2014 Darwin Awards Honoring Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool--by removing themselves from it in the most spectacular way possible.

Man Customizes Car Ignition Sequence To His Peril 2014 Darwin Award Winner

Confirmed True by Darwin

Unfortunately Scott failed to remember that he had not set the handbrake. To make matters worse he had modified the purple VW to run with a fast idle to prevent stalling. As black wire touched red wire the engine turned over and started, and the car lurched forward and knocked him over. Due to the fast idle the vehicle continued on its merry way, inflicting 36 "separate injuries" on the unfortunate man as -- like the Duracell/Energizer bunny -- it kept going and going.

As demonstrated in a police investigation video shown to the court, the engine modifications allowed the car to move forward without stalling when it was in first, second or third gear! Coroner Anne Pember recorded a verdict of accidental death with this summary: "It is quite clear that the cause of this tragedy was the unusual starting method Mr. McKimmie used to start his car."

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Submitted by: Adam Richmond-Gordon

Reference: bbc.co.uk and www.northantstelegraph.co.uk