend a few minutes chatting with him and his daughter and husband, exchanging some information, then we leave the scene to continue our own arrangements.

For me, it was an experience not to forget, where you see a bus hit this car at about 80km/h sideways, narrowly missed the driver’s cokpit by inches, and seeing the event unfolding in a rather peaceful and calm manner. And the lesson was learnt; look on your shoulders before you drive out of a junction, even it’s a greenlight, no traffice light, in a village or at noon. Safety is always first…