A bathroom break saved this taxi driver from being crushed by a tree

This might go down in history as the most well-timed bathroom break ever taken by a taxi driver.

A 66-year-old cabbie surnamed Ko stopped his car at a bus stop on Sai Kung Road yesterday in order to use the toilet. Moments later, he watched in disbelief as a massive tree crushed the car.

The incident happened at about 2am during yesterday’s torrential downpour and heavy winds.

“I was outside, ready to get back in the car again,” Ko told Apple Daily. “Before I reached the car, I heard a crack, the sound of the tree roots. I looked up and ‘boom.'”

The tree was one of at least 43 that toppled over the weekend, according to the Standard, as winds of 40 kilometers per hour whipped through parts of Hong Kong.

An amber rainstorm warning — meaning heavy rainfall exceeding 30 millimeters per hour — was in effect for about 90 minutes yesterday, shortly after noon.

The weather also prompted the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) to raise a thunderstorm warning and a strong monsoon signal over the weekend, the latter of which remains in effect today.