Pleasure Trip turned Horror This was a very disgusting incident that happened and the hardships faced later were mega. I can also say that I was very lucky.
Here is my saga:
My Uncle, Aunty and 3 of my friends (one was a girl) planned a trip to Malai Mahadeshwara Hills, which is about 200 KMS from Bangalore. We planned to stay overnight at the hills, complete the darshan next day and return by evening. The route to be taken was Bangalore-Kanakpura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Mahadeshwara Hills.
So, on a bright sunny afternoon we set out, hoping to reach the hills by dinner time. One of my friends was driving the car. 3 in the front and 3 at the back, was how we were distributed. The drive was slow and bumpy since the roads were in a pathetic condition. But we were enjoying every minute of it. We reached Kollegal at around 5 P.M. The car was good, no problem no hiccups. We stopped there for a few minutes to buy some snacks and water.
From there I took the wheel not knowing what lay ahead for us.
2 of my friends were sitting in the front with me, and the other friend, Uncle, Aunty were at the back. On that particular day I was very overconfident about my driving skills. I am always careful when I take new routes, but not that day. I was driving very fast from the moment I took the wheel. No one said anything, maybe since it was my car and, I had good driving experience, maybe they were confident about my driving.
Soon it was dark and I switched ON the headlights and also the fog lights. Lighting was average. We passed the big arch at the bottom of the hills, which meant that we were entering the hilly forest area.
I saw the first hairpin bend signboard and then took the turn rally style and it was perfect. My friends started appreciating me and I was smiling. Then I shifted from 2nd gear to 3rd. I saw a straight stretch ahead and accelerated close to 80km/h in 3rd and was about to shift to the 4th gear, suddenly I saw another road to my right, it was a curve. I got confused for a second, and without applying brakes, in 3rd gear, taking my foot off the accelerator, I went for the curve.
I turned the steering wheel full flow to the right. Now, I was shocked, as it was a hairpin bend!! It was too late, I couldn’t make it and the car moved towards the middle of both the roads, towards the side wall! At this point I braked hard, but no use. I heard a loud thud as the car hit the side wall (nose first) and went over it. All this happened in a few seconds and there was very less time to think, believe me.
The car was in a shocking downward inclination (below), about 2-3 meters from the road. (It was like we had fallen into a ditch or something.) The car was not moving though. Since the headlights were still working, I could see treetops in front of me. The engine was idling with a “clank”, “clank” sound, and I suddenly realized that we need to get out of the car immediately.
My friends in the front knew what had just happened, but the poor chaps in the rear still had no idea as to what had happened. (Maybe they were snoozing.) I told everyone to get out quickly and told them not to make any hasty movements, as it might set the car rolling.
To be continued...(It's pretty lengthy.) |