OK, finally here's the story behind the pics…

There we were, driving from the grocer's shop. A Saturday with just about a week left of my wife's pregnancy. Before getting off the “big” road and into the last winding gravel, we turned around the last corner, for a last 500 meters of straight. This is some 4 km from home, speed limit being 70 km/h. For once I’m keeping on the lower side of the speed limit.

The first thing I see is a beige Taxi driving on our side (there is no centre line on this small road). It takes me about 1-2 seconds to realise that this is going to end in a mess if I don’t do something. I hanged on the horn and at the same time put the car as much as possible to the right (we drive on the “right” side of the road here in la Suède…), the right wheel pair going just over the edge in the steep ditch. The ABS is doing its magic stuff…
He reacts on the signal but doesn’t start with a brake but a hefty evasion action, which results in an even bigger reaction from his rear end. When he comes our way on the next skid I now we’re going to smash.

I see his big Mercedes 290 diesel (the type with the new pair of round main beams) actually bounce with the rear end and for a fraction going on three wheels. (Strange behaviour on such a big Mercedes…) Then he rams us with his car dead centre on the CX’s left front wing. Luckily we are already tilted around 15-30 degrees and he “just” tips us over on our roof. My wife sees the ground coming towards her but has got such a roll that it is my part of the front roof that takes the first smash. The CX lands upside down. Then he continues all along our left side. I heard later on that the Mercedes had got its left front wheel ripped away completely. He then continued and stopped abruptly into a huge stone with a (good for him) flat surface. He was at that time saved by his airbag. The whole incident took about 5-6 seconds.

My wife releases her belt and crawls under me, out through the left window. I’m hanging from the safety belt upside down. When I release myself and lands on the roof under me I can feel something dragging behind, my arm was severely broken.

I never lost conscious once. I have a clear memory of everything. My wife got away with some bruises and, the most important thing, our unborn baby was completely unharmed. Ten days later I took part when she delivered.

Later on with the help of the police, I have guessed that the Taxi-driver was fiddling with his on-board computer. He had most certainly crashed without “our help”. He must have been doing at least 90-100 km/h, maybe even more.

Facts, the DIRAVI-steering and the ABS combined with the fast brake pressure release of the CX saved our lifes. Almost all of the energy from the other car went over in a roll direction. Instead of smashing straight we were turned aside.

The same day I got home from the hospital, I bought an almost exactly the same light blue CX GTi –88 ABS but with a sunroof and running 205.000 km. This fall I found another one, a black –89 running 120.000 km on the meter. This one is without any rust. But none of them is in the condition my first CX was. But the black one is going to be…