We hate to bring you this kind of news, but felt it would be an excellent time to remind Corvette owners how to exit the car should something like this ever happen.
72-year old James Rogers of Port Arthus, Texas stopped at a restaurant for a quick bite with his pet dog. As he headed out to the Corvette to check on his dog, the two became trapped inside the 2007 C6 Corvette as the battery had gone dead. The Corvette uses an electronic door handle, rendering it useless should power be zapped.
Unfortunately, Rogers was not aware of the emergency exit handle beside the seat. The emergency handle pops open the electric door should this type of situation occur. Police say Rogers and his dog died of heat exhaustion while furiously flipping through the owner’s manual. Rogers had also left his phone inside the restaurant to charge, rendering him helpless inside the 2007 Corvette.
If you own a Corvette utilizing the electric door, please, familiarize yourself with the emergency handle should this type of situation happen. It seems freakish, but unfortunately it occurred.
Our utmost condolences go out to the Rogers family for their loss, and we hope nothing like this ever occurs to another Corvette owner.
Comments
What a horrible and totally avoidable way to die.
One editing note: “Rogers was not unaware of the emergency exit handle…” is a double negative and it makes it seem as if he knew there is an emergency handle. That totally contradicts the premise of the article.
GrandAmGT,
That’s my slip up. Thanks for catching that! Fixed now.
Cheers,
Sean
And why did he leave the canine in a hot car?
You know it is a shame anyone dies needlessly but some people make it hard for themselves to live a full life.
I don’t even own a Vette and know how to pull the aux lever.
Even if the door was jammed kick the damn window out. It takes little to shatter one.
First thing I thought of while re-reading this to my dad who just walked by. He may have been up in years but there are alternatives. He didn’t have to die, but in a panic who knows what goes on in the mind.
Brake a window, remove the roof panel. I can’t not believe he died just sitting in the car even in extreme heat. Did no one see him? How long was he in the car? Did no one else come into or leave the restaurant. The manual latch is right next to the driver seat. I assume they will do a thorough investigation and an autopsy. The only logical thing to me is that perhaps the man panicked and had a heart attack and then the dog died of heat. It doesn’t say how hot it was but even if it 100 degrees outside it would still take a while to kill a grown man.
I had considered that he may have had a heart attack as generally most people would have figured out how to get out in some way, Note he died before he found the info in the owners manual so I suspect he panicked and this is where I had considered some medical condition too.
But the reality is people need to take the time to learn about their cars and what most things they are doing. This is not a tough crowd statement but the fact is to survive in life you need to take some responsibility and even then someone else who may not still make take you with them.
This case was a situation of where it could and should have been resolved in 5 seconds or less with a simple handle pull.
What a tough crowd!!!?? My heart goes out to this mans family may he rest in peace. Makes one wonder, when and how will i die. I am just happy im saved and hope this gentleman was too, amen.
He obviously did not leave a window down for his poor dog, sounds like Karma to me ! If he had left a window down a bit for his dog’s sake, he could have survived long enough to read the manual or at least yell for help, and if nothing else, he could have pushed the window out. Sad story, but killing the dog is the bigger tragedy.
Now we expect to see the man and the dog buried inside that same Corvette.
He didn’t think to blow the horn or flash the lights or pop the roof panel?
Anyone wonder why GM would design a door latch that requires special instructions to get out of if there is no power? I am not surprised this has not happened before. I own a C6 and had to pull out the manual to find out how to get out of my car with a dead battery. It’s a terrible design and will claim more lives.
Thank you for your comment. I noticed you posted on my birthday. My father is the one who lost his life due to this design. The horror of how he died takes over my mind all the time. There is not a day that goes by that the thought of his panic takes over me. After autopsy it sickens me that he was diagnosed as a healthy well nourished white male, but died from hyperthermia due to being locked in small space. It’s a death that we only imagine and not be a reality. But unfortunately it was a reality to my Daddy. RIP Daddy and Leia
PS Dog was in restaurant with my Dad, not left in car as reported. He would have never done that.
I love dog so much. I want to know some information about with them. Can you tell me any information? Thanks for sharing, I hope you will share. What is your name’s dog?