??Sensitive Content: Lessons Learned from a Near-Death Experience

I hesitated posting, but I’m mentally finally ready.

These past few weeks, I have been trying to recover from the bloodied scene which has been etched in my mind..

I was a passenger in a Grab car that rammed right straight into a cyclist.

Here’s what happened:?

A few Mondays ago, things were going great. I had an important client meeting that night. One that could make or break it all. Going in, Antonius Denny Adinugroho and I were determined to understand how we could help the client to embrace the full potential of our solution. The meeting went so well we stayed until midnight throwing ideas at each other, but little did I know what life had planned for me after the meeting.?

We took separate Grab cars home, and Denny and I were still speaking on the phone for a debrief.

5 minutes into the conversation, seated at the back, my Grab driver hit the brakes so hard it threw me against the front seat. My wrist pushed against the headrest in front, and I heard a deafening loud bang. The last thing I recalled saying was “Sh*t Denny, accident, I’m in an accident, call you back later.”?

The windscreen was shattered, and when I looked out, papers were flying everywhere. As it turned out, my driver rammed right into a cyclist and flung him, his bicycle, and his foodpanda bag into the air like a rag doll.?

I dashed out of the car trying to grasp what had happened.

All I could see was a fellow lying on the ground from afar. I dashed towards him. To my horror, his head was lying in a pool of blood, his legs were crooked, and he couldn’t even speak any more when a passerby was attempting to shift him. I was shocked.

With my knees still trembling, I regained my balance and got down to do what I believed was necessary; activated the gathering crowd to phone the police, ambulance, and assure the semi-unconscious fellow. And thankfully for some construction workers who were still blocking and directing the traffic, the ambulance could zoom in.

With all the chatter going on in the background, the police arrived to take all our statements.?

I was still in a daze and looked blankly at all the bystanders.

A 20+ year-old young foodpanda cyclist boy illegally sped across the junction diagonally and beat the traffic light.

The only thought I could handle at that time was that it could have been me. If my Grab driver swerved a degree more to the right, the car would have overturned, and you would probably not see this post from me today.

By the time my girlfriend arrived, I was flushed with emotions, and broke down immediately.

Till today, this scene is living vividly in my mind.

The Grab driver is still guilt-ridden till today although he had the right of way. And this scar made him unable to drive more than 3 hours a day consecutively anymore. The worst part is that he also has a son that is doing deliveries on a bicycle, and he lives in constant paranoia of his son getting hit now.

I am thankful that I got away with a sprained wrist, some emotional damage, and a stronger conviction in whatever we are doing with making the road safer while incentivizing good driver behavior (as opposed to just punishing bad drivers).

Life is short ladies and gentleman, live it to the fullest, never regret not doing anything!

-Leon

P.s. the videos are too gruesome for linkedin, but if there're reporters who are curious about the footage, DM me instead.