Thread: Boy, 16, dies after being crushed by minivan seat in school parking lot despite 2 cal

Oh God, he was just trying to get his tennis equipment. How could they design something this way that this would even be possible. It must have a motor that kept going and going and he couldn't manually release it. Is it a bench seat and the top flipped down or a chair that flipped and turned or what? Haven't ever owned a minivan, only ridden in them a few times on community tours, the Chamber would have them to haul us all around their towns and show us everything. Poor Kid. Gawd. This could happen to anyone with one of those things. Who knew??!!

Originally Posted by Judy

How could they design something this way that this would even be possible.

Most cars are like that. Your seat in your car probably has reclining seat backs. Most just have a lever that latches it in position. Some high end cars have motors.

If you are leaning over the back of the seat and you hook the lever or it slips, the seat back comes down on you. In my old minivan, the rear seat would fold down to make a bed. When down, there was only maybe 6 inches between it and the rear of the van. If because you were leaning over it, it would be on top of you with your body squeezed in that 6 inch space. Unless your arms are in a position where you can push yourself and the seat back up, you are trapped by your own body weight. It doesn't have to be motorized.

Originally Posted by jtdc

Most cars are like that. Your seat in your car probably has reclining seat backs. Most just have a lever that latches it in position. Some high end cars have motors.

If you are leaning over the back of the seat and you hook the lever or it slips, the seat back comes down on you. In my old minivan, the rear seat would fold down to make a bed. When down, there was only maybe 6 inches between it and the rear of the van. If because you were leaning over it, it would be on top of you with your body squeezed in that 6 inch space. Unless your arms are in a position where you can push yourself and the seat back up, you are trapped by your own body weight. It doesn't have to be motorized.

Oh my God, what a horrible design. Saddest thing I've heard in a long time. Like being buried alive.

Originally Posted by Judy

Oh my God, what a horrible design.

Well buy a car with rigid seats.

Everything has a risk. Baby cribs that we have used since the beginning of time, then some baby wedges his neck between the rails and "what a horrible design." Let ban them all. Cars are inherently dangerous. If they run over you, they crush you to death. Let's ban them and stick to bicycles. Man shouldn't have invented fire because you can get burned. We should not have anything that could possibly be dangerous in any way. Let's walk and eat raw foods.

How's that for a rant?

deleted post - wrong thread

Well, you raise a good point that more people have now been killed by seats in a minivan than from smoking cannabis.

Originally Posted by Judy

Well, you raise a good point that more people have now been killed by seats in a minivan than from smoking cannabis.

Are you sure? Maybe the kid was on cannabis and was a little disoriented causing him to get stuck. Maybe the cops had been smoking pot when they got the call and were wandering in a daze near his car. Maybe the second operator was high on pot the reason she didn't forward the information. So pot may have been responsible for this kid dying!

No, the kid died because of the way the seat was designed. Could he have been saved if the 911 dispatcher had passed on all the information to the police? Yes, possibly. But a failed rescue didn't cause the accident. The boy didn't design a seat that could kill him while he was trying to get his tennis racket out of the car, whether he was high on pot or not. I've been around people when they're on pot, they aren't getting their tennis racket to go play tennis, they're laughing and giggling and chilling out and wanting snacks. It's really quite harmless, jtdc. They're never rash or loud or violent or aggressive. They're actually very cute and laid-back. They also like to listen to music. Nothing harmful at all from what I've observed and thus know to be true.

Now if for some reason these experiences have escaped you (I think not) or MW (probably), then what you need is to educate and hang out with some people while they're smoking pot and get some real life information about it. I understand the fear of the unknown, the best way to deal with it, is get to know what people are like when they're smoking pot. They're very sweet and nice, nothing to fear at all.

Originally Posted by Judy

No, the kid died because of the way the seat was designed. Could he have been saved if the 911 dispatcher had passed on all the information to the police? Yes, possibly. But a failed rescue didn't cause the accident.

But we know the seat didn't kill him. It was all that time, which is documented, that he was stuck there while authorities wandered around, unable to focus because of the pot.

Originally Posted by Judy

The boy didn't design a seat that could kill him while he was trying to get his tennis racket out of the car, whether he was high on pot or not.

But if he lived, he might have designed the next lethal invention.

Originally Posted by Judy

I've been around people when they're on pot, they aren't getting their tennis racket to go play tennis, they're laughing and giggling and chilling out and wanting snacks. It's really quite harmless, jtdc. They're never rash or loud or violent or aggressive. They're actually very cute and laid-back. They also like to listen to music. Nothing harmful at all from what I've observed and thus know to be true.

So being so docile, they would have never created anything like a car, that would kill anybody. Of course if they were a UAW member who built that car, maybe they left a bolt loose that cause that seat to come down on that boy leading to his death. But of course, you would deny that pot was the cause.

Originally Posted by Judy

Now if for some reason these experiences have escaped you (I think not) or MW (probably), then what you need is to educate and hang out with some people while they're smoking pot and get some real life information about it.

I've been around them. I was on a boat half way to Catalina, with three other who were drinking. The engine quit. One immediately went into a panic. Another just sat there laughing. The one helping me fix the engine, couldn't get screwdriver in the slot. Maybe they are fun to be around, but without sober ones, they are doomed to extinction. Maybe that's what you are actually rooting for.

Originally Posted by Judy

I understand the fear of the unknown, the best way to deal with it, is get to know what people are like when they're smoking pot. They're very sweet and nice, nothing to fear at all.

Unless you need to depend on them.

Your example on the boat is about drinkers, not pot smokers. What's up with that? Alcohol is legal. So were you the sober guy that couldn't get the engine started? Why did the engine quit to begin with? Why did you need a drunk to work with a screw-driver to get your engine started? You were probably out of gas and a screw-driver won't help you. That's the primary reason a boat motor "quits". Been there, done that.