Dumbest Driver Of The Year Award!

Orlando Aero Club

[MindBender26]

An Arizona Wing Civil Air Patrol light aircraft, while on routine patrol over a desolate section of Arizona desert, came upon what appeared to be the crumpled wreckage of a small to medium size aircraft at the bottom of a cliff.

An Arizona Highway Patrol helicopter was summoned and the pilot verified the wreckage was there. The wreckage was more than a mile and a half from any possibly drivable area and was too badly crumbled to ascertain the type of aircraft involved.

A National Guard Chinook helicopter hooked the wreckage to a local airport where crime scene technicians discovered the wreckage was really a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, with a few bodies inside.

The question then became, how did the car get there.

Further investigation revealed that the driver had purchased an empty military surplus JATO (jet assisted take off) rocket from a local Army-Navy surplus store. He then filled it with some home-brewed solid rocket fuel. After attaching the rocket under the car and wiring an electric igniter to the passenger compartment, he accelerated the car to approximately 60 miles an hour on a straight stretch of road.

From observing the highly scorched and melted area on the asphalt road 4 miles from the crash site, police determined that, after ignition, the car accelerated to more than 190 miles an hour and remained on the road for more than two and a half miles. The tires then disintegrated and tire pieces were found alongside the road. The car then flew airborne for a mile and a half, reached a speed of more than 300 mph and finally impacting against the base of a cliff.

Why, oh why wasn’t Alec Baldwin in the car with him?

[MindBender26]

Wanna ride in ma Chebby?

[TomB]

A very, very old urban legend.

[pad 34]

Well, it was an Impala.

[Admin Moderator]

Urban legend.

[MindBender26]

But it's a GREAT urban legend!!!

[Mr. Bird]

I'm pretty sure this was related to the fact that Bill Gates was offering thousands of dollars to anyone who could beta test his new rocket car. You can look it up....

[PokeyJoe]

Ya now.... that gives me an idea. =)

*PokeyJoe get's out a yardstick to measure Hillary Clinton's butt*

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Actually, according to this story, it is not an urban legend.

This account of the story (in particular, the specifics of the Arizona Highway Patrol's involvement) is merely incorrect.

[VMI70]

for later

[Pete]

I read that piece when it appeared in Wired Magazine a while back and I was left with the impression that they were pulling their readers' legs.

[farmall]

it must be true.

daryl waltrip reported this on tv a while back.(something to do with k-mart i think)

[billbears]

Hey now, DW might've driven like he had a rocket on the back of his car sometimes, but at least he kept it between the ditches

[Twiceborn]

Here's a link to the original "legend"(circa 1995). First time I read this, I almost died laughing...
Darwin Awards

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

huh, that's possible.

[Redbob]

Visit www.snopes2.com before you post things like this on what is intended to be a news/current events discussion site.

[RangeRatt]

this has got to be the funniest thing I have read in a long time....

[reality bytes]

ten years old.

[sheik yerbouty]

There was once a company called Turbonics that showed similiar features. They used to have ads in Hot Rod Magazine.