Honorable Mention nominee from the Daytona Beach News Journal, 16 Sept 06

Pair locked in hot car for 2 hours

By SETH ROBBINS

Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- Two elderly women suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke after locking themselves inside their sedan at the Volusia Mall on Friday for nearly two hours placed a sign in the rear window pleading for help.

A passerby saw the sign scrawled on the back of a tissue box in black felt tip about 5 p.m. and called police. A sheriff's deputy, mall security, the fire department and EVAC ambulance responded to the call. Firefighters smashed the front driver side window of the gold Cadillac and pulled the two women, both in their 80s, from the car.

The women were taken to Halifax Medical Center in serious condition suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke, said Mark O'Keefe, EVAC ambulance spokesman.

"They are very lucky they did not die," O'Keefe said. "If it had not been for the resourcefulness of the women, we might be talking about a different series of events."

A sheriff's deputy said the women were locked in the car for nearly two hours in 95-degree heat after the battery apparently died. The windows in the car were fogged up from the breath of the two women. The pair did not know the automatic locks could be unlocked manually from inside the car, the deputy said.

The names of the two women and their conditions were not available Friday night.

As unusual as this story may seem, the same experience happened in 2005 to a Ponce Inlet woman driving home from Orlando in none other than a Cadillac.

After her car had stopped working on Interstate 4, the 82-year old woman reached for the door, but it was locked. She beat on the steering wheel and cried out for help; nobody was around. When she calmed down, she discovered the safety lever on top of the door handle and freed herself from the car.

The woman, who asked to be identified only by her first name Beverly, said she got a panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard about the plight of the two women.

"I understand exactly how those poor women must have felt," she said.

Submitted on 09/19/2006

Submitted by: Christopher G. Burrus
Reference: Daytona Beach NewsJrnl, 16Sep

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Thanks, Christopher. We're dealing with little old ladies here. Technology does not always come easily to little old ladies! Normally, we don't like to see harm come to little old ladies, but in this case they didn't die, so I can see the humor here! I'll give them a nominal HM because they didn't even TRY the locks. What automaker would risk a crushing lawsuit designing a car which wouldn't open if the battery died? :-)

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Thanks for the story, Christopher. Actually, James, technology doesn't always come easily to the younger, either. :P While this story shows stupidity (not even trying the door locks manually), it also shows a remarkable display of ingenuity (the "HELP" sign). I'm a bit torn on this one. For now I'll go neutral. Another Moderator needed!!!

Fitzroy said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
I think we're like-minded on this. I'm not wild about it, but the "didn't even try the locks" aspect makes it worth consideration. Imagine the conversation leading up to that decision! Whatever ultimately happens to the submission, it surely is appreciated.

Jorge said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention

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