Husband Forgets Wife on Road Trip, Drives 186 Miles

If you’re out on a road trip this summer with the fam, make sure to do a headcount before pulling away from the gas station.

A 62-year-old man from France is making headlines – and likely sleeping on the couch – after he accidentally left his wife behind at a rest stop during a family drive from Paris to Morocco. He didn’t realize she was missing until nearly 200 miles later.

Yes, really.

It happened on Day One of a 27-hour drive.

The trip was meant to be a relaxing and scenic multi-day journey. Their 22-year-old daughter was along for the ride too, sleeping in the back seat when things went sideways.

Around 4:30 a.m. on July 5th, the husband pulled into a gas station to fuel up. When he hit the road again, he somehow didn’t notice his wife wasn’t in the car.

Not ideal.

The oblivious husband just kept on driving.

To make things worse, he didn’t realize what had happened until around 8:30 a.m. – a full four hours and 186 miles later.

At that point, he called the police but couldn’t remember which gas station he’d stopped at – or even which city it was in. (Clearly a man who does not plan the family vacations.)

His wife was okay, if maybe a tad annoyed.

Fortunately, police were able to locate his 60-year-old wife by checking her cell phone records. It turned out she’d been sitting at the gas station the entire time, waiting patiently for her loving husband and daughter to notice she was missing.

How did he not realize?

Authorities didn’t explain how the husband failed to notice she was missing for such a long stretch of time. Maybe she’d been sleeping in the back, and he didn’t realize she got out to use the bathroom? Or was he just way too focused on making good time?

Police initially suspected he may have ditched her on purpose, but eventually concluded it was a genuine – if completely bonkers – mistake. No legal charges were filed, but we imagine his wife will be bringing it up every time they have a fight from now on.

After backtracking nearly 200 miles, he picked her up and the family resumed their drive. There may have been a few awkward silences along the way.