Darwin Awards

[PHXPhlyer]

Nah!
P for Potential!

PP

[11Fan]

"A rooster that had been fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight has killed its owner in southern India."

If they find that rooster guilty of murder, he's gonna fry.

[Pontius Navigator]

In its defence it could be argued that it only winged him and it should be released as a chicken without arms is armless.

[llondel]

An E for Effort!

They discovered the alternative meaning of "fine for camping here".

[PHXPhlyer]

Maybe Multiple Awards To Be Given Out?
Posthumously. Of Course.
Many Other Nominees As Well!

At least 15 killed in crash with semitruck in Southern California
About 12 others were taken to hospitals. Their conditions are unknown.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/le ... a-n1259303

At least 15 killed in crash with semitruck in Southern California
About 12 others were taken to hospitals. Their conditions are unknown.
Multiple people were killed in a crash near the U.S.-Mexico Border in California's Imperial County Tuesday morning, according to El Centro California Highway Patrol.

March 2, 2021, 10:31 AM MST / Updated March 2, 2021, 10:43 AM MST
By Wilson Wong
At least 15 people were killed and about 12 others were taken to hospitals after a crash in Southern California on Tuesday, authorities said.

https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/ ... -1240w.jpg

The crash occurred in Imperial, California, just north of the Mexican border.

Judy Cruz, managing director of the emergency department at El Centro Regional Medical Center, said during a press conference that a vehicle with 27 passengers hit a semitruck full of gravel.

At least 14 people were pronounced dead on the scene and one other person died at the hospital. The conditions of those injured have not been released.

The Imperial County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

PP

[llondel]

That looks like an SUV, not a vehicle built to carry 27.

[Pontius Navigator]

That looks like an SUV, not a vehicle built to carry 27.

[Pontius Navigator]

That looks like an SUV, not a vehicle built to carry 27.

vehicle with 27 passengers hit a semitruck full of gravel.

It looks open to question. From the picture it would appear the 27 were in the semi as that seems embedded in the side of the SUV.

[11Fan]

The "SUV" in question is similar to this. https://www.hitechmotorsllc.com/invento ... Bauer-SUV/

This old of vehicle would typically seat 5 people, 2 front 3 rear.

This happened in Imperial County in South Eastern California, East of San Diego and South of the Salton Sea. It is for the most part an agricultural area so one speculates this was a vehicle transporting migrant farm workers to the fields for the day. As to the cause of the accident itself, that remains to be seen. That many in one vehicle is not surprising though, more so when you venture South of the border into Baja California.

[llondel]

I'm just impressed that you could fit 27 in a vehicle built for five. The wording of the article headline suggests they weren't in the semi. The semi is probably still driveable and unless they got buried in gravel due to the impact, I can't see how they'd be killed if they were in it.

[G-CPTN]

Maybe it was 'stretched' (before the collision).

27 is still an unbelievable number - the size of a 1940s Bedford OB Duple bus!

[llondel]

Our local news is carrying an updated report now, Ford Explorer SUV with "at least two dozen" people in it. Police say 25 people, the hospital officials say 28. Looks like an old one, given the 3 at the start of the licence plate.

[Pontius Navigator]

Just done a mental count of my old E Class. Driver, one on centre consol, two in pax seat. Two on their knees =5. 4 in back seat, same on their knees, maybe 2 on theirs =10. 6 in boot, maybe 2 more =8 total 23. Say all small male and female, say 7.5 St roughly 2,300lb load.

Sounds doable. Take any normal Brits or US and body mass would increase with boby numbers drastically reduced

[PHXPhlyer]

Man trying to steal catalytic converter crushed to death by car

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/

Man trying to steal catalytic converter crushed to death by car

ANAHEIM, Ca. - A man was crushed to death by a vehicle while allegedly trying to steal its catalytic converter, Anaheim Police said Wednesday.

Around 6:30 a.m. Anaheim Police responded to the 1600 block of N. Placentia Avenue and found a man dead under the vehicle.

Police believe he was attempting to steal the vehicle's catalytic converter when the car jack apparently failed and he was crushed by the car.

Get breaking news alerts in the FOX5NY News app. Download for FREE!

The Orange County Coroner's Office responded and removed the body from the scene and will attempt to identify the man.

Catalytic converters, which are attached to the exhaust system of a vehicle, can cost thousands of dollars to replace. They contain precious metals and can be "scrapped" for a quick profit.

Vehicle thefts spike in COVID-19 pandemic

Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recently arrested nearly 20 people in connection with catalytic converter thefts and recovered 250 catalytic converters -- a total value estimated at $750,000.

PP

[OFSO]

Stole my second cousin's catalytic converter last year. Didn't even jack up car. Another reason for buying a diesel.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Stole my second cousin's catalytic converter last year. Didn't even jack up car. Another reason for buying a diesel.

For the platinum?

[Pontius Navigator]

Stole my second cousin's catalytic converter last year. Didn't even jack up car. Another reason for buying a diesel.

Why? Didn't you like him?

[PHXPhlyer]

Darwin Twofer.
Expensive too.
Deadly California fireworks explosion caused $3.2 million in damage

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/de ... e-n1261658

Deadly California fireworks explosion caused $3.2 million in damage
About 80 homes were within the explosion’s radius and dozens were damaged.
Image:https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/ ... -1240w.jpg
Smoke rises in the background after a fireworks stash exploded in Ontario, Calif., on March 16, 2021.Watchara Phomicinda / The Orange County Register via AP
March 20, 2021, 7:14 AM MST / Source: Associated Press
By The Associated Press
ONTARIO, Calif. — A massive fireworks explosion that left two people dead in Southern California earlier this week caused at least $3.2 million worth of damage, officials said Friday.

Residents began returning to their homes Friday evening after evacuating when Tuesday’s blasts rained debris down over a wide area in the city of Ontario, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. About 80 homes were within the explosion’s radius and dozens were damaged.

Although authorities still have not officially confirmed the victims’ identities, cousins Alex Paez, 38, and Cesar Paez, 20, were reported missing after the explosion. Their family says they are the two people who were killed, according to a GoFundMe page.


WATCH: Videos show fireworks going off in black smoke after explosion at California home
MARCH 17, 202101:07
Fireworks are illegal in Ontario, as in many California cities, and investigators are using bar codes on the explosives to trace where they were purchased. Authorities, including the FBI, are investigating where the huge stash of fireworks came from. Officials said the fireworks do not appear to be commercial-grade products, as they initially thought.

Experts have burned nearly 200 bins — each holding about 27 gallons — full of fireworks to safely destroy them, Ontario spokesman Dan Bell said. Other fireworks were too dangerous to move and had to be burned at the scene.

Other controlled burns are expected to occur over the next few days, Ontario Fire Chief Ray Gayk said. Ammunition was also found among the debris.

Ontario police Chief Mike Lorenz said the investigation may eventually result in state or federal charges but authorities are still working to determine how the fireworks got to the city and what caused the explosion.

PP

[llondel]

I remember the big fireworks explosion in Enschede in the Netherlands back in 2000. I was spending the occasional week working nearby, and one of my colleagues was over there at the time. They had passed a safety audit the week before, despite the apparent presence of all sorts of illegal stuff on-site.

[PHXPhlyer]

2 dead after plane crashes during gender reveal stunt in Mexico
Somebody reproduced though.

https://www.abc15.com/news/national/2-d ... -in-mexico

2 dead after plane crashes during gender reveal stunt in Mexico

By: Meredith Deliso and Anne Laurent, ABC NewsPosted at 7:25 AM, Apr 02, 2021 and last updated 7:25 AM, Apr 02, 2021
Two people are dead after a plane involved in a gender reveal stunt in Mexico crashed into the water.

The incident occurred Monday afternoon in the Nichupté lagoon in Cancun, according to Quintana Roo Nautical Associates, a private nautical business association that said it assisted in the rescue mission.

A video of the gender reveal shows the plane flying over the beach and emitting a pink smoke, as people cheer and shout "Nina!" -- Spanish for "girl."

The camera then pans around and captures the small aircraft as it crashes into the water.

One person died during the crash, and a second person died after being rescued, the attorney general's office in Quintana Roo state confirmed to ABC News Thursday.

The deceased passengers have not been identified by authorities.

The incident is the latest fatal accident, and plane crash, connected with gender reveal parties.

In February, a 28-year-old New York man was killed when a device he was building for his baby's gender reveal party exploded, authorities said. In October 2019, a soon-to-be grandmother died in Iowa when a gender-reveal device exploded and sent shrapnel flying.

Also in 2019, an airplane crashed in Texas after the pilot dumped about 350 gallons of pink water, authorities said. Both passengers survived, one suffering only minor injuries.