Auto Butler car wash, 1706 Homer Adams Parkway
Photos by John Badman | The Telegraph
Alton Fire Department Battalion Chief Brad Sweetman, left, talks with a Madison County Deputy Coroner before the coroner heads down into the ravine to pronounce the driver of a silver Jeep dead Sunday afternoon near the edge of the Home Depot parking lot.
Official: 42-year-old employee of Auto Butler dies in single-car incident Sunday
ALTON — Alton police say a 42-year-old employee of Auto Butler car wash in Alton has died in a single-car incident near Home Depot Sunday.
“As a customer’s car came out of the dryer tunnel, the employee got in, started spraying Windex on the windows, and hit the gas. The car went straight into the ditch north of the business,” said Alton Police Chief Jason “Jake” Simmons.
Simmons said, as of Sunday afternoon, it is believed that the man suffered a broken neck, and was crushed by the roof of the customer’s vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee. When firefighters attempted to extricate the victim from the Jeep, they discovered he was deceased.
Chief Bernie Sebold, of Alton Fire Department, said his department was notified by Alton police at 4:08 p.m. of a single-car motor incident, where the vehicle went into a ravine near Home Depot and Baron Commerce Parkway.
The silver vehicle reportedly was found upside down, with one single occupant.
Sebold said ARCH Air Medical Services Inc. was notified and on standby, but did not arrive on scene.
A Telegraph photographer on scene Sunday said a tow truck was being used to drag the vehicle up the steep ravine to level ground around 6:20 p.m., ahead of nightfall, where the man was still inside the vehicle.
Alton Fire Department responded to the scene for extrication and vehicle stabilization purposes. Godfrey Fire Protection District was notified for mutual aid support.
The victim’s name and cause of death will be released by the Madison County Coroner’s Office at a later time, as facts surrounding the incident are confirmed.
Alton car wash employee dies in 'tragic accident' after car accelerates into ditch
A Google maps image of the Auto Butler car wash at 1706 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton.
ALTON • An employee at an Alton car wash died Sunday in what police are calling a "tragic accident" after a car he was cleaning accelerated into a ditch.
Robert S. Dorsey, 42, of East Alton, was washing the windows of a Jeep Cherokee about 4 p.m. at the Auto Butler car wash, 1706 Homer Adams Parkway, authorities said.
While he was washing the interior of the car, police believe his foot stepped on the gas pedal, propelling the car forward and into the ditch, said Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons.
The vehicle rolled over and crushed Dorsey, Simmons said. A crew from the Alton Fire Department attempted to extricate him, but Dorsey was pronounced dead at the scene.
Simmons said Dorsey was a longtime employee of the car wash and a well-known face for customers.
"We wash the department's cars there every Sunday," Simmons said. "And everybody knows this guy, so it was just a tragic thing."
Simmons described Dorsey as a cheerful guy.
A personal Facebook account lists him as the assistant manager of the car wash and as a graduate of Alton Senior High School.
Video: Car-wash chain won't clean older Jeep Cherokee models over sudden acceleration fears
| MARCH 6, 2013
Update below: Sometimes it seems like every third Coloradan has an SUV -- and plenty of them are from the Jeep Cherokee family. But if your model of the latter was produced in 2010 or before and you want to give it a scrub, don't take it to one of six Waterway Carwashbranches in the metro area -- because the staff there won't lay a brush on it, no matter how much folding green is in your pocket.
Why not? Persistent problems with sudden acceleration, say company representatives. Get details and see photos and videos below.
The story comes to us from 9News, which received reports that owners of older model Jeep Cherokees [and Grand Cherokees -- see update below] were being turned away from local Waterways, including the popular affiliate in Cherry Creek. And sure enough, the company confirms that as of March 1, such vehicles are being pointed back to the street.
"Waterway has experienced an unacceptable number of dangerous and costly accidents involving pre-2011 Jeep Cherokees," reads a statement provided to 9News. "At Waterway, employee and customer safety is our chief concern. Therefore we have made the decision to stop washing these vehicles."
This is not a new issue. Way back in 2006, the International Carwash Association issued an advisory on Jeep Cherokee models based on sudden-acceleration reports. The document doesn't recommend banning such vehicles, but it does list five procedures to be employed when they're being cleaned for safety reasons:
1. Handle Jeep Cherokees and Jeep Grand Cherokees with extreme caution 2. Allow only specially trained car wash employees to handle these vehicles 3. Notify all car wash employees when one of these vehicles is on the property 4. Move the vehicle using both feet - left foot on the brake and right foot on the accelerator 5. Instruct employees and customers to never walk in front of one of these vehicles
Over the years that followed, reports about sudden acceleration involving Cherokees and Grand Cherokees continued to circulate. A YouTube video posted three years ago and shared below includes a reference to the International Carwash Association advisory and footage of a Jeep cruising through a car wash all by itself.
Here's the video. The car-wash sequence takes place around the thirty-second mark.
VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Online forums are also crowded with references to the alleged problem -- and this one features several from Colorado.
Continue for more about Jeep Cherokees and sudden acceleration.
Here's a post from a driver in La Junta....
i put my 2004 jeep grand cherokee laredo into drive and it suddenly accelerated as witness said like a rocket. i was unable to stop it, hitting fences, gas meter and resting in someones living room. major damage. lucky no one was killed. i just bought the car about 2 weeks ago. i was given a ticket but not arrested yet. still under investigation. car has been impounded, state police removed the black box and my insurance agent was refused access to the jeepjeep totaled, fence totaled, gas meter busted, house major damage. no injuries.
...and this one from a Denver driver is even more on-point when it comes to car washes:
I took my 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee to a carwash. As the employee turned the car on to bring it out of the wash and put it in drive, the car accelerated by itself and he dodged people, cars and cleaning materials for 10 seconds before the brakes would work again. We filed a police incident report and my car is at the dealership right now. I will not be driving it again as it is a danger and obviously a lemon.
At the time 9News published its item about sudden acceleration, representatives from Jeep's parent company, Chrysler Group LLC, had not yet responded to questions.
Meanwhile, a dirty Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee made more than three years old isn't Waterway's problem anymore.
Update: Just received a note from a reader who's spent more than two decades in the automobile industry. . She notes that "there is a distinction between the Jeep Cherokee and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. While built off the same platform, they are two distinct models. Production for the Cherokee stopped with model year 2001. Therefore, your comment Jeep Cherokees made on/before 2010 may be confusing to the general population and is incorrect."
She adds that "the Grand Cherokee is still in production," but the advisory includes "both models, not just the Cherokee."
One more thing: "While I will continue using Waterway for my primary vehicle, I'll still lovingly handwash and detail my beloved Cherokee myself."
EXCERPTS:
This is not a new issue. Way back in 2006, the International Carwash
Association issued an advisory on Jeep Cherokee models based on sudden-
acceleration reports. The document doesn't recommend banning such vehicles,
but it does list five procedures to be employed when they're being cleaned for
safety reasons:
1. Handle Jeep Cherokees and Jeep Grand Cherokees with extreme caution
2. Allow only specially trained car wash employees to handle these vehicles
3. Notify all car wash employees when one of these vehicles is on the property
4. Move the vehicle using both feet - left foot on the brake and right foot on
the accelerator
5. Instruct employees and customers to never walk in front of one of these
vehicles
©2017 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
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2007 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE OWNER COMMENTS
#1 Grand Cherokee V6
Automatic transmission 70,000 miles
Mar 28 2015
sudden acceleration car lunged & down embankment
Report date April 1, 2015
Margaret Stuart
2007 Grand Cherokee Jeep
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sudden acceleration car lunged & down embankment Report date April 1, 2015 Margaret Stuart 2007 Grand Cherokee Jeep
In January 2007, I purchased a new 2007 Grand Cherokee Jeep, Vin #1J8GR48K77C565297. On March 18, 2015, while in my garage, I put the Jeep in reverse. It suddenly accelerated/screeched on it's own. It flew out of my garage almost hitting trees in the yard. I was able to stop the Jeep by braking. I told husband about this incident. We decided we would take the Jeep in for a checkup soon to see why this had happened. I have always been a Jeep owner, owned many, and take good care of my vehicles, This Jeep, although a 2007, is in pristine condition and was always checked periodically.
On March 28, 2015, after driving from the CA mountains to AZ just turned 70,000 miles on trip. About 5 pm, I was at my son Ryan Stuart's home. I backed jeep into his driveway to release trailor and its goods I was transferring to him. Turned engine off stayed for about 10 minutes and then left. I turned ignition on and put into drive never touched gas pedal. The Jeep quickly accelerated/screeched forward, out the driveway, across the street, and toward the neighbor's home. I was shocked and totally caught off guard. I immediately steered the Jeep as quickly as I could away from the house and 2 cars in the driveway. The jeep keep accelerating down an embankment towards the next home. My Jeep flipped over doing a 360 degree and landed on the passenger side. I was up in the air as seat belt held me down. My son, Ryan Stuart, witnessed this whole incident and ran to my aid as did other neighbors. The seat belt on my chest was causing me trouble breathing. Ryan tried to alleviate my pain by pulling it away from chest.
I do not remember police, fire fighters, or an ambulance taking me to the hospital. When I woke up, my husband William Stuart and son Ryan Stuart were with me at hospital. Within one hour of my jeep turning 70,000 miles I was in the ER and my jeep upside down totalled.
The ER Dr. said I had a concussion. No neuro doctors were on duty that night at the hospital. I was advised I could be taken to a Las Vegas hospital by ambulance to see Neuro doctor or go home with my husband if he checked my eyes every hour. I elected to go home even though my whole body and head hurt. I had follow-up care with my own physician. My whole body still hurts, especially my head, neck, and back. Saw Neuro doctor 3 weeks after crash and said post concussion syndrome with PTSD. My problems were mainly with thinking, memory, speech. I decided to get proper care at Boulder Neurological Center in Boulder, CO where I use to live and work. As of this writing, I am also extremely upset thinking how close I came to being killed in this accident. I tried to get help from the legal community no one wanted to touch as I was told by Phoenix attorney firm "if I had been impaired for rest of my life his firm would have taken case." I have read other horrible incidents involving "SUDDEN ACCELERATION" in Grand Cherokee Jeep and people have died. I can tell you emphatically that there was no driver error. I reported this to NHTSA as well as Consumer Affairs so someone will do something before there is an entire family dead due to sudden acceleration. It is real and I have worked for Federal Courts for over 20 years and can tell you emphatically "NO driver error"!!
Margaret Stuart
Copyright © 2000—2017
"Autobeef", "What's Wrong With YOUR Car?" & "The Truth About Cars" are trademarks of Autobeef LLC, All rights reserved.
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Update from Aug 6, 2015
The airbags did not deploy even after going down embankment and flipping over doing 360 and landing on passenger side of jeep.
Update from Jan 23, 2017
Air Bags never deployed during the car crash on March 28, 2015. Jeep went down embankment and flipped over 360 degrees. Did not remember if entered this information in my complaint due to brain injury. Margaret Stuart
- Maggie S., Lake Havasu City, AZ, US
Copyright © 2000—2017
"Autobeef", "What's Wrong With YOUR Car?" & "The Truth About Cars" are trademarks of Autobeef LLC, All rights reserved.
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[The National Car Wash Association maintains
“a list” of vehicles noted prone to SUA events.]
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UPDATE: No charges in runaway SUV case
POSTED 6:46 PM, JULY 10, 2014
BY WAYNE COVIL
(with 2:20 min video segment) (Ford SUV)
--------------
(excerpts):
Witnesses told police that a car wash employee went to move the SUV
forward, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated.
The employee was able to miss two parked cars before trying to slam on
the brakes to no success.
After crossing Dupuy Avenue, the SUV hit the curb, knocking the driver
out of the seat and onto the ground.
Sheriff Todd Wilson said the SUV never slowed down and continued
almost the length of a football field before slamming into the large green
power box on the north side of the courthouse.
The employee was slightly injured and required medical attention at the
hospital.
Bob Schrum, the owner of Flagstop Car Wash, said his employees are
provided a list of cars, trucks and SUVs that have been proven prone to
unintentional acceleration. In fact, he said the instances have been well
documented by the National Car Wash Association.
Schrum said about a month ago that all 120 of his employees took part in a
safety seminar provided by his insurance company, which touched on
sudden unintentional acceleration.
