A 56-year-old man in Escondido, California was killed over the holiday weekend after he drove his vehicle into a car wash and then tried to climb out. He was pinned against the machinery and killed, NBC reports.
I shouldn’t have to remind you, but automated car washes are dangerous. Do not leave your vehicle once it starts rolling through the wash.
From the NBC article:
“The preliminary investigation indicated that the man drove into the car wash and for an unknown reason, tried to exit his vehicle,” the statement continued.
“The vehicle then rolled forward, pinning the man between the car and the machinery. It does not appear the car wash had been activated at the time of the collision.”
It wasn’t clear what piece of machinery the victim was pinned against.
There aren’t many details right now, aside from the fact that the man was driving a 2014 Scion xB. Strangely, it also appeared to police that the washing machinery hadn’t actually been activated at the time of the man’s death, the New York Post reports.
The accident reportedly triggered the Scion’s car alarm, but the alarm sounded for about 30 minutes before another customer arrived and called the police. The 56-year-old man was transported to a local hospital, where he died.
The interesting part is that the car wash wasn’t totally automated, according to reports, so there was no outside factor as to why the vehicle moved forward and trapped the man. While there’s automated equipment that does the washing, drivers must follow commands to move forward and stop when directed. This was not one of the car washes where the vehicle is pulled along on a conveyor belt. As a result, the death is said to be the result of a “traffic accident,” since the driver should have been in control of the vehicle the entire time he was inside the car wash.
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