A common sight at accident sites is a curious crowd gathered around, watching helplessly, probably in fear of becoming embroiled in some controversy. ``It came as a surprise and a helping hand from God,'' says Sunaina Nigam (who lives on Paud Road), whose mother, aunt and step-daughter met with an accident recently, but encountered a refreshingly contrasting experience.

On January 26, Anjali Naik, Sarlaben Chaube and Pooja Nigam were travelling from Pune to Mumbai in a navy-blue Contessa (MH-04-A-5680), with driver Dilip at the wheel. ``The accident occurred at midnight at the Khopoli-Panvel highway when a speeding Asiad bus (MH-12-F-1538) dashed into them. The car was totally smashed. Had it been a smaller car, those sitting inside would have been severely injured. However, they were badly rattled and bruised, and completely dazed as the impact pushed the front seat to the back,'' remembers Nigam.

She adds, ``But a Maruti-800 was following them and the three people inside, Anand Patwardhan, Sanjiv Kadam and Kumar Tolani, came to their aid immediately. It was courtesy these three good samaritans that the lady passengers were safely rescued''.

And they did not stop at that. Since the men were also Mumbai-bound, they personally dropped the injured party to their home in Colaba thereafter. ``What surprised me was that everyone came forward to help my relatives,'' says Nigam. ``The owner of the road-side garden restaurant, the Inn Green (close to where the accident occurred), Rajeev Amrute, the hotel staff, as well as the people who were having their food, rushed out to help and provide first-aid and refreshments. Head Constables Shingare and Pisale, of the Khalapur Police Chowkey, also assisted them, and guarded the car, which was equipped with an A/C, a tape-recorder, curtains and machinery.''

A complaint was immediately registered against the driver, who absconded, fearing a backlash from the bus passengers, who had been telling him to drive within a decent speed limit. Nigam also discloses that the driver returned a few days later and surrendered to the police.

``Afterward, I went to Mumbai and picked up my folks. When I took my mother to Dr. Tejas of the Krishna Nursing Home on Paud Road, he refused to accept any fee, saying that he also had a mother and something like this could have happened to her too,'' she says. Nigam also found another kind samaritan in her garage mechanic, Datta, of Datta Auto Works, who got the car back in one piece, and under-charged her. He took it as a challenge to repair the vehicle and restore its former look.

Says a grateful Nigam, ``Whenever an accident has occurred, I always read of the indifferent behaviour of people. I feel this incident will encourage people to help one another. If, God forbid, I have to witness an accident, I will always try to help the victims and not stand there indifferently, gawking at someone's misfortune. After all, goodness begets goodness''.