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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| ’CHiPs’ inspires runaway car stop |
| 2004-02-03 |
| It took some quick thinking, and maybe an old TV show, for two Denver cops to stop a runaway car. Twenty-year-old Angel Eck was driving her 1997 Pontiac Sunfire westbound on I-70 Friday night when the brakes failed and the accelerator stuck, sending her hurtling uncontrolled down the freeway. "It had a mind of its own," Eck told The Associated Press Sunday. The car "kept accelerating, and my foot wasn’t even down on the gas." Eck turned on her hazard lights and dodged other vehicles, including tractor-trailers and a van full of children, at speeds of up to 100 mph. Nothing she tried slowed the car down. "I probably went off the road three times trying to get around traffic," Eck told TheDenverChannel. She tried calling the police, but her cell phone couldn’t get a signal. After 45 frantic minutes, she reached a friend, who called 911. Police cleared the freeway as Eck sped westwards. Meanwhile, officers Gary Ayers and Troy Bisgard decided to try something radical. They got their cruiser right in front of Eck’s car, then slowed down slightly so that she bumped them. It took miles, but both vehicles finally came to a peaceful stop. Officer Kim Lovato said Ayers and Bisgard joked that they’d gotten their idea from an old episode of "CHiPs," the 1977-1983 television show about two motorcycle-riding California Highway Patrol officers. "Whenever they had a runaway car on ’CHiPs,’ this is exactly what Ponch and Jon would do," Lovato told TheDenverChannel. "One is brunette and one is blonde just like Ponch and Jon, and they did what they needed to do and it turned out just perfect." Over 45 minutes of runaway driving with no brakes, and she never thought to put it in neutral? What are the chances of the accelerator sticking *and* the brakes failing at the same time? Either this woman has never heard of car maintenance, or somebody’s got an angry ex. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #15 Ed--Damn--thanks for the scoop! Guess there really wasn't much she could do, except perhaps downshift. Sounds like Pontiac has created their own little version of the Nanny State in each of their cars. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-4 9:53:57 AM |
| #14 I never would have thought to shift to neutral either. If the commentators above are men--warn your women. I'm not sure I would have thought of turning it off either. |
| Posted by: Sue Bob 2004-2-3 11:50:38 PM |
| #13 Ed Becerra here, from Colorado. Local news reported that her transmission failed in such a way that she couldn't shift, not even to neutral. And - oh, joy, our brilliant car designers here - the Pontiac she was driving apparently CANNOT have the ignition turned off unless the transmission is in park or neutral. That's straight from the cops, Chuck.. apparently whoever did the onboard programming for the car (and I admit I'm over-generalizing here) programmed in an assumption that if a part of the car asked for one thing, and the driver asked for another, the onboard brains would simply assume the driver was in error. So to speak. Therefore, the fuel pump, brakes, et al, were listening to the CPU, and the CPU was paying attention to the transmission, not the driver's intentions. Local Pontiac dealers are making frantic statements to the effect that this is one of those "Once in a century" events, and that we should all just go home and forget it ever happened. Oh, yes, and we should buy more Pontiacs. Lots and LOTS of Pontiacs. Yeah. Right. Hey, Mr. car dealer.. I gotta tire iron and I KNOW how to use it. Now, just back away slowly, buddy.... Ed. |
| Posted by: Ed Becerra 2004-2-3 9:18:49 PM |
| #12 Surely it was the Dukes of Hazard and not Ponch & John that pulled that trick I'm acutely depressed just acknowledging I have an opinion on the above subject. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-3 7:24:48 PM |
| #11 Surely it was the Dukes of Hazard and not Ponch & John that pulled that trick. The Dukes were always better drivers in my book, what with the dirt 'n' all in Hazard County. None of that sissy California concrete. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-2-3 6:56:48 PM |
| #10 I just checked recalls and service bulletins on her year and model car. Of the 301 service bulletins, about ten relate to brakes, one on clutch bleeding procedures, but none concern the accelerator. Must be a hydraulic clutch also in need of service. No recalls on either problem, but she's lucky that the Lower Pinion Bearing didn't decide to separate at that time. It was a recall item for Jan 03. Our Granddaughter drives a sunbird. Gonna have to look into that. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2004-2-3 3:58:48 PM |
| #9 New CNN show: "Renegade Automobiles: Why do they hate us?" |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-3 3:31:02 PM |
| #8 No clutch, no brakes, no accelerator, and the cell phone wouldn't work? Either up sh*t creek without a paddle, or pure BS. I vote BS. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-2-3 3:28:31 PM |
| #7 Sounds like her tires at least were in tip top shape. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-3 2:08:01 PM |
| #6 Yeah - she went from Limon to Denver. They had her on the news out here. She said the clutch wouldn't respond and the ignition didn't turn off. Supposedly, nothing was responsive on the car. Seems wierd to me. Is there a big life insurance policy on her someone is holding? Then again, it is a Pontiac. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-2-3 1:20:13 PM |
| #5 Same thing happened to the GOOD Ol Boys RV. Turns out someone put glue beneath the accelerator. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-2-3 12:25:05 PM |
| #4 You have to change the oil? (kidding) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-3 12:18:49 PM |
| #3 I wouldn't recommend turning the ignition off because that would disable the power steering, but she certainly could have put it in neutral or downshifted. I can't believe she had the wits to keep trying to call for help on her cell all this time but couldn't think of that! I bet she hasn't changed her oil in 30,000 miles if she's that mechanically clueless. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-3 12:11:24 PM |
| #2 How in the hell would "Ponch" and "John" stop a runaway car with their motorcycles? Guess I missed that episode. |
| Posted by: Daniel King 2004-2-3 12:01:59 PM |
| #1 After 45 frantic minutes, she reached a friend there were NO cops around for 60-75 miles? hmmm.... after 45 minutes, she couldn't think to turn the ignition off? |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-2-3 11:59:56 AM |