Oh Schmidt!, killed by your own car.

[Rusty Heap]

Man killed by own car on slick hill near Bellingham





BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A Bellingham man was killed by his own car Sunday afternoon as he was trying to make his way up a snow-covered hill in the Sudden Valley community east of Bellingham.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis says the man's car couldn't make it up the slick hill, so he tried to back up. But, he couldn't see out the rear window.


James Schmidt, 63, had struggled to get his Honda Accord up a snowy hill near Loganberry Lane around 2:15 p.m., Trooper Mark Francis said.

Another man offered to help him up the hill, but he declined the aid.

The man then tried to back up, when he realized he couldn't see out of his rear window. He set the emergency brake and went to brush the snow off the back of the car, when the vehicle started to slide and ran him over, trapping him in a nearby ditch, Francis said.





Witnesses pulled the man out and tried to perform CPR, but he was unresponsive and died at the scene, Francis said.




Wow, what a way to go, Weird Schmidt Happens.............

[HardDrive]

Dumbass.

[sammyg2]

Monty python did a skit about something similar, twit contest IIRC where a guy runs himself over.

[Jim Richards]

To be run over by your own Honda Accord...oh, the indignity of it!

[Rusty Heap]

[kach22i]

I once watched a car get started up to defrost the ice off the windshield in a restaurant parking lot.

The owner went over to talk to her co-worker which was also leaving the parking lot after an ice storm.

I was there to pick up my wife, after work.

The idling of the car set the car in motion on the slight incline, the car slid though the parking lot, crossed the street and went into a ditch, coming out far enough to take out the chain link fence of the car dealership.

My wife and I yelled to get the driver's attention but she was slow to react, and a crowd of about a dozen people could do nothing as the car went off.

The owner of the car afterwords was convinced that someone put it in gear or it slipped out of gear. She failed to grasp the basic physics at play that evening, but at least no one was hurt.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Now THAT is a bad day.

[Aragorn]

death by his own accord...

[widgeon13]

Is this then considered suicide or murder?

Well, maybe it's a gray area.

[techweenie]

Darwinian.

[Scott Douglas]

Sad really, that someone wouldn't have enough common sense to walk on the uphill side of the car in a situation like that.

Condolences to the family.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

death by his own accord...

Very good.

[madmmac]

Tragic accident.

Guessing he cleaned 1/2 the rear window and was walking behind the car when it let loose on the snow/ice, bumper hit his legs and knocked him over and the car continued on top him dragging him into the ditch.

Probably like most of us here. "Naw, I don't need any help, I got it, but thanks for the offer." Fine 1 second, gone the next. It makes you think.

Death is no joke, it's pretty final.

Very sad.

[911_Dude]

[john70t]

Once had a situation of someone using a screwdriver to arc across their starter terminals.
Sloppy auto transmission fell (or was) in gear.
Car drove itself forward, with mechanic sitting on front bumper.
Almost lost his legs.

One winter I drove up an icy twisty 1-lane: with trees on one side and a steep drop off and garages on the other.
Almost made it. Two more feet.
But even stopped I started sliding backwards.
Ended up in neutral: pulsing the brakes rapidly and looking back until I got to the bottom of the hill.
Lucky day.

[speeder]

Cars are freaking dangerous. It's easy to forget because you don't see people getting crushed or mangled everyday but all it takes is one little brain fart and you're toast.

[gordner]

I am always amazed how quick people are to call someone a dumbass in this situation. He was not a dumbass the car started sliding unexpectedly. It is highly unusual for a stationary vehicle to start moving on it's own with no outside influence. He presumably had enough grip to walk around the car to remove the snow, I doubt any one here would have expected the slide either.
Two years ago a guy drowned under his vehicle on a Calgary city street, miles from any water and well above sea level. A flash flood ran down the road knocked his legs out from under him and trapped him undert the car leading to his drowning in 2 inches of water. Guess that guy was a dumbass too by internet standards.

[john walker's workshop]

happened to a friend of mine. van stalled and he tried to push it and it rolled back ito a ditch and killed him.

[jschmidt63]

spooky thread....
btw, never owned a Honda, no relation..

[dtw]

I dropped a car on my legs once - my '72 911. At the time (was in mid-resto doing a lot of rust work), it was a bare tub and wiring harness and that was about it - so I laughed and pushed the car off me. Then my blood ran cold as I realized how bad it could have been. Since then, I've been more careful. It doesn't take much for things to go to hell really fast.