News of the Weird
Bits and bytes of the bizarre and strange gathered from around the web so you don’t have to…Yer Welcome!
Geico ordered to pay $5.2M to woman who got HPV from car sex
A Kansas woman initiated a claim with Geico in February 2021 after learning that she’d contracted the sexually transmitted infection from a partner who knew but did not disclose his status. Since the incident in question happened in her partner’s car, she argued that his liability insurance was responsible for damages. A settlement was reportedly offered to Geico, whose lawyers declined. As anybody who’s had legal entanglements with an insurance company can probably guess, the case went to arbitration.
In what we’re certain was a surprise to Geico’s legal team, arbitration did not go their way. The woman’s partner was found liable and the arbitrator approved an award of $5.2 million in damages to be paid out by the insurer despite requests by Geico for a new hearing. The insurance company appealed to the courts on several grounds, claiming that the process denied it the ability to have its day in court. The company’s appeal was denied on all points. For anyone who’s ever emerged from arbitration feeling that the process leaves something to be desired, this time it’s an insurance company who feels that way.
Source: Geico ordered to pay $5.2M to woman who got HPV from car sex (autoblog.com)
Hyundai Creta Takes A Salty Drink At Goa’s Vagator Beach – The Height Of Dumb Driving
A Hyundai Creta found itself in the sea at Goa’s Vagator beach after a couple of tourists from Delhi decided to take it on joyride at the tourist spot. With the Monsoon in full swing, Goa’s beaches are a lot less crowded and it would seem a couple of tourists from Delhi decided to take advantage of the situation. The couple drove a Hyundai Creta rented from local vendors onto Vagator beach for a bit of ‘fun’ on the sands of the beach.
Various videos circulating about the incident show the Creta being driven on the flooded beach in circles as the tourists from the national capital ‘enjoyed’ their times at the Goan beach. Hyundai Set To Launch 2022 Tucson SUV On 13th July However, it would seem that the driver’s belief in his skills in the end got the better of the duo from Delhi as the unfortunate Creta found itself nose down in the sea at Vagator beach. Despite all the efforts of those in the SUV, and others around to extricate the Creta from the sea, the Hyundai SUV remained jammed in the sea. Cristiano Ronaldo’s $2 Million Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Crashes In Spain The Goa Police caught wind of the incident at Vagator beach and swooped in to catch the culprits. The unfortunate Creta was seized and the driver who was later identified by the cops as Lalit Kumar Dayal was arrested for his antics with the Creta.
Source: https://www.drivespark.com/off-beat/hyundai-creta-drowns-at-goa-beach-car-siezed-driver-arrested/articlecontent-pf157769-036218.html
47 cats living in hot car are rescued from Minnesota rest stop
Forty-seven cats were rescued from a vehicle that was parked in sweltering heat at a southeastern Minnesota rest area, authorities said Wednesday.
The cats discovered in early June were living in the car with their owner who recently became homeless and didn’t want to leave the animals behind, according to Animal Humane Society investigator Ashley Pudas.
“Unfortunately, with the heat yesterday he recognized that it was above and beyond what he was capable of at this time. And he let us help them out,” she said, noting that the owner had not left the cats alone.
The owner had been living with cats in the vehicle “for some time,” the Animal Humane Society said. Despite the heat and unsanitary conditions, most of the cats had only minor medical issues.
The rest stop was on Interstate 35 near Harris, about 50 miles north of Minneapolis. Temperatures in the area climbed over 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday.
The cats range in age from less than a year to more than 12 years old. They will eventually be sterilized and made available for adoption, authorities said.
The owner had previously given up 14 of the cats that had been living in the car. They were taken by a local rescue organization.
Source: 47 cats living in hot car are rescued from Minnesota rest stop (autoblog.com)
Truck Owner Tries To Unplug Charging Tesla With Owner Inside
A video was recently posted on Reddit revealing a pickup truck owner intentionally attempting to unplug a charging Tesla. The truck driver pulls right up behind the car, which is plugged in at a public charging station, gets out of the truck, and starts pulling on the charging cable. The video cuts out before he’s able to remove the cable.
It seems to be increasingly common to learn that people are unplugging others’ EVs while they’re charging. While it’s a rude and terrible idea, it may make sense that someone is in desperate need of a charge, and all spots are occupied, with some cars potentially finished charging, and their owners nowhere in sight. This is one reason some EV makers are now charging idle fees.
At any rate, with a lack of charging infrastructure, and some EV owners neglecting to move their cars after a charging session, we’ve seen plenty of videos of angry owners trying to unplug other cars. Interestingly, while we don’t have any scientific data, it seems a vast majority of the images and videos show people messing with a Tesla’s charging cable.
Some people may tell you that these folks are clearly out to get Tesla. However, one of the main reasons there are so many videos of this happening to Tesla’s vehicles is due to their built-in dashcam (TeslaCam) and camera-based Sentry Model security system, both of which come standard. For this reason, Tesla owners have access to such footage for sharing.
Thanks to the Tesla in-car videos, we’ve seen pickup truck drivers “coal rolling” Tesla’s vehicles, and also parking at Tesla Superchargers so that EV owners can’t use the spots to charge.
It’s videos like this that drive the narrative that gas car owners – and, more specifically, pickup truck owners – are automatically Tesla haters. However, that’s a narrative that’s simply untrue across the board, and it can’t be proven. These are isolated incidents that should never be used to target an entire group of people.
Source: Watch Truck Owner Try To Unplug Charging Tesla With Owner Inside (insideevs.com)
