Actress dies in Head-on Collision

[Evilution]

This is only the second death I have heard of in a fortwo.
Not bad going really.

[evoluzione]

Originally Posted by Evilution

This is only the second death I have heard of in a fortwo.
Not bad going really.

unless you happen to be one of the two. but the real point is - how many other web forums devoted to specialty vehicles have statistics on how many people die a year in that vehicle? i've never seen one. i have a feeling that if we smart owners felt the fortwo was not safe enough for ourselves or our families, we wouldn't have bought one.


reagrds,

ken

[dennyrex]

at least one in the fictional realm: I for one was upset at the portrayal in the recent woody allen movie where he crashed a smart car (which was cast for comic relief in the first place) off-screen and his character died, as if it were a foregone conclusion that would happen; the script was playing to, and thus reinforcing the audience's (false or at least uninformed) expectation.
cheap shot I thought.

[citroen]

found out sometime later that she was driving a fourfour.

[race911]

Originally Posted by evoluzione

unless you happen to be one of the two. but the real point is - how many other web forums devoted to specialty vehicles have statistics on how many people die a year in that vehicle? i've never seen one. i have a feeling that if we smart owners felt the fortwo was not safe enough for ourselves or our families, we wouldn't have bought one.


reagrds,

ken

check out Elisetalk.com. While they may not have stats, there have been plenty of fatality reports, often poster/members of their community being the victims.

[Evilution]

Originally Posted by evoluzione

how many other web forums devoted to specialty vehicles have statistics on how many people die a year

We simply don't need to, journalists, media and newspapers are always hot on deaths in small "dangerous" cars like the smart. When the first guy died it was in every paper, everyone who knew a smart owner was pointing it out, people joined the forum just to post it and explain how dangerous the fortwo is

The fact is this, on both occasions a death has happened in a smart through an accident, the death would have happened in almost every other car on the road. Head on collisions don't tend to have a happy ending.

[Smartdavis]

I wonder how many trips are taken each day in a Smart without any accidents happening. That's the number that counts.

[jwight]

Mystery surrounds Isidingo star's death
February 18, 2008

Send your messages to Ashley Callie's family

By Karyn Maughan and Louise Flanagan

The driver who allegedly fatally collided with Isidingo star Ashley Callie has yet to explain the accident to the police - despite being released from hospital over a week ago.

Speaking to The Star, metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar further revealed that the driver and his four teenage passengers were not tested for alcohol or drugs after the red Renault they were travelling in allegedly smashed into Callie's Smart Car.

"We were trying to save people's lives... Everyone on the scene was injured and we had to concentrate on getting them proper treatment."

Minnaar said the February 8 horror smash had left the police no clues as to its cause.

"There was absolutely nothing there to tell us what had happened," he said.

Minnaar was unable to provide any time-frame for when the police would question the 21-year-old Renault driver, adding that culpable homicide investigations "usually take months and months to finalise".

"The police will interview the driver... but it should be left in the hands of the investigator as to when that happens," he said.

He said the Callie docket would be handed over to Linden police station for further investigation after the metro police's initial investigations were complete.

Callie is best known for her role as Lee Haines in Isidingo. She won an award for Best Actress in a Soapie for her role in the drama series at the inaugural South African Film and Television Awards in October 2006. Producers have yet to decide how to write her out of the series.

Callie - who suffered severe head injuries during the accident and remained in a coma for seven days - was surrounded by her father Graham, mother Claire and sister Lauren when she died in Johannesburg Hospital on Friday afternoon.

In the hours before the accident that would ultimately claim her life, 32-year-old Callie attended a function hosted by Pirelli at Summer Place in Sandhurst. Described as "radiant" by media reports, she posed for pictures and chatted with her Isidingo co-stars before leaving the event early.


Her plans for the weekend included a Saturday morning "Woolworths brunch" with her manager, Mairi Surtees Cameron, to discuss her plans to host a cookery show.

It is understood she was driving home to Northcliff when her car was in a head-on collision with a Renault at the traffic lights at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Tana Road in Linden about 10.30pm.

Wilting flowers now hang in the fence facing the intersection.

The Renault, reportedly containing two Korean sisters, a North American teenage girl and two young men, is believed to have driven south down the short, steep hill in 3rd Avenue into the intersection.

"The impact was almost in the centre of that intersection," said Netcare 911 spokesperson Mark Stokoe, who was at the scene that night.

The Renault landed on its roof in the north-bound lane, facing north, and Callie's Smart Car was upright in the north-bound lane, also facing north. Both were severely damaged.

"When we got there, most of the patients had been thrown out of the vehicles," said Stokoe.

Initially, paramedics believed that one of the Korean girls was more badly injured than Callie. She is understood to be receiving treatment at Milpark Hospital.

"She wasn't totally unconscious but had a decreased level of consciousness," said Stokoe.

One of three ambulance services at the scene, ER24, took Callie to Johannesburg Hospital - a state hospital - because she didn't have medical aid. "We had no idea that it was Ashley," said Stokoe.

Callie's sister Lauren on Sunday said her memorial service would be held at the Johannesburg Country Club on Thursday from 10am.

* This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on February 18, 2008

A little more info here but not much.

[Evilution]

South Africa has a big problem with immigrant crime, joy riding, drink driving and car jacking. They also have a problem with the police being useless.

[smartcenterSeattle]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...57C0A9659C8B63