A potentially major tragedy was averted after a car went out of control and crashed into a roadside fruit shop along the four-lane road opposite the Deralakatte mosque on Saturday morning.
The incident occurred on 7 November, when the car was travelling from Mangaluru towards Natekal. The driver reportedly suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.
In an attempt to avoid colliding with vehicles approaching from the opposite direction, he steered the car towards the left. However, the vehicle veered off course and crashed straight into the fruit shop.
The shop had opened for business shortly before the accident, and its owner was busy arranging fruits outside when the car came crashing in. With no customers inside the shop, a major mishap was averted. Both the shop owner and the driver escaped unhurt.
A morning that could have been worse
The stretch where the accident happened is usually busy with schoolchildren travelling to a nearby school during the morning hours. Fortunately, no students or other pedestrians were present at the spot when the accident occurred.
The timing mattered as much as the empty shop. A few minutes earlier or later, and the road would have had children walking to school and customers inside the fruit shop. The accident happened in a window when the road was quiet, and that is what kept it from becoming a tragedy.
The impact damaged several articles and items inside the fruit shop. The front of the car was badly damaged, with the bonnet crumpled and the headlight smashed, as the photographs from the spot show.
The shop owner had opened only shortly before the crash and was arranging fruits outside. He was outside the shop when the car came in, which is another reason no one was hurt inside.
How the driver lost control
The driver was travelling from Mangaluru towards Natekal when his blood pressure dropped suddenly. The loss of control was not caused by speed or by another vehicle, but by a medical episode behind the wheel.
He tried to avoid the vehicles coming from the opposite direction by steering to the left. The move kept him from a head-on collision, but the car left the road and went straight into the fruit shop.
Local residents rushed to the scene and joined efforts to remove the car from the shop. Traffic police personnel also arrived at the spot.
No case has been registered in connection with the incident, as the accident was caused by the driver's sudden medical condition and no one was injured.
A reminder about driving and health
The incident is a reminder of how suddenly a medical condition can affect a driver. A drop in blood pressure can cause dizziness and loss of control in seconds, and on a busy road, the consequences can be serious.
Drivers who suffer from blood pressure problems or other conditions that can cause sudden dizziness are advised to be cautious, especially on long drives. A moment of lost control is all it takes for a routine journey to end in a crash.
For the fruit shop owner, the day began with a crash into his shop and ended with relief that no one was hurt. The shop will need repairs, but the owner and the driver both walked away unharmed, and that is what matters most from Saturday morning.
