Standing next to his mangled wreck of a Mazda 3, Carl Layden realized how lucky he was to be alive.
Inside the twisted metal and shattered glass, two airbags filled the crushed space that used to be the front seats — where he and his 16-year-old son, Logan, were sitting on Sunday afternoon.
"It's amazing that we got out of that and essentially walked away with a few bruises — big deal," Layden said.
The Paradise man and his son were travelling to Grand Falls-Windsor on Sunday to visit Layden's mother. They travelled through periods of heavy rain for the first hour of the drive.
To get away from the spray from other vehicles in front of him, Layden pulled into the passing lane. He was still going below the speed limit, he said, when the car began to hydroplane.
"We were in the left lane going by, and with no warning, the back of the car let go and we started to spin."
The car went off the side of the Trans-Canada Highway and down over the embankment. With a deafening crack, the airbags went off in the front seats. The car rolled several times before coming to a stop, right side up, and Carl and Logan Layden crawled out.
As strangers pulled over and rushed toward the father and son, Layden struggled to understand what was happening and stop the ringing in his ears.
"I couldn't tell what they were saying. I must have seemed kind of dazed and I guess I probably was. I couldn't hear them."
Within five minutes, the local fire chief was on scene and assessing the pair. Both were sent to hospital with minor injuries, and Logan was kept at the Janeway Hospital in St. John's overnight for observation.
Layden walked away from the crash with a greater appreciation for the people who design vehicles, and the first responders and strangers who rushed to their side.
"It obviously wasn't our time yesterday," he said. "Be that fate, destiny, or whatever. I'm extremely thankful for everyone."