-- Makes sense to me. That garage door was likely opened from the outside and partially backed out before anything blew. Various photos of the garage/car/house/ etc.
bike wheels at the front of the garage as can be seen from this next photo.
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 ...
Questions which have not been answered:
Was the engine running or was the key in the ‘on’ position.
Was the van in park, reverse or drive.
The position of her body would be very important. Was she sitting upright? Was she turned to the door in a way that showed she was trying to get it open? Did she try to get to the passenger door?
It is hard to put myself in the horror of those minutes, but I would think that if I could not open the doors or the windows I would get as far away from the flames as I could—I would try to get in the very back.
If she was upright in a normal position does that mean she panicked or was already unconscious? Did she even have an opportunity to react?
Questions no one has the answer to outside of the investigators. I wonder if we will ever know.
This information is key. You bet the investigators know it. I think it most likely the car was in reverse, ignition on, but engine stalled due to not enough oxygen due to a flash explosion of some sort, which is why the vehicle stopped.
There could be an interior door and an electrical door closing system ~ JUST LIKE CALIFORNIA!
It is highly presumptuous that the people came down the stairs, opened the main door, and then walked in and got in the car. In fact, that outside stairs could just be an historic facade!
I'm sticking with my BLOWS UP FIRST, BACKS OUT SECOND scenario ~ and that's because the vehicle didn't go into the street ~ with local oxygen consumed, the engine died in a couple of strokes!
Great work by all of you today. The chance of this being a strange combination of bad chemical reactions is possible. This still does not explain how a man knowing his wife is going to the airport. Who most likely was awakened by her before she left due to the rather small old house.. Is unaware of a fire and is greeted by the fire trucks as he did not call 911 and then reports all people are accounted for in the house.
It is clear in the video the BMW is in the garage. I know no man that would not have given his life to pull his wife out of the flames. This is the part of this story that does not pass the smell test.
We actually talked through that. She said if the engine ran continuously as the coolant level became low with a leak in the radiator it was possible, but if the engine was stopped overnight - no way. A continuous heat source is needed to build up enough vapor. The vapor evidently breaks down rather quickly in air and is rather hard to ignite.
Guys when looking at the beam don’t assume the fire or the vehicle cause it to be in it’s current position. If you watch the video the fireman were on the roof with chain saws opening up to get water on the fire. They may have cut the beam.
Sure looks charred and burnt through to me on the right hand side in the second picture in 463...
Roger that. Look at Dan Turton’s facial expressions and body language at 57 seconds into the video at 432.
Antifreeze has a very distinctive smell. A prior car had a heater core pinhole so I know !!
Post #316, this thread:
Property type: Townhouse
Year built: 1908
Parking type: Garage - Attached, Off street
Does attached mean attached or attached with an inside entrance? I don’t know—just asking.
On Monday, January 10, 2011, at approximately, 4:45 am, the driver of a 2008 BMW X-5 crashed into the interior of a garage of a residence in the 800 block of A Street SE. After impact, a fire started and quickly engulfed the entire garage as well as the automobile.
The driver was pronounced dead by a representative from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia. The identity of the decedent is being withheld at this time, pending further identification.
The Major Crash Investigations Unit, along with the DC Fire Department’s Arson Investigations Unit are investigating the circumstances leading to the crash and fire.
I have a jug of Perstone II and a jug of Peak in my garage and I can't detect a smell in either. I think what happens is as the coolant circulates through hot rubber hoses, it picks up that very distinctive smell from the hot rubber and possibly other internal parts.
:(
This is an historic district where people like to make it look like the place was really old ~ 1840s or thereabouts.
They are all rich.
The door opening mechanism is a little more "expensive" but doable.
Property type: Townhouse
Year built: 1908
Parking type: Garage - Attached, Off street
Saw that. I think it is physically attached as you can see from the pictures, but seems to be on the wrong level to have a door leading into the house.
BTW, by “interior door” I mean an access to the rest of the house ~ not an interior garage door.
“So far, no one’s quite sure why lobbyist Ashely Turton’s car burst into flames on Jan. 10, killing her. Metropolitan Police Department officials tell us the death of the 37-year-old is still under investigation, and an Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruling on cause and manner of death is still pending. But Turton’s body suffered burns, so the fire that erupted along or inside her 2008 BMW X5 sport-utility vehicle was obviously a factor.”
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