I used to live in close proximity to many of my classmates back in those days, as many students do, so we would car pool most of the time. One morning it was my turn to be the passenger in the front seat. We were driving about half a mile up the road to pick up one more passenger. A friend of mine, Dave decided to sit on the bonnet of the car, perhaps to enjoy the fresh air or scenery. We were only travelling at around 20-30 kph when Dave decided he'd had enough and leapt off the car. Personally I would have jumped to the side onto the soft grass, but not Dave. He decided to jump off in front of the moving vehicle and, as he didn't hit the ground running, he was promptly collected by the front left-hand wheel. The last thing I saw was his face looking up in sheer panic as he vanished under the bonnet of the car, followed by a thump as the wheel ran over him. The driver thought quickly and didn't put the brakes on until the front wheels had fully passed over, as locked brakes running over human body would likely strip skin off limbs. We jumped out of the car to miraculously find our daredevil friend in one piece, with only a couple of minor bruises. All of the colour was missing from his face. I don't know where it went but it eventually returned the next day. He was lucky not to have broken both legs, as when he had fallen he had and managed to get his body and head out of the way of the wheels in the nick of time. His legs copped the full weight of the car, as he was mostly on the kerb by the time the wheel hit him- running over his shins which were off the ground as they were between the kerb and road. A schoolbus was passing through at the time, and the driver stopped and yelled at the driver and Dave. The kids saw the whole thing, which possibly would make them in the future think twice before becoming a Darwin Award themselves. Dave was remarkably close to being one himself. He's normally a very smart bloke and I'm sure that will be his last attempt at a Darwin Award.

Nathan L

Submitted on 08/13/2006

Submitted by: Nathan Litjens
Reference: Personal Account - 2001

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Very nicely related, Nathan! Stories of people who learned the hard way are always welcome as personal accounts!

Fitzroy said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Yeah, leaping toward the front of the car made this one stand out from my perspective. Doubly impressive is that the injured person went pale for a day instead of blushing for a week.

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