Interesting take. What if that knocked out the driver, too? Just a bunch of unconscious people flying down the road. That’s fucked up.
I read that NTSB investigators haven’t (yet) found skid marks. This, of course, could point to several things: lost brakes, driver heart attack, and so on. I was thinking about the macabre plane crash where everyone onboard was dead from oxygen malfunction but the plane flew itself on auto pilot for a few hours.
I think CO poisoning probably violates “think horses, not zebras,” but it’s interesting to think about.
The plot thickens like concrete.:eek:
Saddest part of this story are the kids of these couples that died in the crash are all orphaned.
Lips, cherry red; fingers bluish.
No way. Approx a mile+ up the road is an almost 90° right hand turn, plus a few bends in the road between that turn & the crash intersection. If the driver had been incapacitated for any length of time, they would have crashed earlier.
I would not at all be surprised if it’s a design flaw in the limo design & build, meaning the base vehicle, a Ford Excursion (?) weighs 7000± lbs; it’s designed to carry 8 passengers & gear/luggage, at a rough weight of 1600 lbs (180 lbs person + 20 lbs luggage/gear). The brakes & suspension are designed for this amount of weight. When they stretched it, the additional body elements added weight, along with an additional 10 passengers it would be close to adding an additional 2 tons. Were the brakes & suspension beefed up to handle a 50%+ increase in weight? Assuming they determine the driver was conscious before the stop & got on the brakes; the vehicle quite possibly couldn’t handle a panic stop from 60mph in time. At this time, that’s just a WAG; I’m sure more will come out from the NTSB investigation.
Specifically, the owner was a DMV clerk convicted of taking bribes to let people cheat on driving tests (and he became an FBI informant to avoid being deported to Pakistan). I’m guessing that compliance was not a high priority at his limo company, and I almost wonder if he was hiring some of his old clients as drivers. Pakistan may start to look pretty good in hindsight.
I wonder how much insurance the limo company held. Because I can’t imagine it’s enough.
I’m guessing this guy won’t be seen back here again. At least not with his current identity. :rolleyes:
Scumbag.
If they had the minimum required, it was $5,000,000. That will most certainly not be enough.
I thought one rule about being a hired driver is that you are not considered a party guest.
I’m also pretty sure that testing blood gases is a routine part of an autopsy. (Calling Qadgop!) That anyone besides the driver may have been unconscious or even dead before the vehicle went off the road had not occurred to me until I read this thread.
My neighbor growing up was one of the two pedestrians killed. His brother died of cancer two years ago.
His parents and youngest brother must be going through hell right now. Such a damn tragedy.
As I understand it, you stretch a vehicle just to accommodate a bigger payload. That means it’s harder to steer, harder to brake, and original safety features might just disappear (remember the one that caught fire?) Therefore, you drive a stretched at practically bicycle speed because, heaven knows, you didn’t buy or rent one for speed.
Oh shit. I’m so very sorry for your loss. What are the chances that one of us here would know the victims?
As to the wreck, wasn’t the limo a replacement for a 21-pax that broke down? Not hard to imagine the driver was trying to make up lost time. Was the driver familiar with the area? AIUI, that downhill stretch to the stop sign has been treacherous for other commercial vehicles in the area, and consequently drivers try to be cautious when approaching it.
In a vehicle that we can infer was poorly maintained, due to the number of vehicles pulled out of service in the brief number of years cited in the articles upthread, with a driver trying to make time, it’s easy to imagine he placed the vehicle in a position where even a lightly loaded truck would have problems coming to a stop. This one had 17 passengers, and it’s doubtful the brakes or suspension were adequately upgraded to handle the limo conversion or the expected extra loads.
As to insurance or other remedies that the victims’ families can pursue, I will bet quite a bit that this guy—the owner, or anyone else involved with the operations of the business—is going to be as judgement proof as can be, even if the court pierces and goes behind whichever corporate entity was ostensibly responsible for the business. I’d expect to see the minimum level of coverage that the law required, and they may not have been making the payments to assure that.
Just curious, if you know: Was he walking along the road, or were they headed to or from the country store? I sure hope the driver wasn’t aiming at them. You just never know.
Apparently the odds are amazing.
I’m not trying to one-up Airman Doors. But several of the people who were killed were members of my family. The four sisters who died are my second cousins.
(((((Little Nemo)))))
What the heck? Why would you say this?
I haven’t heard seat belts mentioned in the news.
Anyone heard if they were installed and used?
Car safety has improved so much in the past decades. Many previously fatal crashes are survivable today, sometimes with minimal injuries.
It’s very hard to comprehend that every person in that limo died.
There’s a dangerous intersection that I hated in my hometown.
It’s a 2 lane country road. Speed limit 40mph. You climb a steep hill and just as you top it, there’s a 4 way stop sign about 30 ft ahead.
If someone isn’t familiar with that road they are screwed. You’re already accelerating to climb that hill. I think there’s a stop sign ahead warning but it’s easy to miss.
I moved away and many years later topped that hill and absolutely couldn’t stop. Thank goodness no one was in that intersection. It scared the crap out of me.
Seems like most towns have at least one badly designed intersection that is a hazard to everyone.