The Real Robinson Crusoe, and Other Fascinating Historic Survival Accounts

The Real Robinson Crusoe, and Other Fascinating Historic Survival Accounts

Khalid Elhassan - June 16, 2024

The Real Robinson Crusoe, and Other Fascinating Historic Survival Accounts
Frano Selak survived many close brushes with the Grim Reaper – then won a lottery. Notinerd

Saved From a Car Accident by Not Wearing a Seatbelt

The 1970s were no less hazardous for Frano Selak than the 1960s had been. The decade began with his car erupting into flames while he was driving. He managed to jump out just before the fuel tank exploded. In 1973, a bad pump sprayed his new car’s engine with hot oil while he was driving. It caught fire, and shot flames into the passenger compartment. Selak escaped with no worse than singed hair. The 1980s were uneventful, but then in 1995, he was hit by a bus. He escaped with only minor injuries.

The following year, Selak barely avoided a head on collision with a truck on a mountain road – but only by swerving into and through a guardrail. His car fell 300 feet down a gorge. Luckily for Selak, he was not wearing a seatbelt. He was flung out the door, and in cartoon fashion, managed to hang on to a tree branch, while his car was totaled and incinerated below. Then in 2003, fate finally decided to do Selak a solid with no strings attached: he won €800,000 in the lottery – equivalent to U$1.1 million.

Advertisement