Avoid leading the authorities on a high-velocity chase in a residential area. The consequences can be severe, risking harm or fatalities to bystanders if you elude the police—especially while impaired. A driver of a Jaguar XE in Baton Rouge, Louisiana experienced this firsthand when their car veered into a ditch, throwing them out and shockingly launching the engine through an adjacent apartment’s entrance.
Upon receiving a call from law enforcement, Engine 913 from the East Side Fire Department hurried to the site to find the remnants of the runaway Jaguar. The British sedan collided with multiple trees before halting in the ditch, leading to the driver—and the engine—being launched. Medical responders swiftly transported the perpetrator to the hospital in critical condition.
It remains unclear if the driver was intoxicated during the accident. There is no information regarding their speed, although the speed limits on most of Old Hammond Highway, the site of the incident, range from 25 to 45 mph.
Furthermore, the engine hit an individual inside the apartment at the time of the collision. The extent of their injuries was not disclosed, but the East Side Fire Department affirmed in its Facebook post that they did not sustain life-threatening harm.
This incident seems to be the unintended consequence of detachable engine mounts that typically drop the engine beneath the vehicle during a crash to prevent it from propelling through the windshield or firewall and endangering the occupants. In this instance, the crash’s angle and force propelled the power unit through the air, forming a 300-pound projectile.
One of the most striking photos depicts the air conditioning condenser of the Jaguar resting on the apartment’s welcome mat, peering at the engine positioned in the living room.
Similar incidents have occurred previously, notably when the engine and transmission of a speeding Subaru WRX were ejected upon impact, landing in a neighbor’s yard. Fortunately, no onlookers were harmed in that accident.
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