Terrible Freak Accident

[Larry Jacks]

We had a terrible freak accident a couple days ago in Colorado Springs. A woman driving a Ford Explorer in a gas station parking lot struck a pickup truck. She hit it hard enough to knock the truck into a gas pump. An 18 year old girl was pumping gas and was pinned by the pump against her vehicle. A fire quickly erupted and she was burned to death, truly a horrible way to die.

The woman driving the Explorer claims her brakes went out but I really doubt it. More likely, she thought she was pressing the brake but was pressing the accelerator instead. Eyewitnesses claim she was going at least 20-25 MPH. The police are trying to determine how fast she was going but at the moment, she isn't facing felony charges, at least not yet.

[novaderrik]

hmmm.. maybe not so freaky that a Ford Explored would do something like this.
a couple of months ago, a guy at work was stopping to grab a donut and something to drink at a gas station on his way to work and when he went to hit the brakes to stop, the engine revved up and the truck jumped the curb and went crashing into the front of the store, sending the poor lady at the cash register flying for cover and throwing stuff everywhere. no one was injured, but the wall was pushed in a couple of feet, the big window was broken, and he did get a scratch on the bumper of his Explorer- which is right about the same year as the one in the story you linked.
i wonder how many other stories there are out there like this?

[NEOWatcher]

...The woman driving the Explorer claims her brakes went out but I really doubt it. More likely, she thought she was pressing the brake but was pressing the accelerator instead.

I hope I hear the followup on that, since the last story did say that there is going to be a mechanical investigation.

I find it very hard to understand how someone can confuse the pedals, but then again, I've never been in a panic situation like that. I have been taught to always hover over the break if not specifically accelerating.

But; horrible? Yes; especially since she had time to realize what was happening and express it in no uncertain terms.

[Larry Jacks]

It's actually not that uncommon. My mother made that mistake back in the 1980s when she was pulling her car into her garage and I've heard of many such accidents, especially among older drivers. That's most likely the cause of those notorious Audi "unexplained acceleration accidents" back in the 1980s. It's even more likely if the driver isn't paying attention or is distracted.

[Tucson_Tim]

I've almost thrown myself through the windshield trying to use the clutch in a car with an automatic transmission.

[Buttercup]

Oh that poor girl!!

I can't comprehend.

[LaurelHS]

It's actually not that uncommon. My mother made that mistake back in the 1980s when she was pulling her car into her garage and I've heard of many such accidents, especially among older drivers.

Supposedly the driver in the 2006 Santa Monica farmer's market crash that killed 9 people had mistaken the gas for the brake. He was 86 and had a history of causing minor car accidents.

[closetgeek]

I've almost thrown myself through the windshield trying to use the clutch in a car with an automatic transmission.

Glad to know I am not alone. Strange though, since it tomorrow will be the ten year anniversary of the last time I actually drove a standard. I traded my jeep in for a minivan the day before I gave birth to my son is why I would know that, off the top of my head. But having done that, it doesn't seem so out there that one can confuse the gas for the break. Saying the breaks failed, I am guessing, is just a panic reaction to the incident. That is just tragic though, that poor girl.

[jokergirl]

I have seen elderly people mistake the gas for the brake, so I am quite sure it's possible.
When I was advised on how an automatic is different to a shift in driving school, I was told never to use the left foot for the brake, as that is apparently the most common way the confusion happens when you panic.

Terrible though, and I really hope they check that there isn't some mechanical fault involved.

[mfumbesi]

A truly horrific way to go for that poor girl.

[Ivan Viehoff]

Particularly in certain modern vehicles where the pedals no longer have a physical wire cable to make something move, but actuate something electronically, there have been cases where strange glitches occur. There have been a number of cases in Britain, notably with a particular type of bus, and I think also an SUV; each time the driver was blamed for pressing the wrong pedal, but actually it was a fault with vehicle design that caused the accelerator to actuate without it being pressed.

[Buttercup]

The woman driving the Explorer claims her brakes went out but I really doubt it.

Well that can be proven one way or another.

More likely, she thought she was pressing the brake but was pressing the accelerator instead. Eyewitnesses claim she was going at least 20-25 MPH. The police are trying to determine how fast she was going but at the moment, she isn't facing felony charges, at least not yet.

I sure wouldn't want that on my conscience, especially if she were simply in a hurry and/or distracted [if she were using a cellphone at the time, I hope they do penalize her good]. If the driver is a normal feeling human being, she'll live with this nightmare for the rest of her life.

You just never know. ::shakes head:: Whitney was one minute going about a regular routine on a day filled with anticipation, and the next...

[megrfl]

Tragic.

[TrAI]

That is a sad story.

Hmmm... I would say that gasstations should be designed in a way that made it impossible for a car hitting another at an angle, or driving into the pumps or shop area.

What I see for me is that every pump is at the side of a lane with low but strong walls with a similar redirection design like those concrete things commonly seen along the roads. There would be several of these lanes parallel to each other, and cars driving up to a pump would have to enter them parallel to the walls, or else hit the wall. The pumps would be on islands, like in normal stations, only that these would provide a space where the people using the pump could stand a bit more shielded from things. The only real worry would be collisions front to back on the cars, if someone drove into an occupied lane too fast, and even then it would be unlikely that the person using the pump would be trapped.

[jfribrg]

I know a woman who mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal. She was 16 or 17, had just gotten her license, and was approaching a red light. There was one car in front of her....... a police car. Yep, she accelerated right into the cop. Nobody was hurt, but she had a lot of splaining to do.

[novaderrik]

That is a sad story.

Hmmm... I would say that gasstations should be designed in a way that made it impossible for a car hitting another at an angle, or driving into the pumps or shop area.

What I see for me is that every pump is at the side of a lane with low but strong walls with a similar redirection design like those concrete things commonly seen along the roads. There would be several of these lanes parallel to each other, and cars driving up to a pump would have to enter them parallel to the walls, or else hit the wall. The pumps would be on islands, like in normal stations, only that these would provide a space where the people using the pump could stand a bit more shielded from things. The only real worry would be collisions front to back on the cars, if someone drove into an occupied lane too fast, and even then it would be unlikely that the person using the pump would be trapped.

most gas stations around here have giant metal pipes that keep cars from being able to hit the pumps- similar to the metal posts and stuff that are there to keep people from driving thru the front doors of things like stores and government buildings and what not.
also, your lanes would just make things more complicated- every vehicle going in is getting a different amount of fuel- my 97 Cavalier only holds about 12 gallons, my 84 Buick Regal holds 18, my pickup holds 20, and some larger SUV's hold upwards of 40 gallons. this means that some people are going to be there longer than others, which can lead to a mass of angry people when there is one suburban at the first pump keeping people from getting to the three empty pumps that are in fron of him. unless, of course, you only have single pumps on each island, which means that your gas station will take up a HUGE area if it wants to serve enough people at a time to make it profitable.
and the fuel filler can be on the left, right, or middle of the vehicle, so some people will need to go to different lanes unless you put long hoses on it- but most people do not want to snake a long hose around their car, and it takes away from the safety you are after.
if you want to spend the money to build a gas station that people will quickly learn to hate, then by all means have at it. but these incidents are so rare that changing anything significant to prevent it from happening is just wasted effort and money.

[JohnD]

Tragic.

A terrible, sad calamity, but not a tragedy.
It demeans the poor girl's death to imply that her own actions, well-intended and benign, lead to her end.

John

[SeanF]

A terrible, sad calamity, but not a tragedy.
It demeans the poor girl's death to imply that her own actions, well-intended and benign, lead to her end.

While the literary definition of a "tragedy" includes such an implication, the word as used to refer to real-life situations does not.

[Spyke]

What a truly awful thing to have happen.

I had a situation where I was driving my wifes brand new Kia with my workboots on. We were pulling into a parking place and I slid my foot over to the brake.
I didn't realize it at the time but part of my boot was still on the gas. There is very little distance between the pedals.
As I pushed the brake the car started to rev up and shoot forward...of course I pushed harder, at the last moment my brain finally engaged and I let off the brake/gas, repositioned my foot and tromped down on what I hoped was just the brake.
We stopped within an inch of the car ahead of us.

My wife was crying and very upset and she kept asking me what was wrong with the car and if it was safe to drive home. I'm considered a very good driver by all of my friends (as well as her) and she just couldn't believe that I was responsible.

I can easily see a situation similar happening to this lady. That being said I have no facts and no real idea of what happened and as such am in no position to judge her. Maybe her brakes did screw up...

[mugaliens]

It's actually not that uncommon. My mother made that mistake back in the 1980s when she was pulling her car into her garage and I've heard of many such accidents, especially among older drivers. That's most likely the cause of those notorious Audi "unexplained acceleration accidents" back in the 1980s. It's even more likely if the driver isn't paying attention or is distracted.

I think the latter is probably the cause of about 99.9999662374% of them. Just a guess, though...

I can't say I've never made that mistake in my Explorer (Sport Trac, but the controls are the same). Or my Buick. Or my Caddie. Or my Tempo. Or my F-150. Or my...

The thing of it is, when I've made that mistake, I never freaked and jammed the pedal to the floor. Instead, I lifted up, aimed for, and hit the brakes.

On the other hand, I've never made that mistake in any of my vehicles with a shifter, as the proper action to stop is to press in the clutch. Sure, I've hit the accelerator on occasion, but with the clutch in, it just whines the engine, which says, "zzZZzz hey stupid - a little to the left!"

Self-critiquing.

[Jens]

I've almost thrown myself through the windshield trying to use the clutch in a car with an automatic transmission.

Another bad one that I did once with an automatic transmission:
1. Try to pull out into traffic, see a car coming.
2. Put car into reverse, back up.
3. Wait.
4. See an opening and gun the accelerator...

I was lucky there was no car behind me at the time.