Needless to say, this did not end well.
A man drove a blue car off the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon about 6 a.m. Monday and died, according to the Arizona Republic. This occurred behind Thunderbird Lodge near El Tovar Hotel.
Rescuers climbed 600 feet down into the canyon, where they found the wreckage of the car. The motorist’s body was found in that area shortly after. No other details were available as of Monday night.
The Grand Canyon isn’t on Route 66. But because it is a common side trip from the Route 66 towns of Williams and Flagstaff, the canyon is inextricably linked to the Mother Road.
Route 66 News usually doesn’t give much coverage to accidents, except for unusual ones such as this. I’ll post more updates as they become available.
UPDATE: One of the wire services, AFP, is all but pointing to suicide as the cause.
The incident appeared to be the latest in a series of suicides reminiscent of the 1991 film Thelma and Louise, which ends with the central characters played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon driving into the Grand Canyon.
Three people committed suicide by driving off the rim in 1993, the year the movie came out on home video, according to ‘Over The Edge: Death In Grand Canyon,’ a reference book about deaths in the national park.
Prior to the movie’s release, only three parties committed suicide by driving off the rim between 1967 and 1986.
The victim still hasn’t been identified to the media until authorities notify next of kin.
UPDATE 7/17/09: The Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff reports that the person who drove the car off the cliff was Gheorghe Chiriac of Apple Valley, Calif., a Romania native who immigrated to the U.S. about 30 years ago. The accident was ruled a suicide.
Infinity Entertainment Group (IEG) has issued a recall advisory to any consumer experiencing playback issues with the Route 66: Complete Season Three DVD collector’s set.
The recall – which does not affect any other Route 66 DVD collection in the marketplace – is due to a manufacturer’s defect that affects playability on some of the eight discs.
Consumers may return Route 66: Complete Season Three to the original point of purchase for a full refund. Currently, the only retail outlets offering the complete season three collection are Best Buy and Critic’s Choice (www.criticschoice.com). A corrected complete season three collection will be available through these retailers within a few weeks.
The catalog and UPC numbers of the affected merchandise are:
BEST BUY: Catalog #IEG2145 and UPC #617742214598.
CRITIC’S CHOICE: Catalog #IEG2149 and UPC #617742214994.
Commented Rick Buehler, VP, Sales & Acquisitions, IEG, “We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused to our customers and to consumers. The issue does not affect the majority of Route 66 DVD inventory in the marketplace, only a season three collection currently being offered exclusively at Best Buy and online through Critic’s Choice. We are correcting the issue as quickly as possible. Full refunds are available to anyone experiencing difficulties with this product.”