14 yr old girl dies locked in BMW
09-14-13 | 03:01 PM
#16
Okay I just tried, on my '11 E93.
If you're sitting in the car and the person you're riding with leaves you in it, takes the keys, and locks it with the fob from the outside, no you cannot open the car doors by pulling the handle, and as the locks are recessed you can't pull them up either. What you have to do is hit the central door lock/unlock button, which is right in the middle of the center console near the emergency flasher button. Once you open the door the alarm goes off, but whatever. At least on my E93, it's a small button, one that would unfortunately be easy to miss. There's definitely a proper way out of the car though, without doing anything elaborate.
Tragic either way.
If you're sitting in the car and the person you're riding with leaves you in it, takes the keys, and locks it with the fob from the outside, no you cannot open the car doors by pulling the handle, and as the locks are recessed you can't pull them up either. What you have to do is hit the central door lock/unlock button, which is right in the middle of the center console near the emergency flasher button. Once you open the door the alarm goes off, but whatever. At least on my E93, it's a small button, one that would unfortunately be easy to miss. There's definitely a proper way out of the car though, without doing anything elaborate.
Tragic either way.
09-14-13 | 06:35 PM
#18
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2005
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all Toyota's have manual **** next to the interior door handle.... germans car have these recessed door locks that you cant pry out manually.
Last edited by spwolf; 09-14-13 at 07:45 PM.
09-14-13 | 06:43 PM
#19
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Southeastern PA
Most newer vehicles have a manual emergency release-lever inside the truck or cargo-area if a person is locked inside the trunk. If this particular BMW had one (and if the rear seats could fold) she could have simply dropped the rear seats, crawled into the cargo area if there was enough room under the shelf, grabbed the emergency-lever, and let herself out. Of course, that's several different IFs, each of which may or may not have been possible. Either way, it's a shame she passed away. RIP...and condolences to her family.
09-14-13 | 06:45 PM
#20
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Joined: Sep 2012
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From: SoFlo
Sad story. I'd guess its a late model E36. I have one and if I lock the doors from the outside there is NO WAY to open the car from the inside. I've always thought about how strange and potentially dangerous it was. Someone actually broke into my car two years ago but ran before they could get anything since they couldn't get the door open and didn't want to reach through the glass.
09-15-13 | 03:29 AM
#21
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: IL
Most newer vehicles have a manual emergency release-lever inside the truck or cargo-area if a person is locked inside the trunk. If this particular BMW had one (and if the rear seats could fold) she could have simply dropped the rear seats, crawled into the cargo area if there was enough room under the shelf, grabbed the emergency-lever, and let herself out. Of course, that's several different IFs, each of which may or may not have been possible. Either way, it's a shame she passed away. RIP...and condolences to her family.
09-15-13 | 05:14 PM
#24
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Originally Posted by UDel
too bad she didnt honk the car horn to try to find rescue
09-15-13 | 10:40 PM
#26
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: California
I'm not sure about the older generations but the horn doesn't work in the e92 that I'm currently in unless the car is turned on - I still don't get it.
09-15-13 | 10:51 PM
#27
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From: SoFlo
09-16-13 | 12:23 AM
#28
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From: TN
So sad, yet such a weird and suspicious way to die IMO . . . .
Kids going into school in the morning, if she was locked in I think she could've made a scene and caught somebody walking by the car who just parked and was going into class. Also WTF is a 14 year old girl doing without a cell phone in this day and age? Also odd that the brother would lock the car with her in it, he had to have known that it would set off the alarm if she opened the door, provided the locks/security system was working right.
And BMW, surely they wouldn't deliberately design a car to where you cannot unlock the doors from the inside if somebody pushes the remote button to lock it. I think those glow in the dark interior trunk release handles are required by federal law, so I'd imagine there is a similar regulation that would include inside the car. You wouldn't want a bunch of 4 or 5 year old kids playing around and locking their brother in the car on a hot day.
Anyways, it all sounds fishy without a medical autospy. I'm thinking she might have died from some other medical ailment, or a combination of this ailment along with the heat. Really suprising is she didn't find some sort of way to bust the window out on that car, but then again I'm not some 80 pound girl, and maybe there was nothing good and heavy to hit against the window.
Kids going into school in the morning, if she was locked in I think she could've made a scene and caught somebody walking by the car who just parked and was going into class. Also WTF is a 14 year old girl doing without a cell phone in this day and age? Also odd that the brother would lock the car with her in it, he had to have known that it would set off the alarm if she opened the door, provided the locks/security system was working right.
And BMW, surely they wouldn't deliberately design a car to where you cannot unlock the doors from the inside if somebody pushes the remote button to lock it. I think those glow in the dark interior trunk release handles are required by federal law, so I'd imagine there is a similar regulation that would include inside the car. You wouldn't want a bunch of 4 or 5 year old kids playing around and locking their brother in the car on a hot day.
Anyways, it all sounds fishy without a medical autospy. I'm thinking she might have died from some other medical ailment, or a combination of this ailment along with the heat. Really suprising is she didn't find some sort of way to bust the window out on that car, but then again I'm not some 80 pound girl, and maybe there was nothing good and heavy to hit against the window.
09-16-13 | 12:36 AM
#29
Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 21
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From: California
Rip
Very sad, and very strange. Though the buttons themselves are recessed when locked, BMWs have a mechanical unlocking mechanism that works even when there's no battery in the car. You pull the handle once, and the door unlocks, pull it again, and it opens. I can't comprehend how this simple mechanism, even if it failed on one door, would fail on all 4 of them simultaneously, because it's not a central system and no electronics are involved. I wonder if there's a chance that she never tried to get out? Like perhaps she passed out for some other reason, and died before coming out of it.
