Guide Dog Alerts Handlers to Runaway Car 'Barreling' Backwards Down Sidewalk

A guide dog put his training in action Monday, alerting the people he was with to an out-of-control car coming straight toward them.

The dog was being tested by two employees of the Guide Dogs for the Blind organization when a car hopped the curb and started down the hill.

"It was just an unbelievable sight to see something going backwards, barreling down the sidewalk," Todd Jurek, a training supervisor for Guide Dogs for the Blind, told the Marin Independent Journal.

Jurek and Danielle Alvarado, an apprentice instructor who was blindfolded, were testing the skills of the Labrador named O'Neil in San Rafael, California, when the dog sensed something and turned to look behind before the two humans ever heard what was coming.

Surveillance video captured the scene of a black car speeding backward down the sidewalk and crashing into a store window before it finally stopped across the street. Jurek, Alvarado and O'Neil were able to jump out of the way just in time.

Here you can see the trio strolling down the sidewalk, with Jurek behind evaluating the dog's skills with the handler. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

O'Neil looks behind before anyone notices something is coming. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Jurek turns after hearing a commotion and springs to usher Alvarado and O'Neil out of the way. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

The car follows just after the group rounded the corner out of the way. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Jurek said both O'Neil and Alvarado reacted perfectly given the situation they faced.

As for what was going on with the car, the Marin Independent Journal reported San Rafael police Sgt. Raul Aguilar saying the driver might have put the car in reverse instead of forward and lost control based on the angle of the wheels. Neither alcohol nor a medical emergency were thought to be a factor.

Here's a look at the narrow miss from another angle. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

The footage of the scene also shows the car narrowly missing another pedestrian when it first hops onto the sidewalk.

Watch the dramatic video captured of the incident:

Jurek said O'Neil is expected to be placed with a blind person who needs him within the next couple weeks. He was not traumatized by the near accident.

(H/T: Yahoo! News)

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