April 2009
All ready for the trip

 
17th April
Watching the sun go down in the sand dunes West of Sidi Akhfennir

 

26th April,
At 14:56 on the AP 7 motorway just outside Torrreblanca in Spain we were hit from behind by a French truck, we were doing 58mph at time of impact, the 3.5 ton truck that hit us was doing approximately 90-95mph on impact.

Lucy was able to climb out of the vehicle almost immediately despite a nasty head wound and knee injury. I was trapped between my seat and the roof that had caved in around me during the impact and subsequent multiple rolls that our car did as we were sent off the motorway and down the embankment.

Fire crews arrive at 15:16 (20 minutes after the impact) and struggle to free me from my Patrol.
 
As the drivers side of the roof hap completely collapsed, the only way to get to me was through the passenger side which was also severely damaged. Would you believe, while I was there doing a head stand in the roof, I actually put the car in neutral and put the handbrake on :-)

 

 
The only way to get me out was to cut the passenger side pillar out and raise the roof enough for me to climb through and exit via the passenger side. At 15:48 (almost an hour after the collision) I was able to climb free from the wreckage.

 
27th April
We visited the garage where my Patrol had been recovered to to try and salvage some of our belongings. It was only then after seeing how badly damaged the car was that we realised how close we had come to never returning home.

When we arrived the garage owner put his hands together and looked skyward, he couldn't believe how we had survived relatively unscathed.