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The police department in Kosciusko, Indiana, received a highly unusual call on Friday. A 35-year-old woman jumped out of her moving car, leaving her underage son in the vehicle after seeing a spider crawling on her shoulder.
Syracuse Police, emergency crews and deputies received a call around 16:15 on Sept. 18. Authorities were informed that a ‘driverless’ vehicle hit a school bus. When they arrived at the scene they saw a 9-year-old boy on the ground near a partially destroyed Dodge Avenger.
Deputies said that after the woman jumped the Dodge eventually stopped into a school bus that was passing by. No people suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident to authorities’ surprise.
The police department said that Angela Kipp was trying to back her car out of her home driveway nearby Syracuse when she saw the spider on her shoulder. The woman was terrified and jumped out of the driver’s seat while the car was still in reverse.
Moreover, she seemed to completely forget about her 9-year-old son who sat in the back seat. According to the police department, the boy reached driver’s seat, steered the wheel, and tried to stop the car. But instead he pressed the gas pedal.
As a result, the car went straight into a moving school bus. The boy was affected by minor head injuries and he was rushed to the IU Health Goshen. Doctors say he is now out of harm’s way. The driver wasn’t harmed in the incident nor did the mother.
Fortunately, the school bus was empty and no children were endangered. Chad Hill, a spokesperson for Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deemed the whole incident “unique” but “bizarre.”
“It’s incredible that it wasn’t more tragic,”
the police spokesperson also said.
The Syracuse police department is currently investigating the incident. The woman is less likely to face charges.
Experts explained that such a violent reaction to a spider can only be associated with arachnophobia, or the irrational fear of spiders. People affected by this condition would do whatever necessary to avoid being exposed to the tiny insects.
When they see a spider they have typical reactions including screaming, freezing in one place, or running. Some arachnophobia patients even leave their own homes when they see a spider rather than dealing with it.
Experts still do not know what causes the reaction. Some psychologists believe that the phobia may have cultural underpinnings rather than an ancestral fear deeply embedded within patients’ psyche.
Image Source: Flickr
