A freak car accident on an Aichi highway is captured in frightening detail.

At about 7:00 a.m. on 10 June along the Tomei Expressway, a sightseeing bus was heading from Toyogawa City in Aichi Prefecture to a day trip in Yamanashi Prefecture. However, just as it was passing through the vicinity of the Shinjo Parking Area, an oncoming car struck the median, causing it to go airborne and fly directly into the front of the bus.

A drive recorder on the bus captured the terrifying one-second incident.

Despite the dramatic damage dealt to the bus, everyone on board made it out alive. Of the 47 people, including the driver and guides, six suffered broken bones and 39 received only light injuries. The driver of the car, whom police identified as a 62-year-old doctor, sadly did not survive.

Another camera shows the inside of the bus in which the driver and a guide are sitting in the front. Although futile, we can see the quick reaction of the driver to try and avoid the car. Even more miraculous is how they could survive sitting only a few feet from the brunt of the collision. Oddly enough, it would seem their saving grace is that the car flew too high and landed near the top of the bus.

Viewers were stunned by the impact and made comments such as the following.

“The driver was wonderful. He turned to try and minimize the damage and kept his hands on the wheel the whole time. No panic.”
“It’s amazing that no one died on that bus.”
“It flew like a rocket. What would make a one ton car do something like that?”
“I don’t mean this as a joke, but that looks like something from GTA.”
“It made my heart hurt to see the driver desperately try to avoid it.”
“No matter how safe you drive, something as senseless as that can just happen out of the blue….”
“How does a car do that? My heart goes out to the driver.”

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, particularly how the car could have been sent off the median in such a way. Hopefully they can figure it out before something like this happens again.

Source: Sankei News
Images: YouTube/Sagami Studio