In a never-ending series of facts and occurrences that you really couldn’t make up and that are occasionally thrown out to the discerning few that keep their eyes peeled, news has just begun to emerge that a man managed to call police from the boot of his own car – while it was being stolen.
The 62-year old somehow managed to climb into the boot of his own car while it was in the process of being stolen by two thieves in Edinburgh. The car was driven kamikaze style across Edinburgh for three miles, colliding with several other vehicles before being abandoned.
This eyebrow raising incident happened in late October, but the facts are only just emerging. As many car forum users have stated, the man is actually lucky to be alive as there was a very real risk that the car might have been left burning by the thieves before they fled.
With so many hoax calls to our emergency services these days, I do wonder what the initial reaction to the incoming call was when they asked where the 62-year old man was as he called them from the boot of his speeding Vauxhall Astra.
Apparently the teenage youths targeted the vehicle as the man unloaded his boot, but I wonder if, given the joy of hindsight, whether the vehicle owner would do the same thing again. What isn’t clear is whether the car thieves actually knew he had jumped in the boot as they sped away.
It’s not the first time that such surprising incidents have occurred. In 2004 a Vauxhall Omega was stolen from a car park with a 1-year old boy still strapped into the back seat. More recently, in October this year a similar incident occurred in Liverpool when a Vauxhall Vectra was stolen with an 18-month old baby still inside the car. The driver and boy’s father had popped out to deliver a parcel when the theft happened in broad daylight. The car was recovered with the child safe and well you will be pleased to hear.
You may notice there is a common denominator with all of these stories – Vauxhall. I can only draw a conclusion that I have had for some time since trying to reverse a Nissan NOTE into a tight space a couple of years back; as car safety has improved and the A and B pillars are strengthened against side and rear impacts and damage caused by rolling, the all-around view has become more restricted – and maybe it’s more restricted in a Vauxhall than some other manufacturer’s vehicles!
Let’s end this on a serious note; while no one was harmed in any of these incidents, it’s clear that the risk of something going horribly wrong was pretty high. I guess the lesson here is to take note of what police and crime prevention agencies have been telling us for years – however short your stop, don’t leave your car keys in the ignition. And more importantly, if you have a child in the car, lock the car if you have to leave it for a short period of time.
As a footnote, there is actually a wikiHow page dedicated to explaining how one might escape from the trunk of a car. It’s clearly aimed at those unfortunate enough to be in a position where they feel that they run a high risk of being trapped in a car boot. An alien thought to me I must say, but who knows what the future may hold.
Images from wikihow.com, horror-shop.com, mirror.co.uk, recombu.com
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