1145hrs. I was stealing a power nap at the backseat of a Toyota Camry. I had been sleepy from waking too early for work. And the sun was glaring from the front; so I was a VIP who sat behind when my colleague HY took the role of my chauffeur. We were traveling along the highway at 100kph.
1155hrs. We have exited the highway and now traveling at 60kpm. I heard a voice, 'Hey... need you to direct me from here onwards...' and I woke instantly from my hibernation, with an accented but still croaked "Ok". Near a round about, we saw a girl wearing super colourful and layered clothing under the bright sun, by the river.
1205hrs. There is a truck to the right of our car. It was a container truck which are twice or thrice as tall as a normal Toyota Camry sedan. And then out of the blue, the super-tall-truck veers towards us, and the whole right windows got filled up with the side of the truck! It was as if the truck was getting magnified thru the right side windows. 'Zoomed in,' if u get the picture.
HY noticed instantly and steered away from the truck, and it seemed like we were about to go onto the roadside pavement when a powerful knock was inflicted upon our car and a loud bang heard! The truck had struck our car at the driver's window, not unlike a moment from a typical hollywood action movie. In an instant, the window glass was smashed into a bright blur, and the huge percussion blew all the smithereens of the glass pieces into the car. Our car was pushed off the road! HY braked the car to a full stop, as did the truck, upon the loud impact. HY had a lot of glass pieces all over him. Everywhere in the front seat, dashboard, footrest, seats, and display consoles were debris of glass fragments of varying sizes.
1210hrs. The truck driver had alighted to check on our safety. He had also apologised to us and explained that he had steered left when he saw that the cars ahead of him braking to a full stop due to some inconsiderate driver's dubious decision to make a turn. And he had turned left without checking left lane clear.
1220hrs. Multiple photo shots of the accident were taken, in the event that a police report may require an indisputable picture of what happened, or who were involved. Then many road witnesses came forward to express concern and even offered to be eye witnesses against the careless driver. Lesson to take home: it is a wise thing to never drive beside or behind a truck... and definitely not between two trucks.
A side-note of serendipity: earlier that day, before the trip I was deciding whether or not I should bring this small pack of handiplast out. I decided perhaps the handiplast may come in handy should I come across a damsel in distress. In the end, it was HY who asked for the handiplast, because he had to brush flakes of glass pieces off his head/hair and had accidentally cut a finger in the process.
Thank God there were no major injuries or lives loss (there was a crowd of perhaps 40-50 people just at the side of the road before the truck started to veer left towards us. And gratefully, we missed them all.). In retrospect, the potential for damage and injury was really great and it could have been headline worthy. Praise the Lord, for His protection is upon us.
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