Report: Car Headlights Suspect in Death of White House Adviser's Wife

Fox news ^ | Feb 9 2011 | Fox news

[crosslink]

Several sources familiar with the ongoing investigation tell WTOP fire and police investigators believe the radiator in Turton's 2008 BMW X5 was punctured when it rolled into a workbench. The halogen headlights, which emit a bluish light and illuminate the road better than conventional headlights, stayed on after the radiator was punctured.

[McGruff]

Hey, how many radiator antifreeze fires did NASCAR have last year?

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Crosslink, do you have ping list for this? If so, please put me on it (not trying to give anyone more FR work, but there is too much here to not keep updated as news dribbles out).

Thanks, PM.

[null and void]

crosslink ~ No cause of death? ...

C210N ~ Let me speculate: zero won't release the long form death certificate.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I thought it was funny the report said that 240 was far above 212 (the boiling point of water).

---

The whole point of the coolant (aka antifreeze) is to have a higher boiling point than water, so it can carry more heat from the engine without boiling, which would cause problems like boil-overs and ineffectual heat transfer.

[ExTexasRedhead]

The Regime will conclude that she needed energy-saving curly headlights instead.

[Girlene]

I have read in several places her body was burned. But in one picture I can see the head rests and what looks to be a blue tarp in front through the window. The headrests are beige. IOW, they look to be the original color.

I see that in post 186. Very, very strange.

[CJ Wolf]

more likely the window washer fluid would ignite then the antifreeze.

http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0608/GM-recalls-1.5-million-vehicles-over-fire-threat-from-windshield-washer-fluid-heat-system

[maica]

Not quite BMW territory.

&&&&

In DC that house is probably assessed for over a million dollars.

[angcat]

It is nice, HOW MUCH?

[BykrBayb]

Oh, the irony!

[crosslink]

I will try I do not have a ping list, here is the reporter’s twitter page, http://twitter.com/#!/NealAugenstein.

He is the only reporter in all of DC following this story. Post started with two White House reporters then kicked the story down the road on 1-11-11. How can this not be a story for the papers. If you can give a positive tweet to the reporter and follow him if you have an account I think he deserves it.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

A lap dog; I still cannot believe I went with a lap dog. But he is a sweetie!

[maica]

I was very close! Capitol Hill neighborhood is prime territory.
https://www.taxpayerservicecenter.com/RP_Detail.jsp?ssl=0920%20%20%20%200021

2010 Total Assessment
0800 A ST SE
DANIEL A TURTON
CAPITOL HILL
$1,003,880.00

[Sooth2222]

Crap. I can see it now. New regulations requiring vehicles be manufactured with a device that automatically shuts the headlights off in the event of a radiator leak.

And the hundreds of billions of dollars of unrelated spending to go with it.

One thing uniquely BMW is that it's possible to get locked inside some models -- some late-model BMW door locks have no mechanical override. (They ditched that along with the spare tire and the oil dipstick.) If the electrical system combusted, she may have had no way to get out. That is, if she was conscious at that point. However, we may never know for sure because this investigation seems about as screwed up as the Natalee Holloway investigation in Aruba, another third-world banana republic.

I've been puzzled that NHTSA never became interested in the BMW door locks because it seems to be an obvious safety flaw.

[hoosiermama]

If she was knocked unconscious she would still have smoke in lungs....and husband wasn't the target but is #1 suspect.

[Girlene]

From Politico, Officials probe death of former Hill staffer Ashley Turton
.... “The homeowner initially indicated that everyone in the house was accounted for. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the bulk of the fire during the firefighting operation, but they did find an adult occupant of the vehicle [in the garage] deceased.” .................

Huh? He didn't know his wife was leaving for the airport? Also, this is interesting:

....The leading theory is accidental, [that] the car crashed through the garage doors and…was found on fire in the garage area,” Piringer said, adding that the incident is under joint investigation by the fire and police departments. “There were some unusual circumstances – just the way the car was, low-speed, significant fire, things like that….For the most part, the fire was confined to the area of origin.”......

and.....Progress Energy on Monday announced a merger with Duke Energy that would create the country’s largest utility company, Hughes said. Turton would have played a key role on Capitol Hill discussing the merger,

“She certainly would have had a role in notifying legislative staff,” Hughes said. “She was a regular liaison with staff members.”

Wonder where she was flying that day with this merger to be announced.

[DBrow]

Dunno, but there was a coolant ban for land racers in 2008:

http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?topic=4771.0

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

But if no smoke was in her lungs we would know she was dead before she was burned. Either way, hubby still #1 suspect.
Wait....there are no suspects. Investigators declared no foul play while the embers were still glowing!

[the OlLine Rebel]

I agree with you about the intense blue lights, but they are not simply “halogen”. Halogens have also been around for years as standard, but the blues are a different item.

I used to work at a parts shop 20 years ago, selling old lights but mostly halogens, and shortly after that, these horrid blue lights were EVERYwhere. Now, they are not NEARLY as plentiful as then, thank God. In fact, it’s become so rare now that I NOTICE when those confounded things are coming at me - such as the other night. I think people have complained enough that car co’s stopped making them standard on their new cars.

[CJ Wolf]

So my theory is that the bmw heated windshield washer jets heated the window washer fluid which ignited. The window washer fluid was likly not standard BMW recommended washer fluid. :-)