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SYDNEY, Australia - Rain, falling for the first time after weeks of heatwave, probably saved dozens of lives on the famous Bondi Beach when a car driven by a 90-year-old crashed through railings and ploughed across the sand.
The usually packed area was almost deserted because people had stayed indoors to avoid the weather.
Watch the aftermath video
The Datsun Pulsar was reported to have careered for more than 100m through normally packed Bondi Beach but nobody, including the driver, was hurt despite the car:
• Mounting the pavement at Sydney's most popular beach
• Scattering café furniture
• Demolishing a bank's autoteller
• Crossing a road and
• Plunging down a grassy embankment usually packed with local families and foreign backpackers.
Bondi beach lifeguards said on their Facebook page: "Thank goodness it was a rainy day otherwise the fatalities could have been many. Almost unbelievable story at Bondi today. A car has come off the road - through the park and 20m on to the beach through railings and everything."
'WE DODGED A BULLET'
Police said the driver was taken to hospital for a check-up. An official statement said: "It appears the driver missed all other vehicles and pedestrians."
Beach lifeguard Adriel Young was the first to reach the man. He told The Sydney Morning Herald the southern end of the beach, where the car finally bogged down in the sand, would have been one of the busiest areas in Sydney on a sunny day.
Young said: "We'd have had thousands of people sunbathing on the sand and grass. He would have gone through and into the cafes.
"We sort of dodged a bullet. We're very lucky."
The usually packed area was almost deserted because people had stayed indoors to avoid the weather.
Watch the aftermath video
The Datsun Pulsar was reported to have careered for more than 100m through normally packed Bondi Beach but nobody, including the driver, was hurt despite the car:
• Mounting the pavement at Sydney's most popular beach
• Scattering café furniture
• Demolishing a bank's autoteller
• Crossing a road and
• Plunging down a grassy embankment usually packed with local families and foreign backpackers.
Bondi beach lifeguards said on their Facebook page: "Thank goodness it was a rainy day otherwise the fatalities could have been many. Almost unbelievable story at Bondi today. A car has come off the road - through the park and 20m on to the beach through railings and everything."
'WE DODGED A BULLET'
Police said the driver was taken to hospital for a check-up. An official statement said: "It appears the driver missed all other vehicles and pedestrians."
Beach lifeguard Adriel Young was the first to reach the man. He told The Sydney Morning Herald the southern end of the beach, where the car finally bogged down in the sand, would have been one of the busiest areas in Sydney on a sunny day.
Young said: "We'd have had thousands of people sunbathing on the sand and grass. He would have gone through and into the cafes.
"We sort of dodged a bullet. We're very lucky."
