Accident

Being involved in an accident is very traumatic, more so if it is in a country like India. I found out first hand on August 3 , 2006 while driving to Chennai from Bangalore to attend my cousing brothers funeral ( who incidentally also died in a freak accident of hit and run by a city bus ) . I was driving a bit fast may be in the 100-120 km range.Before i started I was debating if I should take the bus/train or drive. To save time, I finally decided to drive , and started around 6 PM. It was going a bad decision, especially since i was tired that day and had been deprived of some sleep the previous night.
As I was approaching Vellore, the curved a bit to the left and towards a over bridge. The stretch of road was covered by cement walls on both sides , giving me a false sense of the road being safe from buffalo. I also turned off the high beam lights, but that turned out to be a costly mistake for me.
Out of nowhere I saw a buffalo in front of my vehicle, and by the time I saw the beast it was too late I guess, I did not even have time to slam my brakes. I hit the animal head on, there was a loud noise and then for a few seconds my mind went numb. When I opened my eyes, i saw my glasses gone, with just the empty frame perched on my nose and felt blood coming out of my forhead. I also noticed the vehicle swerving to the right and to the left and tried to steer it to the left of the road and managed to get it close to the cement wall on the left. When I looked around I saw the broken glass all around and the front bonnet had curved up and blocked a part of the windshield. I moved my legs and hands to check if they are there. They were intact and I did not notice any bleeding and I was so so relieved that my injuries were minor. But little did I know that my ordeal was yet to start.

In a few minutes a big crowd gathered around my vehicle ( as it always happens in India !) and asking questions about my vehicle and if I was ok.

I found a local guy who helped me get around the neighborhood and get a towing truck to tow the vehicle to the police station. I left the vehicle at the police station by around 2 am and left to chennai from vellore by bus, and reached my cousins home at around 8 Am, just in time for the funeral.

After bidding a tearful farewell to my cousin Suresh, had to rush back to Vellore and finally reached the police station by around 6 PM. By then it was too late for the cops to do anything for me. I also had to get my license and RC book from Bangalore, without which they said they cannot file a case. I caught a bus to Vellore by around 8 PM and came home by 2 AM ( includes the time it took to reach home by auto ). Since I had to be back in Vellore the next day morning, I decided not to sleep. I just shaved and took a bath and started to Vellore by around 4 AM.

Went to the police station by 10 AM and completed all the formalities by 3 PM. After that I caught a bus to Bangalore and came home by 9 PM.

What a harrowing ordeal! , all because I was careless for a split second!.