One time a few years ago, our neighbor came over to our house in a little bit of a panic. My car had rolled from in front of their house and onto the curb in front of theirs, resting against a tree.

Apparently, the emergency brake didn’t take complete hold after I parked and the car slowly drifted down the street, which slopes away from our house. The car only went about 10 feet and wasn’t damaged. If their truck had been parked in its usual spot, I might have hit that. If the car hadn’t angled some, it could have gone into the intersection and Lord knows what would have happened then.

I look back on moments like this and wonder what made the difference between a minor inconvenience and a huge problem. I bet this lady is wishing she had my luck.

“Sure enough, there was a car in our pool,” Melissa Campasino said.

Police and the tow truck driver estimated the car was going 40 mph before it hit the water.

Melissa Campasino later learned that Kim Taylor was screaming and chasing the Miata all the way down the hill until it splashed down. Taylor could not be reached for comment.