Angelic Roadside Rescue!

This story happened to me several years ago. It is still fresh in my head as if it only happened yesterday. We are not alone!

One early summer’s evening in 1996, I was driving home on a dual carriageway from friends back to Northampton.  My two young children Rebecca 4 years old and Daniel 2 years old, were in their car seats in the rear of my car.

It was a beautiful evening, the sky turning orange and pink as the sun dipped. I was feeling very relaxed, enjoying the music on the radio. The traffic was light, allowing me to be driving in the outside lane at 70m.p.h.

Suddenly I had a sharp photo-like image appear in my head very briefly. The image showed me having an accident and crashing through the central barrier.

Seconds later as I was trying to process and understand what I had seen, there was a loud bang. It felt like I had driven over something, but the road had been clear.

As soon as I’d been shown the horrifying image, I’d been looking at the other cars on the road. I was worried if we crashed as I’d seen, I didn’t want to take other cars with me if I could help it.

I couldn’t see any thing in the road from the mirror view, which had caused the noise then made the car jolt and shudder. I had pulled over to the inside lane, still trying to slow down. My speed was down to around 50m.p.h. The car then started shuddering violently, making it really difficult to control the steering wheel. I managed to steer the car onto a slipway and come to a grinding halt.

The whole episode had taken less than two minutes, although it felt like forever during it.

Shakily, I got out of the car. My first thoughts were that we were all alive and safe, so I was profusely giving thanks as I walked to the rear of the car.

The rear passenger tyre had shredded, I had been driving on the metal rim. The tyre was less than 3 months old.

As I stood there in shock, knowing we were all ok and hadn’t crashed in the way I’d seen, a white pick-up truck pulled in behind me. Two men jumped out, opened my boot, took out the spare tyre, changing the wheel in mere minutes. The only thing they said was that they had seen me about a mile back, with smoke pouring out the back of the car. They didn’t tell me their names. They were both wearing work shirts and jeans.    

Once the wheel was changed, they leapt back into their pick-up truck and drove off, leaving me completely bemused.

The strangest thing was that as soon as I’d first received the image of having a potentially fatal crash, I remember being really observant about other traffic behind and near me, using the rear view mirror and side mirrors.

Even during the time I struggled with the steering wheel until I stopped, I was constantly watching the other cars. I never saw the pick-up truck. It seemed to have materialised from nowhere.

I was unable to describe the men’s faces. They never asked what the problem was or what help I needed.I don’t remember ever seeing a wheel changed so quickly, it was like being in a pit-stop at the races!

To this day, I believe I was given a prior warning of the potential crash. I also believe that my rescuers were of the Angelic variety without wings.

Thank goodness I was a member of “The A.R.A” –The Angelic Roadside Association!

June Bentley-MacKay.