Man dies trapped in Corvette

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/06/11/texas-man-dog-die-trapped-corvette/71053474/

Kind of freaky how the complication of newer vehicles leads to this kind of thing.

Granted, there is a manual way to do it, but the guy couldnt figure it out in time.

I guess I wonder what people think about stuff like this happening as a result of newer, different, more complicated systems?

That being said, I havent messed with a C6 yet, so I don't know the ins and outs of the specific vehicle.

Damn, didn't we have a thread about this problem just recently too?

I knew there was a secret release near the door somewhere, but how easy is it to find for a person struggling to get out who doesn't know what to look for?

Holy crap, that's tragic

So, he died because he didn't know how to manually release the door and was unwilling to break a window?

That sucks.

The Article said: First responders also struggled finding away to get Rogers out of the car, according to M.J. Ponsegrau, who was at the scene. Ponsegrau said eventually firefighters had to break the window.

Maybe I'm the only one thinking this way, but if I were a first responder, my immediate reaction to somene in a car not responding (assuming the weather was hot) is to get in the vehicle asap? (In other words, break a window.) Seconds can save lives and the quicker you get in, the quicker you can check vitals and relay the information to the medical responders.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: So, he died because he didn't know how to manually release the door and was unwilling to break a window? That sucks.

Looks like he was an older guy and may not have had the strength or tools to break a window easly. Maybe tried and gave up.

Dumbest. System. Ever. I thought it took a German to design something that stupid.

I've had heat stroke. You don't necessarily have a good idea what's happening to you. At some point everything goes white and you faint. Being 72 probably didn't help.

That release may not be "hidden," but it sure isn't intuitive, either. How many vehicles have you been in that have a manual release that isn't on the door? That door release is where the gas flap release is on my Toyota.

Streetwiseguy wrote: Dumbest. System. Ever. I thought it took a German to design something that stupid.

If the germans designed it you would need a special tool that was in the trunk to open the door.

Heat exhaustion inside a Chevy and outside of a waffle house sounds like an awful way to go. RIP, I feel for his family.

So there you go. The machines are already enslaving us and killing us off. It's only going to get worse.

So the guy left his phone in the waffle house - meaning he already had left his dog stuck in the car on a day hot enough to kill.

Not really sure why I have a lack of empathy on this one, I don't feel bad for the guy. He already left his dog in the car.

The guy died because he didn't read his owners manual.

Too bad about the dog.

Seat belt cutter & window breaker, hang it on your key chain or mirror.

$10.

They warn you not to leave children, dogs or the elderly locked in cars on hot days. When the car is a Corvette there is always the chance that the elderly will lock themselves in it.

This needs to be posted onto Facebook so people can respond with, if I ever see an elderly person in a Corvette on a hot day, I'd break the window. Let the owner call the police on me, what they're doing is abuse, I'm saving a living creature.

Also, that smell is never coming out.

Prior to reading the story I assumed it would be fire related or water related. Why didn't he have his keys? What about popping the hatch and getting out that way?

I'm having a hard time faulting the car.

The most typical scenario with the C6 is that the battery dies while you're outside of the car and because you didn't read the owner's manual, you don't know how to get in.

1) Pull the manual key out of the fob.

2) Crouch down by the exhaust and look up. There's a keyhole for the trunk! Open it.

3) On the left side of the cargo area is a tab that manually unlocks the driver's door.

4) You're in the car, now you can pop the hood and jump start the car\install a fresh battery.

clutchsmoke wrote: Why didn't he have his keys? What about popping the hatch and getting out that way?

Power was somehow cut. No power to the locking mechanism.

914Driver wrote: Seat belt cutter & window breaker, hang it on your key chain or mirror. $10.

Yup. I have something like that in ALL of my cars, especially the 'D given its unique window/door setup, to ensure that I can always get out in a hurry if need be.

So, can anyone explain to me why there is not just a little lock switch on the inside of the door that one can manually unlock? Sounds like a stupid design to me. How does it make sense to have a floor mounted door unlock lever? How does that work? Is the lock mechanism not in the door but on the door jamb?

It sounds like an unfortunate series of events. Poor maintenance and operator error can be a bad combination. Maybe GM should pay out for having battery cables that can come off.

You guys who are so smart as to know better don't seem to have much experience with either heat exhaustion nor the elderly.

Anyone could die in that situation.

And I would lay 100:1 odds that the vast majority of us have never read the entire owner's manual for the cars we drive.

That is a piss poor design.

What happened to doors that unlock when you pull on the inside handle that opens said door?

Doors that don't unlock with the inside handle sounds kind of rapey to me.

Yup, that is strange. There is clearly an engineering trend to depend on electricity always being there.

I was talking to a guy at airshow about a new Mooney with a friend. I noticed the instrument panel was glass (monitors) and had only ONE physical gauge, and it was a gyro compass!! (electrically powered). Note even a normal physical compass! We asked the guy about this and his comment was "well, it has two batteries" (and I assume two independent electrical systems). My internal response to that was "uhm, yeah... and what are you not considering. Well you won't know until it happens"

It was shocking the level of dependence on power always being there. To be fair, it was a prototype cockpit mockup plane and I do not know if the FAA would certify it like that. I would hope not!

If the handle were more conspicuous, people would complain "Why couldn't they tuck it away somewhere that is out of sight but still easily reached? Like right beside the driver's seat?"

It's even got an icon on it so you don't even need to be literate.

The hatch release and fuel door release were both in that location in my Corolla and it was very intuative.

I'm not happy that the guy died, I don't feel bad either.

Anyone who leaves a dog in a hot car is a scumbag.