This is just bad from all angles...

[750hp]

Nobody wins here.








azfamily.com
Posted on March 2, 2015 at 3:29 PM

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. – A 21-year-old San Tan Valley man was arrested following a rollover collision that killed his passenger Sunday night.

Deputies from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office and emergency personnel responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover in the area of Sun Dance Drive and Wardance Circle around 11 p.m. The caller reported the vehicle was on fire and a female passenger was trapped inside.

The 1965 Ford Roadster was fully engulfed in flames and quickly exploded, according to PCSO spokesman Jim Knupp.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and deputies saw that there was a female dead in the front passenger's seat. The victim is believed to be a 27-year-old from San Tan Valley, but detectives are waiting for the Medical Examiner's Office to confirm her identity before her name is released.

Knupp said the driver first identified himself as Joseph Thompson but later admitted his name was Joseph Wilson. He said he lied about his name because he thought he had a warrant for his arrest out of Texas. Wilson reportedly pulled out a "wad of cash" and attempted to hand it to the deputy and said, "It doesn't have to be like this."

A witness at the scene reported that the victim, Wilson and others had been drinking alcohol at San Tan Flat. Wilson said he was giving the female a ride home in his vehicle.

"Deputies asked Wilson about the crash and his reply was he didn't know what he was going to do because that car was his life," Knupp said in a news release.

Investigators determined Wilson was driving the vehicle at 60 to 70 mph on Sun Dance Road when he lost control. The vehicle drove into the desert area, knocked down a fence, rolled over and came to rest approximately 100 feet from the roadway.

Wilson was transported to a Scottsdale hospital where he was treated for injuries sustained during the crash. A blood sample was collected and will be tested for its alcohol concentration.

After Wilson was released from the hospital, he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail for manslaughter, bribery and false reporting to a law enforcement agency.

"While Joseph Wilson may have thought his car was the most important thing in his life, he will soon realize his decision to get behind the wheel of his vehicle while impaired by alcohol and causing a crash, which claimed the life of his passenger will be the worst decision he could have made," Sheriff Paul Babeu said in a news release.


PCSO: Driver attempts to bribe deputy at scene of fatal rollover in San Tan Valley | azfamily.com Phoenix

[jcraigau]

yowza...

[justcobra]

How could you survive this roll over/inferno?

Destroyed his passion through alcohol!

If you drink and drive you are a bloody idiot.

[Dimis]

That's just terrible....
Manslaughter charges just aren't severe enough for people who drive drunk or drugged!
Really is there anyone in the world who does NOT know it can't emd well?

[MaSnaka]

Roll bar looks like the only thing not bent or destroyed. The world may be a better place without this guy on the road but this becomes the sad reality when things go wrong. I'm sure neither one of them woke up in the morning thinking this is how their day would end.

John

[map]

[deano59]

Originally Posted by MaSnaka

Roll bar looks like the only thing not bent or destroyed. The world may be a better place without this guy on the road but this becomes the sad reality when things go wrong. I'm sure neither one of them woke up in the morning thinking this is how their day would end.

John

just sad all round but this reinforces my decision to have two roll bars fitted I fig my passengers deserve the same protection I have .

[stephen low]

Exactly what my wife said deano!!

[spookypt]

And do your chin straps up nice and firm...it'll save ya melon a little better!

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by deano59

just sad all round but this reinforces my decision to have two roll bars fitted I fig my passengers deserve the same protection I have .

Hate to burst your bubble, but, and I quote, "The caller reported the vehicle was on fire and a female passenger was trapped inside." Sounds like the lack of a rollbar wasn't an issue, unless you're assuming facts that aren't available. The fact that is available is the driver may have been drunk, which I think 99.99% of us wouldn't do prior to driving any vehicle.

Rollovers are extremely rare, but being drunk certainly increases the likelihood. Nearly all accidents are side, front or rear impact. So hopefully reinforcements have been made in those areas of your Cobra too, besides the rollbars.

If you're truly interested in the safety of your passenger, then I'd suggest you buy a 2015 Lexus or whatever. Even cars that are only 3 years old aren't nearly as safe as the 2014-2015's.

[deano59]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Hate to burst your bubble, but, and I quote, "The caller reported the vehicle was on fire and a female passenger was trapped inside." Sounds like the lack of a rollbar wasn't an issue, unless you're assuming facts that aren't available. The fact that is available is the driver may have been drunk, which I think 99.99% of us wouldn't do prior to driving any vehicle.

Rollovers are extremely rare, but being drunk certainly increases the likelihood. Nearly all accidents are side, front or rear impact. So hopefully reinforcements have been made in those areas of your Cobra too, besides the rollbars.

If you're truly interested in the safety of your passenger, then I'd suggest you buy a 2015 Lexus or whatever. Even cars that are only 3 years old aren't nearly as safe as the 2014-2015's.

who knows she might have a broken neck that a roll bar might have prevented .I would rather have one than not 30 yrs of racing speedway and been on my lid at least 7 times I can remember I would rather be in a car with a roll cage than one without . a lexus you say just a rebadged Toyota I think I will give that a miss thanks :-) ..but in all reality its just sad that someone has lost a life in the cars we love is a tragic no matter how you look at it

[Ron61]

I haven't seen anything about how the driver got out. If he was able to get out, why didn't he try to help his passenger? I really don't think all of the facts are known about this yet. It is a terrible thing and he was a fool to drive after drinking.

Ron

[Buzz]

If you choose to have a second roll bar for reasons of occupant safety, make sure that she or he always wears a crash helmet as well. I can recall at least two Cobra accidents in which the passenger was unscathed while the driver died from head trauma. Both were single roll bar cars and both spun out contacting an immovable object, which is by far the most likely accident one will experience in a Cobra. Unprotected skulls and roll bars do not mix well at all.

Having said that, I agree with all that has been said about the tragic loss of life, the stupidity of driving a Cobra drunk and the appalling callousness of the driver.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by map

Ah....New Years Eve in Pittsburgh!

[deano59]

Originally Posted by Buzz

If you choose to have a second roll bar for reasons of occupant safety, make sure that she or he always wears a crash helmet as well. I can recall at least two Cobra accidents in which the passenger was unscathed while the driver died from head trauma. Both were single roll bar cars and both spun out contacting an immovable object, which is by far the most likely accident one will experience in a Cobra. Unprotected skulls and roll bars do not mix well at all.

Having said that, I agree with all that has been said about the tragic loss of life, the stupidity of driving a Cobra drunk and the appalling callousness of the driver.

over here in aust we must use headrest that should in theory stop your head coming into contact with the roll bar . saying that a lot of people remove them after the car has been engineered and on the road .

[lovehamr]

Jus sayin
ffr crash

[Nedsel]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Ah....New Years Eve in Pittsburgh!

MAP, let's make sure everyone knows this was an accidental garage fire rather than a New Year's Eve drunken stupid party.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

MAP, let's make sure everyone knows this was an accidental garage fire rather than a New Year's Eve drunken stupid party.

Well there WAS a drunken orgy going on, but it was MILES from the garage!

And of course this Cobra is now rebuilt and has "never been wrecked" as it was a fire, not an accident that brought it to this lowly state. Sorta like CSX 33X6...................

[Tenrocca]

Originally Posted by deano59

over here in aust we must use headrest that should in theory stop your head coming into contact with the roll bar . saying that a lot of people remove them after the car has been engineered and on the road .

Ahhh, no they dont Deano!

[Treeve]

Originally Posted by deano59

saying that a lot of really stupid people remove them after the car has been engineered and on the road.

Edit for correctness.