SOME days really test your sense of humour.
A bizarre set of circumstances early yesterday morning left a Taumarunui man with hot coffee in his lap, his car in the drink and egg on his face.
The day started well enough when the 55-year-old school teacher, who requested anonymity, dropped into McDonalds in Orewa about 4am to pick up a cup of coffee before he started the long journey home after visiting family in Orewa.
Just before the bridge at the south end of the beach he noticed the top was only partially on the coffee cup and pulled into the carpark by the Orewa Estuary to secure it.
"I put the top on and decided I would take a sip of the coffee before I started off again - and the whole lot tipped over in my lap," he says.
More than a little concerned about scalding coffee in his nether regions, he yanked on the handbrake and jumped from the car.
Unfortunately, the engine was still running and the car was in gear.
With unerring accuracy it set off towards the nearby boat ramp with the unfortunate driver in pursuit. "But there was too much momentum, I couldn ’t stop it," he says.
"I wasn ’t even parked facing the ramp directly, but the front wheel of the car brushed the lip on the side of the boat ramp which straightened the vehicle up and down the ramp it went and rolled in." Right on time for high tide at Orewa.
"It floated for a bit and then slowly sank," he says. "It was agonising watching. All my gear was inside a laptop, an Ipod and all my clothes." The police arrived quickly, but there was little they could do, advising the motorist to wait for low tide.
They also asked him to stay on duty and warn off any fishing boats that may be venturing in the semilight and catch more than they bargained for.
MESSAGE FOR MOTORISTS Orewa police asked if we would include a road safety message with this story, but it is pretty hard to do so.
The hapless driver did everything right to a point. He noticed something wrong with the coffee cup, pulled over to a "safe" place and set about fixing the problem.
Maybe the only message to motorists is that when taking coffee in the car, always wear a cricket box or scald proof lap cover and don ’t park within 100 metres of a boat ramp at full tide.
Mike Bishara
Rodney Times
Auckland,New Zealand
Coffee and a dip to start the day
