One Ticket, Three Acts: Flight, Fire and a Dive
It was less a traffic accident than a full-blown spectacle: in the dead of night, a speeding driver turned an unfinished Russian bridge into the set of a reckless stunt show, complete with airborne theatrics, flames and a final plunge into the river.
A few nights ago, a citizen with a head full of physics and a shortage of restraint decided to test the limits of fate. The venue was not the Nürburgring’s infamous carousel but an unfinished bridge spanning the Bystryi Tanyp River in Russia.
Construction workers were first roused by what sounded like an explosion. Arriving at the scene, no detective work was required: the evidence was everywhere. Long skid marks etched into the asphalt, debris scattered across the site, a bumper resting on the riverbank — and the pièce de résistance, a license plate left behind like a calling card: “I was here.”
The car’s performance was nothing short of theatrical. First a soaring leap, then spontaneous combustion, and finally a dramatic swan dive into the river. Had there been a panel of judges, the stunt would have scored at least nine out of ten, losing points only for the untidy landing.
If anyone still wonders why “traffic culture” and “common sense” rarely belong in the same sentence, this is your proof. Some late-night racers seem convinced they’ve missed their Fast & Furious casting call. The difference, of course, is that Vin Diesel usually walks away from the wreckage — he doesn’t burn with it.
