Driver In 'Thelma And Louise' Death Plunge

CutzEr · 14-07-2009 12:47pm #1

Yep, I have staged another movie esque news story

A man has plunged to his death after apparently driving his car over the edge of the Grand Canyon, officials in Arizona have said.

Local rangers received a call at around 6am on Monday reporting that a man in a blue saloon car had driven off the South Rim of the popular tourist attraction, near the El Tovar hotel.
When rescuers later descended into the canyon they discovered a car 600ft (183m) below and the man's body nearby.
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.
A statement on the Grand Canyon National Park website confirmed investigators "found tyre tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge".
They had also received reports of "a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge".
"Plans for retrieval of the body and the vehicle are being made at this time," the statement added.
Three people committed suicide by driving off the rim in 1993, the year Thelma and Louise 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 film's release, there had only been three reports of suicides by driving off the rim between 1967 and 1986.
Park officials said they had not yet determined whether the latest death was a suicide.
"We look at every scenario," said spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge. "Suicide has not been ruled out. That is one thing that will be considered."

source