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Driver stuck in snow

A New Jersey man was killed in a fire after repeatedly revving his SUV's engine while trying to get out of a snowbank, authorities said.

Shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, police in Little Ferry said officers responded to a report of a car getting stuck in a pile of snow after going down an embankment near Losen Slote Creek Park, about 10 miles northwest of New York City.

Little Ferry police Capt. Ronald Klein told NBC News on Thursday that two officers found a 62-year-old driver repeatedly revving up the engine and rocking his Mazda SUV back and forth to dislodge the vehicle from the snow.

He said officers told the man to stop accelerating to no avail before telling him they were returning to their vehicle to call for a tow truck. While walking back to their vehicle, the officers heard a popping sound and saw the SUV catch fire.

The officers tried to get into the vehicle, but Klein said the doors were locked. After several attempts to break into the SUV, one officer eventually broke the rear passenger window.

At that point, Klein said the vehicle was engulfed in flames and smoke, forcing officers to retreat to a safe distance from the SUV.

Submitted on 02/04/2021

Submitted by: Morten, and also Bernhard Bresgen.
Reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driver-stuck-snow-burns-death-after-repeatedly-revving-suv-s-n1

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>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Wow, this is a bizarre one. From the picture in the article it looks like the fire only engulfed the front half of the car, and it doesn't look like the drivers side door was blocked, so the driver should have been able to get out. But he also should have been paying attention to the warning lights, etc. on his dashboard which would have told him the car was overheating. Given that I'm willing to vote for this. Thanks, Morten, and for the other mods: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driver-stuck-snow-burns-death-after-repeatedly-revving-suv-s-n1256701


Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
What Bruce said.