He Woke up in a Rice Paddy: His Car was a Wreck

For Dr. Dave Resoco, a long drive ended dramatically after he fell asleep at the wheel. It was an experience he describes as life-changing.

On his way to work Dr. Dave Resoco, a 35-year-old consultant plastic surgeon at Bicol Medical Center in Naga City, never thought that he might need a doctor of his own.

Just 15 minutes away from work his car crashed into a massive 10-wheel truck, sending him and his 2019 Subaru Forester into a nearby rice paddy. The car was a complete wreck. Amazingly, Dr. Resoco suffered only minor injuries and the other driver and passengers in the truck weren’t harmed.

A microsleep that could have led to tragedy

He was, he reflects, out of his comfort zone on that journey. “I usually have a driver,” he says, but due to COVID-19 he decided to go it alone and drive himself.

To stay alert, Dr. Resoco usually listens to music. But that day he’d fallen out of routine. “I must have dozed off,” Dr. Resoco recalls.

Onlookers revealed that his car was traveling too quickly before it swerved towards an oncoming truck. “I learned that the truck driver had tried to evade me — he actually hit me on the driver’s side of the car.” The car ricocheted into a rice paddy next to the road, where it came to a standstill with Dr. Resoco unconscious at the wheel.

Waking up in an accident scene

When he came to, he was frozen with fear. “I didn't want to move because I didn’t want to learn what my injuries were… a lot of things were running through my mind,” he recalls. His gravest concern was whether he had suffered an injury to his hands: crucial to his work as a surgeon. He felt an immense rush of relief when he realized his hands weren’t injured.

Dr. Resoco, hearing shouts, realized there was smoke coming out of the engine. “I was able to walk out of the car,” he says. “I felt some pain to my left arm and left lower extremity, and realized I had a few abrasions and scratches.” After helping with the police report at the scene, he headed to hospital for a CT scan and to get the all-clear.

What helped him survive

Looking at photos of the accident scene, it’s astounding that Dr. Resoco was able to walk away from the accident that day. The car’s engine had been ejected from the chassis, the bonnet was dislodged and the driver’s door destroyed.

The car’s windscreen was badly cracked but largely intact. The Subaru’s front and curtain airbags had inflated instantly upon impact, protecting him.

“All the odds were in my favor that day,” he says, feeling blessed to have survived. “I shared a post on Facebook after the accident, as I was really thankful for that car,” he says. “Despite the extent of the damage, it protected me from injury.”

Actually, the damage to his car may have been what protected him from injury. One particular feature, which he recalls being highlighted while choosing his car, was the Boxer engine. In the moments after the accident, he remembers being “very scared” of having suffered not only a serious injury to his hands, but to his legs or feet as well.

You have to know your limitations and vulnerabilities as a driver and as a person.

One risk with conventional car designs is the car’s engine could be forced into the cabin in a serious collision, harming the occupants. But Subaru’s breakaway Boxer engine is designed to slide under the floor upon frontal impact.

In Dr. Resoco’s case, the Boxer engine had indeed broken away from his Forester, which was one striking element of the accident scene that he observed with relief.

Also designed to protect drivers in a front-on collision are Subaru’s auto-retracting safety pedals, which will yield to reduce the chance of injury to the driver’s legs and feet.

The car’s Ring-shaped Reinforcement Frame forms a protective cage for the driver and passengers, and is designed to absorb the shock of impact: even when hit by a 10-wheel truck.

Knowing he would be spending a lot of time on the road, Dr. Resoco had chosen the Subaru based on its safety features. His advice to others researching a new car? “It's not about how much it costs, but the safety that it will bring you.”

Looking inward, and moving on with life

Dr. Resoco is grateful that the accident didn’t cause injury to the driver and passengers of the truck, or anyone else on the road. “It was just me and the truck and nobody else was involved: that was most important,” he says. He’s cognizant of just how much worse it could have been, having closely observed the impact of serious car crashes through the reconstructive surgery he performs on accident survivors.

The experience, he says, is one he’s still working to overcome with the support of family and friends. Yet, he feels as if he’s been “given a second chance.”

“It has actually changed me a lot. This made me realize that life can be short. It can be here now, or lost in one instant. It made me realize that you have to value each moment each day of your life,” he adds. “I hope Subaru will continue to protect and save more lives.”

Dr. Resoco now ensures he’s prepared for those long stints on the road with rest, caffeine and music to keep him alert and focused on the drive. But one of his greatest lessons? Self-awareness. “You have to know your limitations and vulnerabilities as a driver and as a person,” he observes.

It’s also nice to know that even in a head-on collision with a 10 wheel truck the car you’re driving can keep you safe.