>>Not something you see or hear about every day...

>>I park in this garage when I go downtown. The sixth floor is half of the roof, the seventh floor is the other half. It's got a funny numbering scheme.

>>

SUV Plunges 6 Stories Off Downtown Parking Garage

* Images

http://www.wpxi.com/news/23481613/detail.html

Posted: 10:23 pm EDT May 6, 2010Updated: 4:04 pm EDT May 7, 2010

PITTSBURGH -- Police said two people are in stable condition after being rescued from a car that plunged six floors from a downtown Pittsburgh parking garage.

The accident happened at about 9:40 p.m. Thursday at the Sixth and Penn garage along Liberty Avenue.

"We had a vehicle on the sixth floor of the parking garage, lost control around a bend on the top, struck a parked vehicle and then exited through a guide rail, crashing into the building," said Pittsburgh police Sgt. Daniel Connolly.

The vehicle plunged about 70 feet and landed upside down above a Dumpster in an alley along Charette Way.

Police said they'll look into mechanical failure, acceleration issues and intoxication as possible causes. Police said toxicology tests will be done at the hospitals.

One victim was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital. The other was taken to Allegheny General Hospital. Police did not release the names of the victims.

Merrill Stabile of Alco Parking Corp. said they are still trying to piece together what happened. He said they have secured the area to make it safe and had engineers looking at the area Friday.

I'm betting on intoxication.

How about just a stupid driver being at the top of the list?

Maybe they almost hit a deer...

I had reason tp park at the garage today and I saw the section of the barriers they went through. It's a portion where you park sideways to the opening and it's the only portion of the garage that doesn't have a concrete wall surmounted by a metal guard rail. It's completely off the path of where you drive. IT has a metal guard rail that's held by two 4" i-beam uprights. It's not very sturdy but generall you don't drive head on at it, you drive parallel to it.

I tried to get a picture but there were other cars around me trying to figure out what happened. The news paper was being kind when it said they landed in a dumpster. The car crushed a port-a-potty. Oh the indignity.

I know... it was a tree that jumped out at the driver.

My guess is it was caused by what they say causes most motor vehicle accidents. Error in driver judgement. There is a reason they call such things accidents.

Rusty Dai (imported) wrote: Mon May 10, 2010 9:58 pm I know... it was a tree that jumped out at the driver.

Usually when a tree does this, it also takes a BITE out of the fender, too.

A-1 (imported) wrote: Thu May 13, 2010 2:05 pm Usually when a tree does this, it also takes a BITE out of the fender, too.

A giant gaseous expulsion from the port-a-potty reached up from below and befogged the poor innocent driver thus causing the accident. The car itself felt so put upon by this gaseous expulsion that it fell onto the port-a-potty and destroyed it out of revenge.

Dave (imported) wrote: Thu May 13, 2010 2:33 pm A giant gaseous expulsion from the port-a-potty reached up from below and befogged the poor innocent driver thus causing the accident. The car itself felt so put upon by this gaseous expulsion that it fell onto the port-a-potty and destroyed it out of revenge.

Or, maybe the car mistook the cloud for a deer, got scared and jumped...