Driving is a rite of passage. For many teenagers, getting a license means growing up. The plastic card comes with the freedom to go wherever they want, whenever they want. And for parents, losing children to easy-to-get-to places can be difficult. It reminds adults that their kids are ageing quickly before their eyes.
Passing a driving test can bring anxiety to any teenager who has rarely been behind the wheel. "What if I forget where the brakes are? What if I don't see a stop sign?" It can even panic more experienced individuals who have probably been in a car thousands of times before, like one woman in Poland.
At the time of the accident, the woman was testing out testing manoeuvres the 35-year-old examiner had taught her. She ran over the examiner, and he died at the scene from his injuries.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Municipal Police Command in Rybnik]]
In a video showing the car being loaded onto a truck to haul it away, viewers see the front bumper and plate hanging off the vehicle.
Ryzard Czepczor, deputy police commissioner, said while speaking to TVP Info:
"A 68-year-old woman, in circumstances which are unknown at the present time, hit the examiner, who unfortunately as a result of his injuries died at the scene."
When you're a teenager, you can't wait to get your driver's license. Finally, you no longer have to beg your parents for a ride, or pedal your bike around town like a little kid. You have the freedom to go wherever you want, while blasting your favorite music. And if you're dating someone, you have a private space to...you know...have heartfelt talks about your relationship. (What? What did you think I would say?)
Yes, getting a driver's license is a major event, so there's a lot of pressure on teenagers the day of the test. Every mistake they make will be noticed by the cruel, merciless instructors. If they screw up too many times, they'll fail, and have to take the humiliating walk of shame home without a license. Sure, they can reschedule for another day, but it's embarrassing. (Especially when friends text, "Hey, how did your driving test go?")
Well, no matter how bad your first driving test went, be glad you're not this teenager from Germany. In the town of Hemer, an 18-year-old boy passed his driving test, and picked up some pals to go for a celebratory cruise. 49 minutes later, a patrol officer pulled him over for speeding. His radar gun clocked the novice driver going 59mph, in a district where the speed limit was 31mph.
According to the BBC, the teenager will be banned from the road for at least four weeks. Police say he can only his driver's license back after "expensive retraining." Once he gets his license restored, he will face a "hefty fine" of $227, and his probationary period will be increased from two years to four. If he was trying to impress his friends by driving fast, that certainly backfired. "Some things last forever...some not even an hour," tweeted the Märkischer Kreis Police Department.
Well, speeding German teenager, if you'd like to score some petty revenge, maybe you should read the story of Daniel Parker. After taking about 80 lessons with his instructor, Clive, Daniel scheduled his driving test. However, four days before the test, Clyde canceled, saying, "We can't fix the problems and issues in a few days!" The 19-year-old Corby college student was furious, because booking the test was expensive, and he felt like he was ready.
So, Daniel scheduled the driving test with a different instructor and passed. Unwilling to let bygones be bygones, he sent a savage text message to his old instructor: a photo of himself flicking off the camera, while holding his driving certificate. The text read, "F--k you Clive and your reputation should’ve let me do the test ya bald c--t.”
Just imagine, speeding German teenager, you could send a similar text message to the patrol officer who pulled you over! Actually, now that I've typed that out, it sounds like a horrible idea. Don't do that. You'll just to take the punishment, and patiently wait for the day you can reacquire sweet freedom.
Judging by the experiences I've had during the short time I've been able to drive, I'd be willing to bet that a solid 20 percent of people on the road do not deserve their licenses. I've seen accidents caused by drivers on their phones, fits of road rage break out over a lack of turn signal or poor execution of a three-point-turn, and - as a pedestrian - I'd bet that I've narrowly avoided death by dangerous driving at least a few times in the last year alone.
Despite the obvious dangers posed by incompetent drivers, though, some people are so determined to get behind the wheel that they'll stop at nothing to get that pass certificate.
Christian Whiteley-Mason, a Care Home Manager from England, has probably put in more effort than most. Over the past quarter of a century, the 42-year-old has made 33 test attempts, got through 14 different instructors, and paid for a total of 85 lessons - and he's only just passed.
"I can't believe I've actually finally passed after all these years," he said. "I'm still in shock!"
Whitely-Mason took his first test way back in 1992 - during which time it was ostensibly easier to pass due to there being no theory section - but quickly entered into a pattern of rapid failure. At first, he blamed it on a particularly harsh test examiner, but, after dozens of lessons and no change in results, he started to realize that his "bad luck" on tests might have actually just been down to a lack of skill.
"I had 56 lessons with my first instructor and eventually he told me to just give up as I would never pass," the Care Home Manager explained.
Eventually, by 2003, he admitted (temporary) defeat and gave up on taking the test.
However, when life started to change for the hapless driver, he came to see that he didn't just want to pass - he needed to.
"I had to either get taxis or rely on other people and it was costing me a fortune. So in January that was it, I just decided I was going to go for it," he said. "Everyone laughed at me and said I'd never do it, I'd get bored again. But I was absolutely determined I was going to show everyone."
Even Whitely-Mason's husband, who has been married to him for 10 years (and presumably doubled up as his taxi driver during that time), said he wouldn't pass. "You're an accident waiting to happen," he joked.
But he proved them all wrong - and he couldn't be happier for it.
"I'm so proud of myself. It's changed my life, to be honest. I felt like I'd achieved everything I really wanted to achieve, this was the one thing left I had to do.
"My motto was always been don't stop believing."
In celebration of his victory and his newfound freedom to roam the roads, the 42-year-old splashed out on a car for himself. But, considering he'd already spent a good £10,000 ($14,250) on tests and lessons over the years, the purchase probably felt like a bargain.
A woman who was distracted by some eggs for sale ended up getting run over by her own car, a video shows.
The shocking clip, captured on September 23, shows the exact moment a woman, engrossed in what was on offer, is knocked over outside a home (belonging to a Chris Puxted) in Tenterden in Kent, England.
This is the moment a woman distracted by eggs is run over by her own car:
The hapless lady hovers over the stand, inspecting the eggs laid on it. Meanwhile, her silver car slowly rolls forwards, hitting her in the back of her legs, the force of which causes her to fall to the ground.
The vehicle can be seen gathering momentum moments before hitting the woman. Fortunately, the car soon comes to a stop when it reaches a dip in the ground. It is then that the woman gets back on her feet, looks around her, goes back around to the driver's side and gets in before driving off.
Per Caters, the incident occurred because the unidentified woman forgot to put the handbrake on. Fortunately, it seems there was no lasting damage as a result of the collision.
[[imagecaption|| Credit: Caters screenshot]]
Let this be a lesson to any drivers out there - don't forget the handbrake!
But while drivers definitely need to be aware that car accidents don't always occur when the driver is behind the wheel, many accidents do. In fact, according to Samuel Nahk, senior public affairs officer at Brake, the main cause of car accidents is distracted drivers:
"These figures clearly highlight that driver error is one of the main causes of crashes on our roads, all too often leading to death and serious injury. Yet every death and injury on our roads is a needless, preventable tragedy. We can mitigate the impact of driver error through a safe systems approach with safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and safer road use, enabling people to move around in safe and healthy ways. "Drivers can also reduce their chances of causing a crash by ensuring they stick well within the speed limit, take more time to look carefully at junctions, and giving the road their full attention at all times."
A teenage girl made a terrible mistake that ultimately claimed her life just days before she was due to graduate.
The 18-year-old sadly lost her life. Credit: Jeremy Hogan / Getty
Eighteen-year-old Averiee Osmundson from Davis, Oklahoma, died instantly on Saturday morning (May 10) after her SUV veered off Foothill Road and flipped “an unknown number of times,” according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The crash happened at around 7:36AM, just two miles from her home.
Police say Averiee was not wearing a seatbelt when the vehicle left the road, then overcorrected and rolled multiple times.
She was thrown 78 feet from the SUV and pronounced dead at the scene.
She had been on the cusp of a life-changing milestone — graduating from Davis High School this Thursday — and was set to attend Oklahoma State University on a full-ride scholarship to study medicine.
Her cousin, Kegan Muth, shared the painful reality of what the world lost. “Averiee wasn't just a teenager in a car. She was someone's daughter, someone's first love, someone's first baby, someone's first little sister,” she told KOKH.
“She was more than an 18-year-old graduating high school; she was a beautiful, young, talented girl.”
Averiee dreamed of becoming a pediatrician. “All she ever wanted was to help the ones who needed the help,” Muth said.
Her aunt, Cassie Muth, told KOTV she was in complete shock when she got the call.
“I didn't believe it. Couldn't believe she was truly gone. Honestly, I'm still in disbelief that she's been taken from us at such a young age with so much potential and a lot still ahead of her.”
The crash occurred just 0.4 miles west of US Highway 777 — on a route Averiee likely knew well.
“She was only two miles from her house,” Muth told Newson6.
Describing her niece as someone who lit up every room, Cassie said: “She could always just put a smile on everybody's face. She was very adventurous, very outgoing.”
She also shared a reminder that’s hit the family hard in the wake of the tragedy: “Don't take life for granted. You know, make sure you hug your loved ones before they walk out the door and they leave you because you never know if they're coming back home.”
This isn't the only recent tragic story of highschoolers losing their lives in a car crash.
Three victims, all just 18 years old and days away from graduating Concord-Carlisle High School — were traveling near Panama City on the night of April 21 when their SUV collided with a tractor-trailer attempting a U-turn on Highway 98.
The force of the impact was so severe it sent their vehicle across the median and into a wooded area.
Two students, Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman, were pronounced dead at the scene.
A third, Maisey O’Donnell, was rushed to Bay Medical Center but sadly did not survive. A fourth passenger, whose name has not been released, remains in critical condition.
Superintendent Laurie Hunter of the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District confirmed the devastating loss in a public statement.
Three high schools were tragically killed after a devastating car crash. Credit: Florida Highway Patrol
“We are very appreciative of the outpouring of love during what is absolutely heartbreaking,” Hunter said, as reported by The New York Post. “We also appreciate the wish to feel purposeful and not helpless.
"At this time, it is most appropriate that no action be taken to honor the students without the full consent of the families and appropriate support for so many young people facing unfathomable loss," she added.
McIntosh, who lived in Carlisle, was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. Authorities confirmed he was wearing a seatbelt.
Investigators are still determining whether the other students were restrained. The 19-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer and their passenger were not injured.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police are asking the public for help in a case surrounding the death of a retired police chief.
Authorities have already arrested a 17-year-old in connection with what is now being described as an intentional hit-and-run incident that led to the death of a 64-year-old retired police chief.
As reported by the New York Post, the fatal collision occurred on August 14 at approximately 6:00AM, near Tenaya Way and Centennial Parkway in Las Vegas.
The victim, Andreas Probst - a retired police chief from Bell, California - was riding in the bike lane when he was violently struck by a Hyundai Elantra. Following the crash, Probst was rushed to University Medical Center, where he was tragically declared dead.
In an official statement, the police have now indicated that the act was deliberate, shocking the community and the nation.
The department quickly apprehended the 17-year-old driver near the scene, who initially fled but was later arrested on suspicion of being involved in a hit-and-run.
The disturbing footage has been circulated on social media. Credit: X
The teen, whose identity is being withheld due to their age, has been charged with murder.
Authorities say their decision to charge the teenager with murder was made after watching a video posted to social media that captured the incident. The disturbing footage shows two individuals in the car muttering, "ready" and "yeah, hit his a**," just moments before ramming into Probst.
The retired chief's body shattered the car's windshield upon impact, and the footage shifts to show Probst lying motionless beside the road with his bicycle next to him.
The news came as a devastating blow to Probst's family, who learned of the incident in a most unsettling way.
Probst retired from the police in 2009. Credit: Facebook
Probst's daughter, Taylor, received an alert from her father's Apple Watch, notifying her that he had taken a fall. Taylor and her mother, Crystal, immediately drove to the crash site where they quickly surmised the situation was "not good" by assessing his scattered belongings.
The family's agonizing ordeal continued as they were directed towards the hospital, waiting for four agonizing hours before being informed that Andreas had passed away. Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, they described Andreas as being "like next to a ray of sunshine," always supportive, and filled with laughter.
TMZ has now reported that the LVMPD is urging anybody with information to come forward to assist with the investigation.
As police continue to investigate, and the charged teenager is currently held at a juvenile detention center. It is not known if the passenger, who recorded the incident, has also been arrested.
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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