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Darwin Awards
2007 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Man locks self in trunk, dies

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6305407

Police: Man whose body found in trunk accidentally locked himself in By Russ Rizzo The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 07/05/2007 11:56:23 AM MDT

Posted: 11:57 AM- A West Jordan man found in a car trunk in St. George Tuesday died of natural causes after apparently locking himself inside, police said today.

The body of Gary D. Beals, 51, was found in the trunk of his Dodge Neon in a Smith's grocery parking lot.

Smith's employees told police Beals had slept in the trunk of his car about a week but had not been spotted for several days by Tuesday, when they smelled a strong odor and spotted flies hovering outside the car, police said.

Beals was reported missing earlier from a St. George trailer park, where he had lived for several years, police said.

Police believe Beals accidentally locked himself in the car and struggled to get out, kicking out taillights, according to Sgt. Craig Harding. The state medical examiner found no sign of a struggle, he said.

Summer heat could have contributed to the death, police said.

Submitted on 07/05/2007

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Salt Lake Tribune, July 5, 2007

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

Great? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Awful?
Love it! Hate it!
>> Moderator Scores <<

James said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
While this might have potential, there's no reason given for his having been locked in the trunk in the first place! Unless he did so deliberately, I would have to write this off as a very unfortunate accident. Thanks just the same for the submission, we DO appreciate it!


Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Well, seems he had been sleeping in his trunk for a week before he managed to lock himself in. Pretty stupid if you ask me. What? The backseat was too cramped. I vote for a DA. Thanks for sending the story


Bruce said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm a little ambivalent about this one. Sleeping in the trunk of a car does seem very odd to me, especially during the summer, so that aspect of this story certainly is worthy of a DA. But why wouldn't he sleep in one of the seats, which would likely be cooler and more comfortable? Also, why did none of the store employees check the car when they first started wondering where he was? He was known to sleep in the trunk, so it would have been a logical place to check. One way or the other this is truly a strange story.


Jorge said:
Neutral: Lacks Excellence


Graham said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
As the report says: this was a nasty accident. Still, it's a horrible way to die . . . a bit like living in Texas


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