90 yr old woman + new Challenger = Dukes of Hazzard gone wrong

[Doppelgänger]

Woman, 90, Killed When Sports Car Slams Into Pole
POSTED: 2:26 pm EDT October 13, 2008

UPDATED: 3:10 pm EDT October 13, 2008


POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A 90-year-old woman driving her new sports car was killed and her 47-year-old son seriously injured in a fiery crash in Pompano Beach Sunday morning.

Maria Brunetti, 90, was driving her 2009 Dodge Challenger southbound on South Andrews Ave. approaching McNab Road around 10 a.m., investigators said.

According to Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives, Brunetti accelerated the car instead of braking as she was attempting to turn east onto McNab Road. The car burst into flames after it struck a pole, trapping Brunetti and her son, Peter, inside.




Bystanders removed the two victims from the burning car before fire-rescue arrived.

Brunetti was pronounced dead at North Broward Medical Center. Her son was taken to the same hospital in serious condition.

Investigators said both victims were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

[thx712517]

We mourn the passing of the Little Old Lady from Pasadena today. What a way to go, damnit. No pansy-*** passing away in your sleep, this old chick drifted her bigass Challenger into the grave, boy-o.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

A 90 year old woman in a challenger..... did anyone seriously think anything else could happen? Mistaking the brake and gas pedal!

[Doppelgänger]

...the odometer only had 121 miles on it....

[MeFryRice]

What a shame...

[RotorNutFD3S]

Wow. That's all I can think to say...

[MeFryRice]

I can't believe the dealership sold her that car, assuming it's the SRT8 model.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Do you know how much profit they made off of it then?! Of course they sold it to her! They probably thought she was the cutest thing. They don't care otherwise.

[Doppelgänger]

I wonder if it'll change the insurance rates for other people getting them :lol:

"What?!! Why is the ins. so high?"
"Well, you see sir, little old ladies have been crashing them..and they're safe drivers."
"Oh"

[ben91]

I can't believe the dealership sold her that car, assuming it's the SRT8 model.
Why is it the dealership's responsibility to asses the purchaser's ability? The only thing the dealership needs to be cautious of is not selling a vehicle to someone who they know to be intoxicated.

[MeFryRice]

Um, for the careness of the buyer. They should know that a 90-yr old lady is not going to be able to handle that kind of power.

[ben91]

So... are you saying that the dealership is negligent, and thus it's their fault that this lady killed herself?

I'm guessing you're an Obama supporter.

[MeFryRice]

I'm not a Obama nor a McCain supporter, but let's not get on this subject.

If I was the sales person who sold her that car, I'd feel bad but that's just me.

[Doppelgänger]

I don't support the old crazy bastard who hates younger people and supports a pointless waste of money and death on other countries... and i don't see that the dealer has anything to do with it. She wanted a car, she bought the car, she made the decision. Who knows, maybe she wanted to do that as her last big hurrah. Hell, we've all heard that Jeremy Clarkson wants to go through the pearly gates backwards in a ball of fire...probably a TVR. Maybe she liked that idea? There are plenty of 90yr old people who you would never guess to be that old... like McCain.

Like, if I sold you a gun, and you shot and killed yourself, i'd just kinda be like 'you dumbass'. **** happens.

[MeFryRice]

oh I know, I'm not saying it is the dealerships fault, I, just as a person, would feel bad knowing that I sold her something that I felt she couldn't control.

[Doppelgänger]

well, i doubt the car really had much to do with it... hell, she could have donw it in a Towncar as far as we know... or a Suburban....

[RotorNutFD3S]

Exactly. How many videos are out there of an elderly person slamming through the front of a store when they meant to hit the brakes? A ton.

[FE3tMX5]

[rant mode]

If she can't tell the difference between the brake and throttle, then she probably shouldn't have a license. That's my biggest issue with how most states encourage this, by allowing renewals without any education/testing. So, in theory, I can renew my license every year without driving at all until the age of 100 if I have no infractions. Which of course I won't because I haven't been driving. That means that the age of 100 when I blind I can legally jump in the car and go for a drive.

Back in college, my future wife, was tboned by an elderly woman who made the same mistake. She went to slow down for the red light and instead floored it. The kid at the gas station testified that he heard the v6 Stanza downshift and accelerate rapidly towards the intersection, at which point the car tboned my wife (in a rental because her car was in the body shop for repairs from being side swiped by an old man that had a seizure - I **** you not). The impact sent her into the pizza joint, then bounced back across the sidewalk and slid along the row of parked cars. Ten years later she'd felt fully recovered from the back injury. Of course any money from the lawsuit was spent on unforseen therapy from the accident. And I won't mention how long it took to settle since the woman was insured by two insurance companies at the same time. They of course had to fight each other first.
[/rant mode]

Isn't frightening to think these people are out there driving with us? Just yesterday I watched an elderly woman lock 'em up behind me as she suddenly realized I was stopped. Actually she didn't lock them up because her camry had abs, but she hammered the brake so hard that she got the car overloaded on one front tire and started sliding in a rotation. Fortunately nobody was in the lane next to her. Yikes. :jawdrop: Funny thing was she ended up stopped about four car lengths behind, which probably means she wasn't in danger of hitting me.

[metalman]

I'd have to say that all people should take responsibility for their own actions.
Its not the dealer or salesman's fault that any customer is an idiot.
People should accept the consequences of their own actions without always looking for someone else to hold responsible. Frankly, I am sick of that mentality.

Be that as it may...it is true that many people are on the road that shouldnt be...but often that has little to do with age. I follow morons all the time that swerve all over the road, unable to maintain their lane, while driving far too slowly (which causes more accidents then speeding BTW) or talking on the cell phone etc etc The idiots should be ticketed severely and have to go to an intense driver school...BUT the police generally concentrate on speeding tickets and bull**** for revenue.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

It's terrifying at work seeing some of the people who still drive. The vast majority of drivers I deal with aren't fit to drive, not too mention how few older cars are road worthy. People with broken arms and legs driving v8's!

We need more testing, and we need MOT's to take the crap unsafe cars off the road. We also need cops to take down bad drivers rather than just speeders.

[Roadster]

If she wanted a sports car at that age, she should have bought a GT-R. It wouldn't have let itself drive off the road. :P

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

:lol:

[RotorNutFD3S]

ROFL
How true! But it would have snapped a transmission.

[Roadster]

Or the flux capacitor would have activated and taken her back to a time in which there was no pole to slam into.

[Doppelgänger]

Well, if she had a GTR, she pushed the VDC button thinking it was something else, the transmission broke and when the dealer told her the warranty was voided she drove it into a pole.