Earlier today there was a bit of an incident down on my local beach. A small boy got into the family car which was parked on a reasonably steep street across the road from the beach and managed to release the handbrake and knock this brand new Lexus wagon out of gear. The car rather predictably then took off down the street and rolled right out into the busy main road, over the gutter and down another steep driveway then crashed through two fences and go straight over a sheer eight metre cliff straight on to the sands below. The small boy managed to avoid all traffic and pedestrians and steered the car perfectly down the second long narrow driveway and then leapt from the car just seconds before it went airborne over the cliff escaping with a few cuts and bruises. Not such happy news for the car though… that was comprehesively totalled…..
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This is the street the car had been parked on about 100 metres up the road in a driveway… if you look carefully you can see the tire marks…
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directly across the busy busy Lawrence Hargrave Drive the car barrelled across was this narrow and steep private driveway and the little lad managed to get the car straight down this before it veered to the right and plowed straight through the two fences….once again if you look really closely you can see the tire marks…
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another view of the second driveway with it’s now tastefully displaced fencing…
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and this is where it ended up much to the consernation and general amazment of the local wet ones…
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yep that’s some ding in the duco…..
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a better view of the cliff it came down….and this is a really small sort of cliff for around these parts… phew !
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fortunately the NRMA will give you a free tow if your car becomes incapacitated although this may have been somewhat streching the friendship a tad…
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the fella’s had to try a few types of chains and things before getting it hitched up to this nifty little tow truck and my goodness lucky it was low tide is all I can say…..
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but soon enough the car was hitched and the Lexus was ready for it’s final inglorious tow up the beach to the dead car place…..
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but have a look at what that bounce down the cliff did to it… can you imagine the fate of the child if he hadn’t have leapt out the open window as the car got to the cliff….
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the fire brigade came to give a bit of assistance too and a passing council worker stopped and stood about with his arms crossed looking inscrutable in his fluro jacket which gave the whole scene the perfect gravitas….and so it all went pretty soothly from that point on…
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at breakfast this was a brand new car the apple of this families eye… by morning tea it was toast….
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and off it goes for a slow and scenic beach trip behind the terriffic little tow truck…
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so what I’m thinking is that this little boy was unbelievably lucky in many many ways… however I’m also thinking that the insurance company may not be too impressed with the concept of shelling out the bones to replace this shiny and very expensive new car…. which could lead to the little lad being put up for rehoming on ebay fairly soon in order to recoup some of the costs involved in this escapde… or maybe being grounded till he’s about eighty and has paid of the staggering debt his folks now have…. luck hey it comes in all sort sof manifestations …..
here is a link to the newspaper story in the Sydney Morning Herald for the full details
and there is an updated version of the story here
dinghysailor1
wow what a dramatic record of a miraculous escape – thank goodness the little chap had the presence of mind to jump out in time…
terrific series..
:))
Juilee Pryor:
hi ya dinghy and yes amazing story… the little boy is only six and it’s just a miracle the no one was hurt… the main road he took the car across is really busy and just the fact no one was collected by the runaway car coming hurtling out the side street was just amazing… cheers… a full moon moment and an angel on this little lads shoulder I have to say…..
Tracey Mac
I can’t help but wonder what the young boy was doing in the car alone Juilee and all I’ve thought about since I saw this on the news this morning is…………Thank God he jumped out of that car……….if he were mine, the loss of the new car, would not factor in, and if the insurance doesn’t cover it, that would be the last thing I’d care about………..what price could cover a childs life? There is no figure to match it……..
And great reporting btw, cant believe its just down the road from you!!
Awesome coverage! ;)
Juilee Pryor:
hi Tracey and yes I know… the car was unlocked and the windows were open… ok crime has been abolished in austimer and it was really hot day but still kids will be kids…. and I agree the parents would be really thankful that the boy is alive … mind you… by tomorrow the actual costs of this will be coming home loud and clear… this was no shabby car …. and I really don’t know what the situation would be regarding the insurance… and it’s just total luck that no one else was on the road or the footpath or indeed sunbaking on the beach below… the gods were out in this case big time….
and I live a couple of streets away and there were choppers everywhere… no joke it was all happening …. I just grabbed the camera and a sun hat and went for a sticky… as you do ….. :)
Matt Penfold
I heard about this on the news Juilee, your tale and the pictures are rather more interesting, he sure is a lucky little tacker :-)
Juilee Pryor:
hells bells I’ll say…I can’t beleive how he got it across the road and steered it perfectly down the second drive way…. and jumped out just in time on to the long grass… amazing …..!!!!!!
Mel Brackstone...
Shite!
Juilee Pryor:
Shite … yep that would be one of things I’d be thinking if he was mine…. :)
lawrencew
good Journalistic shots… saw it on news earlier in day and heard Austimer and thought …there’s goes Julie, pushing cars over cliffs for another photo op!
If any-one is interested (psst …you know who really broke Melbourne’s wheel, don’t you?)
Juilee Pryor:
oh ha ha… yes it was I pushing the car over the cliff… well it was that or the ironing….. :)
Andrew Makowi...
hahha bloody hell what damage kids can do. Lucky kid to get out before the big fall. It will take the kid a long time to live this down. I bet it will be a family legend repeated ad nauseum. As you said kids will be kids.
Great story and capture of the scene
Juilee Pryor:
yep I reckon this kids got some dining out to do on this story…. and it was all happening in austi in the last 24 hours… the local fish and chip shop which is like 200 metres away from here went up in flames last night and the local supermarket had some credit card scam artists take them for rip rort and snort as well …. and it was a full moon …. and Melbourne Cup day…. a big day for a little suburb…. :)
ArtSlut
STREWTH!
Juilee Pryor:
yep STREWTH is fairly appropriate I would say in this instance…..:)
ArtSlut
I meant to say bloody great journalism too! :-)
Juilee Pryor:
thanks doll… but you know how it is with things like this and infact with photography generally…. the first and only rule… be there….. and I was with camera in hand…. :)
Adriana Glackin
Geez, Juilee – it’s all happening over your way!!
Juilee Pryor:
hi Adriana and hey what can I say… lucky it’s not like this every day… mostly it’s really very quiet and stuff but the last day or so around here… it’s been going off all over the place…. I blame the full moon… well not really but it’s as good an excuse as any……;0
Col Finnie
Brilliant work Juilee. And this for mine is journalism that means something. No pissy bit of coverage where the whole episode lasts 10 seconds in the consciousness. And as a result an excellent lesson about keepin’ a car locked. Workplaces have strict requirements about not allowing access to mobile gear. Wrong that the public don’t have to think about the same issues. Way too much luck involved in all this, not to mention the presence of mind the kid had.
Juilee Pryor:
hey thanks Col… the luck in this is beyond the pale…. he must have got in this brand new shit hot shiny car and decided to take it for a drive just like dad… that he got it out of the drive where it was parked and then steered it over the main road…and the road he crossed is on top of a blind hill that is really busy… and then got it perfectly down this narrow second drive….. and then leapt out just in time… angels where sitting on his shoulder I my view… but still when all the dust has settled and the serious ramifications kick in… doesn’t bear thinking about not to mention the sustanial cost involved for the family… I can’t see the insurance company forking out to replace this very very expensive new car… it was unlocked and the windows where open…. so even in a quiet suburb like austi… that is just sitting up and begging for trouble…. really glad you like this……:)
Barbara Cliff
I was quite gobsmacked at the little boy’s run of luck—amazing! and that you’ve captured these pics. What a lucky and quickthinking kid!
Juilee Pryor:
hi Barbara and thanks… it’s an amazing story… and so much luck involved in this… it could have been catastrophic…..l
msdebbie
Beautiful photojournalism Juilee – lucky tale indeed! xoxo
Juilee Pryor:
hi msdebbie and thanks… and there was me thinking I was going to having a quiet ordinary sort of day….. ;)
msdebbie
Yeah, just when you think one of those days might be possible – something usually comes along LOL! Also, I agree with Col – I wish we had more coverage like this in our papers and online news sites. You’ve really done a great job!
Juilee Pryor:
gee thanks msdebbie… maybe I should do more stuff like that… mind you I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time…. thanks though for your nice thoughts…..:)
shanghaiwu
heard this on the news/what brilliant photojournalism
what a very very lucky boy
thankyou for sharing this
Juilee Pryor:
thanks shanghaiwu…. I might have to get over my phobia about writing I think…. really really glad you like this….. :)
shanghaiwu
just read the newspaper article/considering it crossed a main road it is rather a miracle no-one was killed………..reminds me of that time in LORNE when I parked on the side of a hill just off the main street……………
Juilee Pryor:
if you could actually see the hills and blind corners and cliffs and people and kids on the beach that were actually involved in this… no joke you just about need to go and have a lie down thinking about it… that no one was injured is seriously a miracle….. and it sounds like you have a bit of a story yourself like this…..oh dear…….:)
Clare McClelland
life is so much stranger than fiction sometimes… great reporting on a miraculous escapade. My brother did something similar in 1965 in our then brand new Mazda 800 sedan! He was 2 yrs old, we were in the dentist. He sat in the driver’s seat, the young Labrador we had jumped onto the handbrake and released it and they sailed off down the main street onto the Princes Hwy near Kirrawee. Luck prevailed and the car coasted to a stop without being run into or hit – but Mum nearly had heart failure.
It is still a fave for the childhood story telling sagas!!
Juilee Pryor:
hi Clare and yes indeed… life is full of things that happen that you just wouldn’t believe if they were in a movie or something….. and your brothers story is a hoot… and yes I can relate to Mum…. my boys when they were young ones… sheesh I don’t know how they … or I for that matter… survived ….. but hey it’s a great story……:)
shanghaiwu
ha ha
I have an amazing story……..unbelievable also that no-one was killed in my instant and I was not even in the car………..but often when I see a car on a slope I feel like putting a brick behind the wheel……..life can change in an instant……..and then LUCK on your side or a huge angel on your shoulder
H M Bascom
Oh my, I am glad he is safe. Parents can not be too diligent when it comes to small boys. They are curious and clever. I imagine his parents are kicking themselves for failing to lock the car. Great series of photos and they really tell the story.
Juilee Pryor:
hi Helen… and hey yes indeed clever curious little boys… his mum had borrowed her mothers new car to take him to school… she then stopped at her brothers place for ten minutes to pick something up and took her eyes off him for a minute and he was out in the car making a quick get away down the road and over the cliff…. no joke…. boys hey… today I can laugh about it but yesterday …. phew….. you just can’t take your eyes off them for a second at this age… the little lad is six years old…. amazing……:)
Karin Taylor
wow, it beats the pants of my ‘Ben’ stories…him escaping down the road, and mum (me) running after him in pj’s…. yup, what a story to tell at his 21st hey :)
Juilee Pryor:
hi Karin isn’t this the most amazing true life story hey… and yes I’m pretty sure this will be coming out at his 21st for sure…if he lives that long…. :)
Lawford
What is that boy’s name?
I want to sign him up to drive at Bathurst for me in 2020.
Juilee Pryor:
hiya Lawford and hey yes indeed… the steering skills on this boy are amazing… he had to get into the car then take the handbrake of and get it into neutral then control the car while it went down the road and over the main road and then it had to dog leg it over the road and perfectly into the next driveway and avoid crashing it into the houses there and then throw himself out the window onto the grass before it went over the cliff… the police are astounded that he was able to control this runaway car to that degree…. let alone survive the experience…. he’s going to be one hell of a driver in the future… if he survives childhood long enought to get to an age where he can get a drivers permit…. :)
Boadicea
Great photos story Julie. Brought me right into the action from a 1000km away. Journalism missed a great reporter when you decided to teach. As for the lad, would have been one of those classic, “thank god your alright, now I’m going to kill you moments!”
Juilee Pryor
LOL…..
that is the pefect thing to say … and my sentiments exactly… so funny…..“thank god your alright, now I’m going to kill you moments!”
and hey thanks for the complient re the story and my photo story… and I have to confess I’m not a teacher… sometimes I work as a technican but infact I’m just an artist… which is pretty tenuous to be honest but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and all I’m really good at… oh well it’s dirty work but someones got to do it…. cheers Boadicea…..:)
humansuit
ever tried turning the steering wheel on a power steering equiped 4WD with the engine turned off?
unless he is the HULK, he did not steer that machine.
Juilee Pryor:
hi humansuit and yes I hear what your saying but still this boy navigated it down the street and over the road and into a narrow steeply sloping driveway that is a couple of metres short of being straight across the road…more like a big dog leg… and then turned slightly right and over the cliff….. so it’s even more amazing that this little kid surived this …. cheers for your comment