BANG! A loud explosion from underneath the hood shook the vehicle now traveling eighty-five miles per hour.  Rudy instantly hit the brakes.  A moment in time that lasted mere seconds, while at the same time feeling as if it were taking place in eternal slow motion, had me praying, "Oh God, oh God."

The Cordoba skidded off the highway on an angle and rolled down an embankment of some fifteen to twenty feet.  Our speed allowed the vehicle to descend almost parallel to the highway, avoiding a steep drop-off from the roadway above. I couldn't tell whether the Cordoba rolled one and a half or two and a half times, but it finally came to a stop amidst a cloud of dust kicked up from the dirt road that cushioned our fall.  The death-defying ordeal left me totally disoriented.

The twenty to thirty seconds that flew by in an instant of fear and confusion immediately confirmed two things--I did believe in God and I was still alive. ...