Note: I will do my best to state the facts as I know them and remember them.

In my town there was a car crash a few weeks ago that was so devastatingly horrible. A CHP officer(California Highway Patrol)and his family{wife, daughter, son-in-law}were travelling on a stretch of freeway that is not yet completed and the accelerator in the Lexus{rental from a Lexus dealership} apparently became stuck due to carpeting on the floorboard. In the officer's 911 call he stated, "There's only 1/2 mile of freeway left". He also stated they were travelling at 120 mph. At the end of the freeway they crashed and everyone in the car was burned beyond recognition.
{Note: At the end of 125 there is a curve and then the road becomes 52. The Lexus was on 125 and flew straight rather than continuing onto 52.There is a sign on 125 telling motorists that the freeway ends in 1/2 mile.}
I heard on the news that there was an investigation going on and also that there have been previous problems with the carpeting in certain Lexus cars. Then, to my knowledge, the story dropped off the face of the earth.
There is something so haunting and unnerving about all of this to me. First, let me say that I am heartsick about the loss of this family and the tragic way in which their lives ended.
Why did the CHP officer call 911 when the car is going 120 mph and the freeway is going to end? What help was he hoping for? Why wasn't he spending that time with one hand ripping at the accelerator pedal and the carpet? Why did he sound somewhat calm on the 911 call? Was this officer seconds away from being included in the unusually high suicide rate amongst CHP officers? If this carpet problem was so prevalent why haven't we heard of other Lexus cars crashing and burning?
I'd appreciate any input on this. I cannot get it off my mind.

I dunno why this happened. I took a defensive driving course when I was stationed in Germany, so that I could drive for a General. They taught us how to do a 180 turnabout at 40 mph, and many other things. One of them was that, like in this case, the gas pedal got stuck(tampered with). We were to slow down as well as we could, and to sacrifice the transmission or motor to save lives. That meant to slam it into either neutral or park at whatever speed we were going. The tranny would die at more than 20 mph or so or the motor would die when the rpms got too high, but you'd still be alive.

Do I think this CHiPper killed his family intentionally? NO. Why he didn't do what I mentioned above... The Lord only knows.

You are correct on the investigation of the floor board mats they can be a hazzard. How tragic. Thoughts and prayers to their families.

I heard the 911 tape on the news, and while I agree he did sound calm, I think that may have been because he was a cop and was trained to remain calm in a crisis. Also, some times when people call 911 they are so hysterical it can be difficult to understand them, perhaps that was part of the reason for his calmness, he wanted to be understood.

I don't blame him for calling 911. Sure, maybe there was nothing that could be done, but at least he was able to let someone know what happened; that 911 tape is what prompted the investigation into the floor mats. Also, as Sully said, maybe the 911 operator could have told him to put the car into neutral or park or something...any advice he was not thinking of in the heat of the terrifying moment.

Such an awful thing to happen.

You're so right, Tootsweet, about being trained to be calm and who is to decide how a person's demeanor should be during moments like those? I drive that small stretch of highway about 4 times a week and think of that tragedy every time.

I'm more curious as to why he was going 120 in the first place...either way though he should of hit the dirt or guardrail if there were either, pulled the e-brake, lowered gear, there really is quite a few things he could have done...but really, why was he going 120?

What a sad thing to happen. But! Something isn't right with this story.

First, the cop should've had the sense to turn the ignition off or take other actions if he was that calm. They are trained to be calm in panic situations.

Secondly, the story dissapeared so their must have been something else involved to hush it up. Maybe your thoughts on suicide perhaps.

And lastly, modern day cars have brakes large enough to stop an accelerating car. I've been on many roadrace courses and it would take me 3 laps to feel brake fade at speeds up to 130 mile per hour in a large import sedan very similar to a Lexus in size and weight.

My opinion, that car was more than capable of slowing to a stop.

It's still sad though.

All he had to do was turn the key off and step on the brake. He could then pull over and fix the carpet snag. This action would take far less time than calling 911. As mentioned, he could also have just put the car in neutral. A Lexus has a rev limiter on the electronic ignition which would have probably prevented any damage to the engine. A CHP officer should have know all of this and been able to react calmly to a minor problem.

What disturbs me is why did he not try other avenues of stopping the vehicle?

It has been several years ago but I was coming down through town a light was coming up and the road I was on was slopping downward. To the left of me on the corner was a building so I could not see what was coming that way. The light changed and my brakes had went out. I had to go across 2 lanes to and empty lane in order to make that turn hoping nothing was coming from the left I made the corner. The first thing on my mind was to stop the car. Even though I had no brakes the first thing that crossed my mind was to change gears it was and automatic. I proceed to change it out of drive into another gear which caused the car to stop within a few feet.

Something sounds funny with this story for even the first thing I thought of was to change gears anything that would slow the car down at the time. And here is a cop that has been through driving courses and it does not even cross his mind but instead he takes the time to call 911

Maybe I'm wrong but sure don't sound right to me......

'

Panic is a strange thing. I actually heard the 911 call on the radio stream I listen to from Los Angeles.

The officer did sound very calm, but it was clear that he wasn't thinking clearly. If he had been, his training as a CHP officer would have taken over and he would have simply put the car in neutral and stepped on the brakes.

Panic, in this situation, took over and caused him to forget the training.

If I recall correctly, the 911 operator tried to tell the driver what to do, but the driver kept talking over the instructions.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up on this story. I am glad to see these responses because I have felt like there is something amiss with it.

It sounds like this cop wanted out of his marriage and kids.

There actually was something on the news about carpet sliding up under the pedals and causing problems just a day or two ago.... I had it happen to me once but luckily I wasn't going fast and was able to stop the car...

He must of had a death wish.

My accelerator stuck to the floor before, i just turned the ignition off and coasted to the side of I94.

Bob Out

Something smells fishy about the whole story and the others cops know it so that is why it has been covered up. Ever notice how many cops are widowers? Sounds like this cops plans went a little awry and he died in his own scheme.

Yes. Also, if he was in such a state he might have been part of the whole deal to begin with.
Such an awful situation you would think it would still be in the top 10 on the news for awhile.

The cop probably knew that he had to get injured himself in order to make it look believable, and underestimated what he was doing and got killed himself .Stuff like this involving cops never stays on the news long.

I Googled Lexus accelerator pedal carpet and found this:
(Two retaining clips, that's it?)


Lexus RX330 Recalls
Recalls for the Lexus RX330
Listed below are the known recalls for the Lexus RX330.


By Year: 2005 | 2004 |

2005 Lexus RX330 Recall
Item Affected: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
Date Announced: 7/13/2006

Description of Recall:
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY AND HYBRID VEHICLES, THE TWO RETAINING CLIPS FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE FORWARD CENTER CONSOLE CAN BECOME LOOSE. IF BOTH CLIPS SEPARATE FROM THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CAUSING INTERFERENCE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ROD.

He could have switched off the ignition

i just went to listen to the 911 call on youtube...

i wish i hadn't