Weird Car News

The Tiburon Town Council has voted to install six cameras that will record the license plate numbers of every car that enters or leaves the San Francisco town, a story by the SFGate.com reported.

Tiburon will become the first town in the Bay area and possibly the country, to install cameras along its borders, the story said. Although privacy advocates have voiced their concerns, city leaders say that the cameras will help keep Tiburon's already low crime rate down, the story said. After the license plate is recorded, it will be compared to a database of stolen or wanted cars. If there are matches, local officers will receive an immediate alert, the story said. Officers can also review license plates in connection with a crime for the 30 days that it will be available in the database.

A groom headed to the church for his wedding crashed the limited edition Lamborghini his bride rented as a wedding day treat for him.

David Gallucci, 33, lost control of the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 just an hour before the wedding, crashing it into a fence, flipping 360 in the air and landing in a ditch, a story by the Telegraph said. The $415,000 car was totaled, but Gallucci walked away with just bruising, the story said.

The Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, released in 2006, has a 630bhp V12 engine, which can reach speeds of up to 220mph and go from 0 to 60mph in four seconds.

Not long after Spokane, Wash. police received a call about a stolen SUV, the thief crashed it into the jail.

Dustin Leeds, 31, was arrested after the stolen Lincoln Navigator he was driving jumped the curb and slammed into the prisoner intake area of the Spokane County Jail, a story by MyFOXPhilly.com said. Leeds, who family members say has a history of mental illness, stopped when he slammed into the wall, the story said.

No one was hurt, but officials estimate $14,000 in damage.

An elderly man trying to reach the Australian capital of Pambula, drove for nine hours in the wrong direction before he stopped to ask for help.

Eric Steward, 80, left his home in the rural town of Yass, New South Wales, and took a wrong turn onto the Humes Highway, a story by the Telegraph reported. Steward, who suffers from slight dementia, drove for 370 miles before he pulled over to ask police for help, the story said.

When officers asked Steward why he didn't stop earlier, police told the Telegraph that he said it was because he liked to drive.

SALT LAKE CITY -- (AP) The case of one of four teens who were cited after rapping their order at a McDonald's in Utah appears headed for trial. Police in American Fork, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, cited the teens with disorderly conduct last month after the drive-through rap.

The teens have said they were imitating a rap from a popular YouTube video, which begins: "I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce." Spenser Dauwalder, 18, has said employees at the fast-food restaurant told him and his friends they were holding up the line and needed to order or leave. But Dauwalder said no one else was in line. He and his three 17-year-old friends left without buying anything.

A manager wrote down the car's license plate number and called authorities, police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow has said. Officers later cited the teens in a high school parking lot outside a volleyball match. Read more at AOL News

Freeda George Foreman, daughter of boxing great George Foreman, is accused of causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to a Houston business after she slammed her car into it.

Earlier this month, Foreman lost control of her Cadillac CTS and crashed into Two Guys Auto Restoration, damaging the garage and five cars that were housed inside, a story by KTRK-TV Houston reported. "She told the officer and the officer relayed to me that she was coming home and was eating cake and that she lost control of her car," owner Guy Stidham, told KTRK-TV. He says repair estimates have come in between $20k - $30k, the story said, but he hasn't heard from Foreman about paying for the damage.

"I would think that with the spotlight being on them as it is, they would be more responsible," he told KRTK-TV. Foreman was not hurt, and she received two tickets for the incident, the story said.

CARLE PLACE, N.Y. -- Police said a Long Island man upset about a speeding ticket tried to get even with a state trooper by making a prank phone call to his mother. Authorities said Lawrence Demaio, of Carle Place, called the woman about a month after the ticket was issued and told her her son had been badly hurt in a car accident.

Police didn't think it was funny. They used phone records to trace the call to Demaio's cell phone. The 54-year-old was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree aggravated harassment.

The phone at Demaio's home rang unanswered Saturday.

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- (AP) Want to know how far it is from the eastern end of Interstate 40 in North Carolina to the western end in California? You'll have to punch it into your GPS or try MapQuest.

The Star-News of Wilmington reports that a popular sign showing the distance between Wilmington, N.C., and Barstow (BARHS'-toh), Calif., has been stolen for at least the fourth time - and the last. North Carolina transportation engineer Joe Chance says with the repeated thefts, there won't be another sign that tells motorists it's 2,554 miles to Barstow. That's where the interstate ends.

The sign was a familiar sight to travelers heading west out of Wilmington and had been up for years. There are reports of similar problems with a sign on I-40 East in California that shows the distance to Wilmington.

Las Vegas commissioners have vowed to get a handle on the "stripper mobile," a truck that has been cruising up and down the strip while showcasing live strippers dancing on a pole in a see-through box.

Larry Beard, marketing manager for Déjà Vu Showgirls, says its the perfect advertising vehicle for them and the Little Darlings gentlemen’s clubs, a story by the Las Vegas Sun reported. But Vegas residents, strip shop owners and commissioners say it's distracting and could cause accidents, the story said. They also question whether using a public right of way for advertising is legal.

Despite the concern, Metro police told the Sun that the "stripper mobile" isn't illegal, as long as its not impeding traffic.

A Seattle man who says he never received a $52 parking ticket is now paying a $1012 fine.

Former Baltimore resident Josh Roberts moved back to his hometown of Seattle in March 2004, the same month Baltimore authorities say he received a $52 parking ticket, a story by the Baltimore Sun reported. Despite filing the correct change of address forms, Roberts says he wasn't informed of the ticket -- which grew to $948 including late fees -- until a law firm for the city contacted him earlier this year, the story said. To contest the fees, Roberts was told he would have to appear in court, which he said would cost him more in travel fees and legal representation than the cost of the ticket.

Roberts told the Sun he paid the fine, which had increased by $64 since he got the notice, and wrote a letter to Mayor Shelia Dixon about his experience.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A 36-year-old woman has been cited for careless driving after crashing into an aquarium at Tampa International Airport while her child sat unrestrained on her lap.

Airport officials say Yamile Campuzano-Martine lost control of her vehicle and drove into the saltwater tank Monday night. She told investigators that she was picking up a relative at the airport. Campuzano-Martine had two children in her vehicle, including a 6-year-old boy. Witnesses reportedly saw a child sitting on her lap at the time of the crash.

Campuzano-Martine declined an offer to transport the boy, who had a knot on his forehead, to a hospital. She was also cited for child restraint and failure to provide a driver's license. The aquarium drained during the crash. About 90 percent of the fish in the tank were killed.

SEOUL, South Korea -- (AP) A woman in South Korea who tried to pass the written exam for a driver's license with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded on her 950th time.

The aspiring driver spent more than 5 million won ($4,200) in application fees, but until now had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed to get behind the wheel for a driving test. Cha Sa-soon, 68, finally passed the written exam with a score of 60 on Wednesday, said Choi Young-chul, a police official at the drivers' license agency in Jeonju, 130 miles (210 kilometers) south of Seoul.

Police said Cha took the test hundreds of times, but had no specific total. Local media said she took the test 950 times. Now she must pass a driving test before getting her license, Choi said. Repeated calls to Cha seeking comment went unanswered. She told the Korea Times newspaper she needed the license for her vegetable-selling business.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- (AP) It's not unusual to see a deer or a cow crossing Oklahoma's rural highways. But an elephant? A couple driving home from church nearly slammed into a giant pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday.

"Didn't have time to hit the brakes. The elephant blended in with the road," driver Bill Carpenter said Thursday. "At the very last second I said 'elephant!'" Carpenter, 68, said he swerved his SUV at the last second and ended up sideswiping the 29-year-old female elephant on U.S. 81 in Enid, about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City.

"So help me Hanna, had I hit that elephant, not swerved, it would have knocked it off its legs, and it would have landed right on top of us," he said. "We'd have been history." The couple, who own a wheat farm, weren't injured. But the 8-foot, 4,500-pound elephant was being examined Thursday for a broken tusk and a leg wound. A local veterinarian said it appeared to have escaped major injury. Read more at AOL News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- (AP) Jim Stevens said he's not particularly religious and is clueless about why an image resembling Jesus Christ keeps appearing on his pickup. Stevens, of Jonesborough, said nearly every morning, an image that looks to him like the face of Jesus Christ has appeared in the condensation on the driver's side window of his Isuzu truck. A Johnson City Press photo of the truck showed a facial image.

Stevens said when he first saw the image, he figured it would evaporate and not return. But it kept reappearing for two weeks now.

Stevens said folks at the grocery store he goes to were amazed to see the image. He said he isn't going to wash the truck for a while.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- (AP) A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral.

Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a Sunday night car crash in Parana state in southern Brazil, police said. As is customary in Brazil, the funeral was held the following day, which happened to be the holiday of Finados, when Brazilians visit cemeteries to honor the dead.

What family members didn't know was that Goncalves had spent the night at a truck stop talking with friends over drinks of a sugarcane liquor known as cachaca, his niece Rosa Sampaio told the O Globo newspaper. He did not get word about his own funeral until it was happening Monday morning. Read more on AOL News

No one was seriously injured after a plane hit an SUV and made a crash landing in the street during rush hour traffic in North Las Vegas.

A pilot and passenger in a home-built Dragonfly aircraft had just taken off from North Las Vegas Airport when it grazed overhead lines and flew over six lanes of traffic before hitting Candace Porter's SUV, a story by Fox5Vegas.com reported. Then the plane crashed landed in the street, the story said.

The pilot was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the roof of Porter's SUV was damaged. "I'm just lucky," she told Fox5Vegas.com. "Just driving, and all of a sudden, a crash on the top of my car." There is no word on what caused the crash.

A man dressed as a breathalyzer for Halloween was arrested after Oxford, Ohio police suspected him of driving drunk.

James P. Miller, 20, was stopped by police who spotted him driving down the wrong side of the street without his headlights on a story by the Dayton Daily News reported. Miller told the officer he had nothing to drink that night, while he was reportedly stuffing his mouth with gum, the story said. Police reportedly also found an open beer in the middle console, a partial case of beer on the passenger side front seat and more beer in the trunk of the car.

Miller was taken to the police station where his breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- (AP) Tennessee police said a mechanic was drumming up business by tampering with parked cars, then charging to help start them. Police arrested 41-year-old Christopher Walls of Johnson City on Thursday night.

Investigators said Walls disabled cars parked at restaurants, waited for the owners to try to start them and then offered his services as a mechanic. Police said Walls charged between $40 and $200 to get the vehicles running again.

He's charged with two counts of theft under $500, but police suspect there are other victims. They're urging anyone else who thinks they were scammed to call them.

Walls was held at the Washington County Jail where a jailer said there was no record of him yet having an attorney.

Police cited four American Fork, Utah teenagers for being disorderly in public after they rapped their order in a McDonald's drive-thru, story by Fox13 Now said.

The teens said they didn't know they were breaking the law by rapping their order, but the drive-thru worker was not amused by their rap and called the police, the story said. "It's just a joke. Honestly they didn't need to take it this far. It's not a big deal." Gage Christensen, 17, told FOX 13 Now. But the manager at the McDonald's said the boys were cursing and disrupting business, and franchise owner Conny Kramer said in a statement that the employee felt her "safety was at risk."

"Who gives tickets to high school teenagers for rapping into a microphone at McDonalds? Who does this?" Sharon Dauwalder, mother of one of the teens, told FOX13 Now. "I just don't understand why or how this could have been blown out of proportion."

A recent study published by the journal Cerebral Cortex found that people with a certain gene variant performed more than 30 percent worse on a driving test than people without it, a story by CNN.com said.

Researcher Steven Cramer, a neurology professor at the University of California Irvine, conducted a study involving 29 people recruited to drive 15 laps on a simulated course with difficult curves and turns. Seven of the drivers had the gene variant, and they had a more difficult time navigating the twists and turns in the course, the story said. "These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away," Cramer said in a statement.

"I'd be curious to know the genetics of people who get into car crashes," Cramer told CNN.com. "I wonder if the accident rate is higher for drivers with the variant." The gene variant test is not commercially available, the story said.

A kitten trapped in a storm drain snarled traffic in both directions along the Palmetto Expressway in Miami yesterday, as crews worked to rescue it, a story by Wane.com reported.

A woman saw the kitten fall down in the storm drain, and called Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to help. They tried different approaches to lure the kitten out of the storm drain, including setting up units in lanes on both the north and southbound sides. A fire rescue spokesman said they take animal rescues seriously to prevent people from attempting dangerous rescues on their own.

Eventually, fire rescue put on diving equipment and went down 15 ft into one storm drain, then 30ft into another to get the kitten. The woman who spotted the kitten named him after the fire engine that showed up to rescue him, and took him home.

A St. Petersburg, Fla. cab driver with two passengers in his car was stopped by police and charged with driving under the influence, a story by the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Jose Mirelez, 28, was seen swerving and driving on the wrong side of the road when police stopped him, the story said. Police told the Times that Mirelez smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and failed a field sobriety test, but refused a breath test. Mirelez was arrested and charged with DUI and resisting arrest without violence.

Police aren't sure where Mirelez picked up his passengers or where he was taking them, but another cab driver finished the fare, the story said.

Roy Locock, 62, drove his MG Midget 39,000 miles around the world to win a bet he had with his next door neighbor, a story by the Telegraph said..

Locock's neighbor Alan Lines told him that a trip around the world in his 1977 car couldn't be done, so Locock set out on a 16-month journey to prove him wrong, the story said. He drove through 27 countries, a Taliban attack, floods and an earthquake to win the bet, according to the story.

Lines thought it was a "fantastic achievement," and he told the Telegraph "to be honest, I thought he'd get half way round the world and give up." But for Locock, its just the beginning. He plans to take another drive through Africa, but not in the MG, which he retired from the road when he returned home to Oxfordshire, UK.

Thousands packed the Sydney Harbour Bridge this weekend, but not in their cars. The famous landmark became a picnic ground as part of a city-wide food festival, a story by the Daily Mail reported.

The normally jam-packed bridge was closed to traffic while about 6,000 people gathered on freshly-laid grass in the middle of the highway to enjoy a picnic breakfast of croissants, sausages, bacon eggs and coffee, the story said. There were also several grazing cows nearby, brought in from a nearby agricultural college, the story said.

The event cost more than $652,000 to complete, which the New South Wales government said was worth it, the story said. Nathan Rees, the state's premier, told the Daily Mail that "Breakfast on the Bridge" would likely become an annual event.

... the auction of Al Capone's former Wisconsin hideout? The robber who stole a TV from a house while the police where there? Get It All: Weird Real Estate News

... the drunk pilot who couldn't find the runway? The "sexy" caddy service that's been banned from golf courses? Read All About It: Weird Travel News