7-Eleven Bathurst customer's lucky accident | Video, photos, pictures

A driver parked his vehicle outside the 7-Eleven store on the Sydney Road while he popped in to grab a coffee around 6.30am on Tuesday.

He left the car running and says he had put on his handbrake on before going inside.

But, just seconds later Matthew Windsor, who works across the road in Windsor’s Automotive, heard what he thought was a huge explosion.

“I thought something blew up next door, maybe a gas cylinder,” he said.

Windsor’s Automotive shares a driveway with Auto Watt and it is the later business that fronts the highway.

“I went out and saw a car parked in the shed, backwards,” Mr Windsor said.

“It was just there running and I thought someone must have had a heart attack and they were slumped on the floor.

“I opened the door and there was no one there.”

Across the road – which also forms part of the busy Great Western Highway – Mr Windsor spotted a man who was clutching a takeaway coffee while talking on his mobile phone.

“I went over and said ‘are you missing a car’ and he said ‘someone’s stole it’ and I said ‘no, it’s in the wall over there,” he said pointing across the road.

Mr Windsor said a separate motorist who saw the vehicle careering across Sydney Road’s four lanes of traffic saw the vehicle become airborne when it hit the medium strip.

The out-of-control vehicle was originally heading towards a home as it crossed the road, however, changed directions when it hit the medium strip and ploughed into the front shed of automotive electrical business called Auto Watt.

Mr Windsor said it was extremely lucky the out-of-control vehicle did not crash into any other cars or people as it flew across Sydney Road without its driver.

“There’s plenty of traffic always going, but he never hit anybody,” he said.

“He should buy a lottery ticket.”

Auto Watt owner Clayton Gleeson was not at work when the incident occurred, but said he received a call from apprentice to alert him to the damage.

“It smashed a hole in the wall and pushed this bench back and everything on it,” he said.

“Hopefully there’s not too much damaged to our tools.”

Western Advocate