Vintage Corvette driver killed in bizarre cemetery crash
A recently-restored 1967 Chevrolet Corvette has been written-off, and its driver killed in a bizarre accident in a San Francisco-area cemetery.
The unidentified 52-year-old 'Vette driver sped into the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery early Sunday morning along with a newer Mercedes-Benz convertible, in what witnesses believe may have been an episode of road rage. The 'Vette driver lost control, crashing into a mausoleum and opening up two crypts as a group of mourners at an adjacent burial ceremony looked on, slack jawed.
The driver was pronounced dead at the Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, and authorities are looking to have a few words with the driver of the mystery Mercedes.
[Sources: San Francisco Chronicle via SFGate.com; PerformancePlusCorvettes.net]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mickster 9:31AM (6/05/2006)
I hope they charge the Mercedes driver with vehicular homicide!
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car-truck 9:49AM (6/05/2006)
Was this the same mystery Mercedes that Stefan Eriksson was escaping when he totaled his Enzo?
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required 10:32AM (6/05/2006)
seems like the Vette driver thought he could keep up with late model Benz. apparently he couldn't.
#1, it's not the Mercedes fault the owner of the corvette was not the brightest star in the sky. can't charge people for other people's stupidity.
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Karl 10:39AM (6/05/2006)
Wow, what's with cars and corpses over the last week? A taxi hit a hearse which threw the dearly departed onto the street where he was run over by another car.
It's stuff like this that keeps me reading the news.
My condolences to the crypt occupants and their families.
Totaled or not, I'd bet a paycheck there's someone out there who wants to buy the car and it's not Golden Palace.
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Gary 10:45AM (6/05/2006)
What?? The Vette in the pic isn't even a convertable. If you are not going to add pics of the actual wrecked car, at least find a file photo that is at least the same type, model, etc.
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bob 10:57AM (6/05/2006)
I wouldn't be caught dead in a 1967 corvette.
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MikeInNC 11:05AM (6/05/2006)
#2 From the article it says the mercedes was 'in tow' meaning behind the corvette. Maybe it was a good thing (for the merc owner) the mercedes couldn't keep up. Street versions of the early vettes weren't known for their handling anyway. Maybe the brakes were optional?
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gbh 11:31AM (6/05/2006)
As usual, the blurb has it half-right, if you read the article, the 'Vette was following the Benz.
If he restored that 'Vette to OE condition, it has just about no brakes, and handles horribly compared to even average modern iron. Not a vehicle to drive fast in anything other than a straight line - one with a *long* braking area.
Thankfully, only a participant killed. It is sad about the damage to the crypts.
You pay your money, and you take your chances.
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cowboy bob 12:28PM (6/05/2006)
Well, at least his relatives didn't have to go far for the funeral. As far as handling of old 'vetts, I had two of them, and 30-40 years DOES make a difference. If you were a "driver" back in the day, your paperboy is probably just as good today with modern iron. That's just the way it is. To bad about the car, as the people in the crypt were dead anyway, so they didn't care. As far as the Mercedes goes, hope he got his match money up front. Yippi-ki-yea!
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MSM 12:28PM (6/05/2006)
Here is how it reads from SFGate.com
Quoted as follows:
A speeding 1967 Corvette took a fateful turn Sunday morning in Hayward.
After the black convertible followed a second sports car into the spacious Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on Mission Boulevard, police said, the car skidded out of control and crashed into a mausoleum at 9:17 a.m., opening a pair of crypts as mourners at a nearby burial ceremony looked on in horror.
The Corvette's 52-year-old driver, who was not immediately identified, was taken by ambulance to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. His recently restored classic was totaled.
The caskets inside the crypts were not damaged, said Hayward police Lt. Gary Branson.
Witnesses told investigators that before the accident the Corvette driver had been communicating with a man driving a black Mercedes-Benz convertible, a newer model with a "Kompressor" turbo engine that had abruptly pulled in front of the Corvette on Mission Boulevard.
When that car's driver motioned that he was turning into the cemetery, which has several looping private roads, the Corvette followed. Branson said police have not had problems in the past with motorists speeding through the cemetery.
The witnesses said "the two cars appeared to be driving at excessive speeds or possibly involved in a road rage," Branson said.
After the Corvette failed to negotiate a turn and crashed, the second car kept going. The Mercedes driver didn't appear to have caused the accident but is being sought as a witness, Branson said.
E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.
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jenniferstewart 12:30PM (6/05/2006)
i think if he had no breakshaft what the hell was he doing driving it anyway thats why they call them old and vintage because you collect them not drive them idiots
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Carguy 12:42PM (6/05/2006)
"with a "Kompressor" turbo engine"
Kompressor makes it supercharged, not turbocharged.
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Dorkus Malorkus 1:05PM (6/05/2006)
I remember there was a black '67 Corvette small-block convertible for sale on Craigslist back in April (this is a relatively rare car). I wonder if this person was a recent C2 owner? As #8 said, midyears don't handle like new cars.
The dude in the Kompressor is probably feeling pretty guilty right about now.
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