Chaos on the Expressway: A Family's Harrowing Sunday Morning

It was supposed to be a typical Sunday morning drive, a return journey from Vadodara to Ahmedabad for the Parmar family. But what began as a routine trip quickly, and quite terrifyingly, morphed into a scene of utter chaos and distress on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway, leaving five family members — and perhaps, one could argue, anyone who witnessed it — utterly shaken.

Around half past nine, near Bareja village in Kheda district, tragedy, or at least a very near miss, struck. Mahendrasinh Parmar, behind the wheel of their Scorpio SUV, somehow lost control. What exactly happened in those critical seconds? Was it a momentary lapse, a distraction, perhaps just bad luck? We can only imagine the sudden lurch, the immediate panic as the vehicle veered wildly. The SUV, a heavy machine, didn't just swerve; it mounted the highway barrier, a concrete divider meant to separate the relentless flow of traffic, and then, quite dramatically, flipped. It landed, upside down and mangled, on the opposite side of the expressway.

Think about that for a moment: an entire vehicle, airborne for a terrifying instant, then crashing down on the other carriageway. The sheer force, the sudden, violent impact. It’s the kind of image that plays out in slow motion in one’s mind, even if you weren’t there. Inside, Mahendrasinh, his wife, their two young sons, and his mother-in-law were trapped amidst the twisted metal and shattered glass.

The injuries, thankfully, weren’t life-threatening for most, but certainly significant. Mahendrasinh himself suffered a minor head injury, a startling reminder of the car's brutal embrace. His wife, however, was less fortunate, sustaining a fractured hand — a painful testament to the violence of the crash. Their sons also bore the brunt; one with a head injury, the other with a painful shoulder. And his mother-in-law? She sustained an eye injury, undoubtedly a terrifying experience in itself. All five, as one might expect, were rushed to KMC Hospital in Vadtal for immediate care.

For now, a complaint has been officially lodged at the Bareja police station. And while the investigation will undoubtedly delve into the precise mechanics of the accident, the more profound story here, I think, is the sudden, stark vulnerability of life on our roads. A Sunday morning, a family trip, a moment of lost control — and in an instant, everything changes. It’s a harsh reminder, honestly, of how quickly the ordinary can become the extraordinary, and how much we depend on vigilance, and a touch of luck, to simply get where we’re going.