2008 BMW X5
Nice.
Posted on 02/09/2011 2:54:05 AM PST by crosslink
Edited on 02/09/2011 6:51:12 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
2008 BMW X5
Nice.
The xenon lamps produce an arc between the electrodes and operate at thousands of volts ... they could ignite something ,, that said the antifreeze doesn’t strike me as particularly flammable or likely to contact the arc of the lightbulb.
Yeah, I remember when that happened to me. The car rolled at .00002 mph and struck a fly on the wall. I was stricken and couldn’t get out. Then the antifreeze combined with grass fertilizer in the garage and the whole thing exploded. I burned to death. But I’ll tell you, I’ll never do that again!
Maybe she had a stroke and died in the car. How old was she?
“The autopsy into Jan. 10 death of Turton, a lobbyist for Progressive Energy...”
How ironic that something that’s supposed to be “progressive” with respect to energy is what may have done her in, yet that was the line of work in which she was employed?
Off topic but why are spouses of lobbyists allowed to be on any President's staff?
I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but blaming the high-intensity lamps sounds like a focus-group result.
99.9% of people just need a reason to ignore this story. The problem is not that there is no explanation for her death, but that there is no reason for her death. The “senseless tragedy” hook makes the story stick in the public’s mind.
But if those nasty bright blue headlights can be blamed, then people can just safely ignore the story. People hate those damn things, and dislike the drivers who have them, because they are obnoxious. Not to say that she deserved to die because she had blue headlights... But if choosing blue headlights contributed to her death, well there is a certain amount of justice to that.
It supplies just a little bit of “why”, you see.
Of course it makes no sense. It is completely irrational, not to mention sociopathic. But that is the way this story goes. If you got two focus groups together, and told one that the car’s headlights ignited antifreeze and burned the driver to death, and told the other that a BMW M3’s high-intensity blue headlights ignited antifreeze and burned the driver to death, most people in the first group will reject the explanation and most people in the second group will accept it. Not only will they accept it, they’ll feel good about accepting it.
Stupid, I know. But what can I say, people are stupid.
Especially since antifreeze in a car is a 50/50 mixture with water so the igniting excuse further takes on the air of BS. Secondly, if it did get between the bulb electrodes wouldn’t the fuse just blow first?
The front end was blown off two miles away due to static charge in the gas tank. The BMW continued to accelerate, eventually and coincidentally running into her garage. /s
Halogen headlights are the standard headlights on most cars sold today. The headlights that are "bluish" are the HID or xenon headlights, which I think are standard equipment on the current generation X5.
Anti-freeze is usually diluted 50/50 with water -- I can't believe it could possibly catch fire.
This is an incredibly badly written story, the most incompetent police investigation short of a banana republic, or time to break out the tinfoil hats. (Arkancide, anyone???)
You might get it to ignite at 280 degrees, but would the fire propagate in a 50/50 mix? Wouldn’t the evaporating water immediately cool the mixture down to the point that fire could not be sustained?
This is not passing the sniff test with me...
“Off topic but why are spouses of lobbyists allowed to be on any President’s staff?”
IMHO...its PRECISELY on topic...which is why this story sticks in the mind....
The strangest part of this whole story is the husband does not even tell the fireman his wife is burning up. When you watch the video the fireman are not concerned while fighting the fire and no one is seen yelling and screaming to get the woman out of the car. The neighbors called it in not the husband.
If the radiator is damaged hitting the work bench, did this happened when she came home after closing the 14 billion dollar deal the night before? Did she pass out in the car? If so why did the husband say she got up early to catch a flight. If he saw her get up how on earth could he stand and watch the fire without going crazy.
Footage of the fire in on another thread.
Fire? At only 28 degrees higher than water's boiling point? Engines should be exploding in flames all over the country during the summer. Not to mention what all of the leaky radiator hoses and fittings near exhaust manifolds would lead to.
If she was going out to catch a flight, how the heck do you damage the radiator while backing up?
A Liberal lobbying for Commie energy dies while driving her BMW X5...
Arkancide - Chicago style!
She must have bumped her head getting out of the car, knocked herself unconcious, and the headlights lit the antifreeze on fire. Happens all the time. /s
“Off topic but why are spouses of lobbyists allowed to be on any President’s staff?”
Because nepotism rules don’t apply to the most ethical administration in history doing everything it can to make the U.S. a better place for progressives...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.