The case in summary: Gunnveig Måkestad, a 71-year-old from Måge in Ullensvang municipality, ended up in a car accident during the extreme weather “Jakob”. She drove over a bridge which collapsed due to large masses of water from the mountainside. Despite the car falling down where the bridge had collapsed, it was not crushed or thrown into the river, but bounced back onto the road on the other side of the bridge. Måkestad was unharmed, apart from a little pain in his nose after an encounter with the car’s airbag. The car alerted the emergency services and the roommate about the accident, and Måkestad was helped home by a passing motorist. After the incident, Måkestad has gained new respect for the weather and danger warnings. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I have never been afraid of the weather, says Gunnveig Måkestad. The 71-year-old lives on Måge outside Odda in Ullensvang municipality, and like most westerners, she is used to bad weather. Måkestad was therefore not particularly worried when extreme weather “Jakob” swept across Western Norway on the night of Thursday. She had planned to go to Odda to train and shop for a birthday with her daughter, and saw no reason to deviate from that plan. After all, the drive in only takes twenty minutes. Gunnveig Måkestad says that she is a little shaken after the dramatic incident. Photo: Private When she drove over the bridge at Edna, she reacted to the large masses of water that came crashing down from the mountainside and flowed under the bridge. – I saw that the river was very difficult, but I now went to training as planned, says Måkestad. She had never imagined that this would have dramatic consequences for her later. – It just said bang When Måkestad finished both training and action, she got into the car to go home. It was only a quarter past five, but it was pitch dark outside the car. The rain was still pouring down. – There was a lot of water in the road, so I slowed down, says Måkestad. Gunnveig came driving from the right side of the bridge. The car fell into the middle of the bridge, before being thrown up again on the other side. Photo: Vestland County Municipality There is actually an 80 zone on the site. Måkestad says that she drove calmly on while she was in her own thoughts. Suddenly the ground beneath her disappeared. Everything went black. – It just said bang. Everything happened so fast. There was a terrible bang, and then I heard lots of sounds from the bodywork, says the 71-year-old. This is how Gunnveig Måkestad’s car was left after the accident. Other motorists who arrived at first thought it had been put there on purpose, as a blockade to ensure no one drove into the crater. Photo: Roar Svåsand The car was thought to be in the river All the airbags had deployed. It was pitch black outside the car. There are no street lights along the road. – I felt completely trapped in those airbags. And I saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. Måkestad thought the car had ended up in the river. – I have to try to open the door, I thought. But I might not get it up. But then, the door opened. As she was about to step out of the car, she felt the pressure of the river. She was sure that the body would meet the rough river water. But the 71-year-old had been very lucky. Ullensvang municipality is busy reopening the bridge. A new bridge can be in place during the weekend, the municipality writes in a press release. Photo: Jon Digranes Didn’t see that the road was gone The bridge she was supposed to drive over had collapsed. On the dark road it was impossible for Måkestad to see that the road was gone. At high speed she flew off the edge, where the bridge was broken. But incredibly, the car has neither been crushed in the fall, nor has it been thrown into the river. Instead, it bounced back up onto the road on the other side of the bridge. There it was left standing across, with emergency lights flashing in the dark. – I don’t understand… I don’t even get it myself, says Måkestad. She herself believes that she has been incredibly lucky. With the exception of some pain in her nose after a powerful encounter with the car’s airbag, she is completely unharmed. Gunnveig Måkestad went back to see how the car was on Friday morning. Then it had stood by the bridge all night. Only when the road is reopened can it be towed away. Photo: Privat Has gained new respect for the weather Måkestad thanks the car’s safety systems for keeping her safe. – I’m sure that if I had had an old car that didn’t have so many safety systems, it wouldn’t have gone so well. Both the front and the rear of the car were badly damaged, and Måkestad has been told that it will probably have to be scrapped. Everything she had of goods in the car was smashed. Photo: Private The car also notified both the emergency services and the roommate that she had been in an accident. Måkestad himself ran out of power on his mobile phone, and had to wait for help in the pouring rain. – They were terribly worried at home, and my daughter had a complete panic, poor thing. Fortunately, eventually a car drove by and helped me get home, says Måkestad. She says that she has gained a new respect for the weather after the accident. – I don’t splash if it rains a little, I don’t. But when there are danger warnings, I may have to listen a bit, concludes Måkestad. Published 02.11.2024, at 09.03
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