Most of us hate spiders, but how many people have been in a car accident trying to avoid one? An 18-year-old woman in Australia managed to roll her car into a river after a huge huntsman spider fell into her lap. She had just pulled up beside the Bayview Boat Ramp when the giant arachnid fell from her visor. The teen jumped out of her Volkswagen sedan in a desperate attempt to flee from the spider and watched in horror as her car rolled toward the water.
The huntsman isn’t your common house spider. Also known as “giant crab spiders” or “lizard-eating spiders,” the male huntsman can reach a legspan of 10-12 inches (25-30cm)! Often confused with tarantulas, the huntsman spiders do not generally attack humans but have been known to bite defensively. Their venom can cause local swelling, pain, nausea, headache, and sometimes vomiting.
With her car in the river, the girl stood in shock while witnesses came to her aid. 56-year-old Stuart Cooper watched the entire scene. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph he said,
Her mum arrived about 15 minutes later and was freaking out because she thought her daughter was in the car. She was relieved when she saw her daughter sitting on the site of the boat ramp in tears. She went up and gave her a huge hug. She also gave me a huge hug — I’m not sure why — and then told her daughter that she didn’t care about the car, only that she was okay.”
When police arrived, the car was already completely submerged. Officers were able to tow the car ashore about 2 hours later.
Car rolls off boat ramp into water after spider scares driver https://t.co/x7fh4lJAuq pic.twitter.com/f2hFUcJF7b
— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) September 3, 2016