Mayank was on his way back from Ahmedabad with his parents and his paternal aunt when, near Kheda, his father swerved to the side of the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle. But, blinded by the glare of its headlights, Chandravadan Choksi failed to realise the road was lined by an overgrown pond, and not a hard surface.

Mayank was asleep when the car, a Fiat 118 NE, plunged into the pond, but he was the only one who managed to pull himself through the broken wind-shield and perch on the bonnet of the car.

More ordeal was to follow for the 24-year-old, who got engaged just four days ago. He could see the cars whizzing by on the highway, but no one seemed to hear his desperate cries for help. Some passer-by apparently heard him and alerted the police, but by the time the police appeared on the scene, Mayank had shouted himself hoarse. And the police team went back empty-handed.

It was well past dawn on Thursday, when Dahyabhai Bhagwanbhai Gohil, a villager, spotted him and called in others. Mayank was pulled in with the help of a long rope; his father's body, too, was brought to the bank of the pond.

Mayank was still in shock when this reporter visited him at his residence. His brother-in-law Paresh Shah said the villagers informed Mayank's family in Vadodara; the car and the bodies of the two women, were fished out by the police around 10.30 a.m. All three bodies are kept in the SSG Hospital mortuary.

The Vaso police in Kheda has registered a case of accident.