On the whole, car crashes are something you want to avoid in life. A controversial take, I know. But I’ve watched footage of this particular incident out of Connecticut several times now — in which the driver was said to be unhurt, I must stress — and, honestly, this collision with a huge, fallen tree seems like one of the most pleasant accidents once could conceivably have on the road. It looks strangely cozy and gentle, like if a pillow truck unloaded its entire cargo in front of you. Or being punched in the face by a marshmallow.
A storm with high winds felled trees in the town of South Windsor earlier in the week, like the one this Mercedes E-Class driver struck in the video below shared by an NBC Connecticut reporter. No, the W210 E-Class is not a sports car, but that’s probably the least significant concern here.
The driver makes a last-second effort to brake, but ends up helplessly sliding into the tree’s embrace. The branches rustle with the hit, and thankfully the collision wasn’t serious enough for the airbag to deploy, so the driver simply reversed out, turned around and left — albeit with considerable damage to the front bumper. The quick reaction suggests they were a little less fazed by the whole ordeal than the bystanders on the front lawn, with their hands on their heads in surprise.
You might wonder how little attention the individual behind the wheel must have been paying to hit the tree in the first place, which was occupying the entire width of the road. I have no insights to share there. Maybe it was hubris. However, I can say that initially watching this clip in the small window of a video embedded in a tweet, I totally did not anticipate the crash. So when the white sedan came to a stop as the amorphous glop of green in the horizon exhaled, it was pretty damn trippy.
You often see toilet paper ads and packaging comparing the softness of their products with that of kittens, koalas, or babies. This incident presents another potential marketing metaphor, and I think it’s one Charmin should get on. Those damn bears have had it too good for too long!
At any rate, there’s been a lot of wild weather around the country this summer and especially within the last couple of weeks. With Tropical Storm Elsa rising up the East Coast this weekend, everyone take care and be safe out there. And try not to hit any trees, no matter how cushy they might look.