Mechanic Miraculously Survives Hit From Runaway Car Barreling Into Shop

Oct 24, 2024

I was just casually scrolling when I saw a video that made me flinch so hard. I immediately sent it to Jerry and now, here I am writing about it. It’s important to note before we go any further that everyone is OK, but I’m not sure how after a supposed brake failure sent a car barreling into a mechanic shop with a worker directly in its sights.

Here’s the clip before I get on with the rest of this blog. Be aware that, visuals aside, there’s strong NSFW language, so if you’re around coworkers or kids either use headphones or turn the volume down:

A post shared by Ty Possehn (@bowtyr1)

The security cam footage has made its rounds in the last 24 hours, but it was originally posted to X by @Cape3x. They claim it happened at their in-laws’ shop. Sam, the tech whose name was yelled repeatedly in the clip, survived with just a “[b]ump on the head.” How though?

You can see in the first still shot here that the Scion xA has tow bar brackets jutting out of the front bumper. Since the driver was able to line the car up with the ramps, Sam was right in between those brackets. The toolbox behind was also positioned at a slight angle, so it took the impact from the driver’s side bracket first rather than both at the same time, providing the slightest bit of space for Sam. It happens at such a high speed in the video that it’s hard to pick this out without watching frame by frame, but that’s the only logical conclusion based on the clip.

Everything lined up just so for this to happen. Had Sam not opened the shop door, it probably would have stopped the Scion in the first place. Had he not thought twice and turned around to slide the rear lift forward, he wouldn’t have been directly in line with the car. And had he not tripped over the front lift while backpedaling, his torso might have borne the brunt of the impact. Instead, his head is perfectly positioned between the tow bar brackets and the toolbox, which makes for a scarier visual but ultimately a safer result.

Now that this blog is over, I’ll probably never watch the video again. But I’ll tell you what I will do: Hug my people real tight, like I’m sure Sam did after this ordeal.

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