Stuck Gas Pedal Causes Loss of Control

A man was killed when the car he was driving sped out of control and went airborne at a height of possibly 8′, then struck several other cars and oddly slammed into a body shop.

How could this happen? This looks like his gas pedal was stuck since he was obviously traveling at a very high speed at the time of the accident.  At age 55 on a Sat morning, it’s unlikely he intended to drive like a maniac.  Additionally, a witness was quoted in the article as saying, that he hit benches in the park and the car went flying off an elevated area in the park.  This indicates that he drove into the park to avoid other cars and try to slow or stop the car.  It could have been a heart attack or stroke but another witness said that the driver put his hands over his face prior to impact.

A gas pedal can easily get stuck when a floor mat goes on top of the gas pedal.  My fiancee put a winter mat on top of the carpeted floor mat in her Mercedes but that was the wrong way to do it.  The winter mat has holes to tie it down to the floor but you have to remove the carpeted mat first or it can’t be tied down.

To avoid a fatal accident, never use a floor mat that isn’t hooked to the floor so it can not move.