Free Republic

German motorhome manufacturer Hymer introduced a concept named Galileo that argues autonomous technology will make motels obsolete in a distant future. The boxy, glass-walled design study drives itself so its occupants can enjoy the view without needing to keep an eye on the road ahead, and get a full night's sleep without stopping when they're ready to call it a day. From the outside, Hymer's Galileo looks a lot like the dozens of box-shaped concept shuttles we've seen at major auto and tech shows in recent years. It has the proportions of a toaster oven, sliding side doors, and wheels...

SAN BERNARDINO - As many as 50 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction accident early Wednesday in fog on the north 15 freeway in the Cajon Pass, with injuries reported and wreckage scattered for a half-mile, authorities said. The number and severity of injuries was not immediately known, California Highway Patrol Officer Jacki Parent said. The chain-reaction collision began when two tractor-trailer rigs crashed in northbound lanes, officers said. Motorist Phil Cokkinos told KTTV's "Good Day LA" program by phone that he saw three separate multi-vehicle accidents as he zigzagged along Interstate 15 near the summit of Cajon Pass. The...

Crash stuns families 12/22/2002 By SELWYN CRAWFORD and STAISHY BOSTICK SIEM / The Dallas Morning News The words of Cleburne High School principal Justin Marchel seemed haunting Saturday, just one day after he had uttered them to students. "The last thing I told them as they got out for Christmas break was to be careful because we wanted them all to come back next year," said Mr. Marchel, in his first year as principal of the 1,600-student school. Hours later, junior Steven Bivins, 17, was dead and six other teens were injured after a head-on collision at the top...

PROVIDENCE,RI(AP)-A car-leasing company has been ordered by a jury to pay a Pawtucket woman nearly $28 million for injuries suffered in a crash four years ago. The Superior Court jury last week found Chase Manhattan Automotive Finance Corp., of Florida, liable because the operator of the car that left Judith Oliveira a paraplegic was driving a leased vehicle. The award may be the largest personal-injury judgment in state history. Court records indicate Oliveira, formerly of Patterson Avenue, Pawtucket, was awarded $18,904,190 with interest of $9,074,011 for the injuries she suffered. ``We're fairly certain that this is the largest single award...