That was exciting.

Adrenalin rush

The Falcon's transmission is temperamental and doesn't always go into Park like it should. The pin, called a pawl, that goes into the driveshaft and locks it in place sometimes chooses not to fully engage. I know that and am careful to insure it's where it should be before walking away from the car.

This morning I was, as usual, the first to arrive at the school where Pathway meets for services. I pulled up to the curb in front of the entrance to unload some things - it only takes a couple of minutes - and walked around back to get the sign and travel case out. I took them over to the front door, set them down, and turned around to see the Falcon backing out the entrance drive, front door wide open.

In my focus on the work ahead of me I left the car running, it slipped out of Park into Reverse, and was making speedy progress toward the street.

You know how in the movies you see someone catch up to a runaway car, jump inside, and bring it to a stop? I bet you never noticed that the car is always moving forward so the person chasing it can jump into the front seat.
When the car is moving backward, even when you catch up with it how do you get in? Your facing the wrong direction and the open door is, in effect, running interference for the front seat.

I somehow spun mid-stride and got my right cheek planted on the front seat, both feet dragging on the pavement under the front door. I got my hand on the lever and managed to move it into Neutral ... to absolutely no effect. At that point the car had enough speed and momentum that it's still making steady progress backwards toward the street. My feet, meanwhile, are still pointing forward under the driver's door, and for a second or two I thought that would provide enough friction to at least slow the car. Nope. All that did was grind 2,000 miles of rubber off the soles of my shoes and put a major hurt on my shins where the bottom of the door pushed against them.

I don't know how I did it; have no memory of it. But I managed to get my right foot out from under the door and on the brake pedal. With the car in Neutral it didn't take much to get it stopped.
My heart, however, continued to beat at a pretty good clip.

I just sat there for quite a while, trying to calm down.
"Give thanks in all things."
It could'a been a lot worse, including the front door knocking me down, bouncing my head off the curb, the front tire backing over my right leg.
It wasn't until the drive home that I realized it could have come out of Park while I was standing behind it unloading things.

I'm pretty sure I won't make that dumb mistake again.