File this under odd news: a 61-year-old maid in Belgium was apparently crushed to death last Thursday when the retractable hardtop on her employer’s BMW closed on her neck. Ouch!
According to Dutch newspaper De Standaard, the car was sticking out of a garage at the time of the accident – which, investigators say, suggests that the woman moved it, left it on and mistakenly hit the convertible-top switch while cleaning inside.
Still, the details surrounding her death don’t add up.
For starters, it takes at least 20 seconds for most BMW-model retractable hardtops to open or close. While that’s not very long, it is plenty of time to steer clear of a top’s path.
But even if it isn’t, BMW tops are equipped with sensors that check for obstructions that could impede proper closing. These sensors should have sensed that the woman’s head was in the way and halted the top’s operation before closing on her neck.
Of course, the sensors could have been faulty and the woman could have been slow to react – an unfortunate set of circumstances if true. However, the conspiracy theorist in me smells something fishy…
Police have seized the car for further investigation. In the meantime, The Hog Ring would like to advise its readers to avoid getting their heads caught in the oncoming path of convertible tops.