<p>Two years ago, my family was on vacation in Hawaii. Big island is the the last island we visited. We arrived at Hilo at 4PM, checked into the hotel. I suggested to go to see volcano right away because friend told me volcano is best seen at night time, my kid refused and said "No daddy, volcano is scary", so my wife and kid stay in hotel and I went alone. </p>
<p>Arrived at entrance of Volcano National Park at 5PM, it is end of October, the day is rainy and foggy, and it is almost dark. I turn the radio to AM and it is Park Channel, on the radio "Madam Pele is the godess of volcano, she will be angry if visitor take volcano rocks from the park ..." I was driving alone in the dark and listening to the radio. </p>
<p>After hiking to the closer point of volcano and see the red lava from still far away, I returned to the car and drive back. It was raining at that time, at the middle of the 20 miles road, and around 9PM, in complete darkness, my Ford Taurus SE skipped,, as soon as the car skipped off the road, I told myself "I am done, I am dropping off the mountain". </p>
<p>All I can do was to hold the steering wheel tightly, miracally, after a short moment, the car completely stopped, over the front night, I saw the hood cracked up and steam came out. My first response is, the car is going to explode (like the movie), I push the door, it is stuck. I jumped over the passenger side, push the door, jumped out of the car. Now I can see where the car landed, sharp cracked lava rock, about one or two feet deep everywhere and hard to step your feet on. It is the sharp rock that stopped my car without deployment of air bag. I stay away from the car for seconds, then told myself, all my week long Hawaii trip pictures on the digital camera, it is still in the car, I jump back to the car, grab my cameras and flash light.</p>
<p>With flash light, I can do more investigation, where I skip off the road, it is a about 20-30 degree slope, the slope run 40-50 yards, it became cliff afte that. Big luck I did not skip off road where cliff is. </p>
<p>I stopped passing by car, they promise to call park ranger when they reach park entrance. I was alone in the rain and completely darkness on the mountain, excited with my luck and fortune, thinking about talking to insurance company. After about one hour, I see colorful lights winding down the moutain road, the ranger is coming.</p>
<p>The ranger try to take photo of the accident, he checked the skid mark and extremly surprised, his word " every accident the car always roll over, how come your card did not roll over", then he said, "there is no curb where you skid off the road". The road has curb everywhere except the gap I skid out. If there is curb, with speed my car could roll rover and my head will be against the one/two feet deep sharp lava. </p>
<p>The ranger called tow truck, another one hour the tow truck arrived, and by 12PM the two truck dropped me at my hotel in Hilo. </p>
<p>My kid was sleep and my wife told me she waited for me and did not want to go to bed. At around 9PM she said "Why dad is not back yet, DAD WILL NEVER COME BACK" . That was exactly when my car skid off the road. </p>
<p>All I can do is to comfort my wife about how much life insurance I had bought. </p>
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