77-year-old man visited a car show for his birthday. His last act hours later was to save his wife from a falling tree
Doug Pendleton and his wife, Linda, were visiting a car show and the Studebaker National Museum, a car museum in South Bend, Indiana, when a tree suddenly fell on him, killing him instantly. The tree collapsed near a historic restaurant and toward the couple. Its unclear what caused the large tree to collapse into the road.
"Doug, obviously out of the corner of his eyes, saw the tree coming over and told me to run, (and) according to a witness, pushed me out of the way," his wife, Linda, told 13News.
While his quick thinking saved Linda's life, she was still injured in the tragic accident.
'I have a broken neck. I have a total of five cervical fractures. Some have been fused. I have a cracked sternum and a lot of bruises up and down my body, and I am a very fortunate person,' Linda said.
Though grateful she survived, she is now without her beloved husband, a car fanatic and wine lover. The pair owned a wine store called Grapevine Cottage in Zionsville, Indiana, about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
"One of the things we have always done is write wine reviews," Linda said.
Linda said her husband, known as 'The Wine Guy' around town, loved his job more than anything.
"His customers were fun. It was just a happy place to be," Linda said.
Linda says she and her family plan to keep Grapevine Cottage open to honor her husband's legacy.
In a statement, the couple's hometown wrote they were 'heartbroken' to learn of Doug Pendleton's death.
'Doug Pendleton was more than just the 'Wine Guy'. He ran one of Zionsville's most successful and prominent businesses for over 25 years,' said Mayor John Stehr. 'His Grapevine Cottage attracted visitors to Zionsville from far and wide, who were always met with a smile and great advice. Doug will be missed by so many friends and customers.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Tesla to roll out human-driven chauffeur service in Bay Area, California regulator says
July 25 (Reuters) - Tesla plans to offer a chauffeur-style service operated by human drivers to a limited number of people in the San Francisco Bay Area, a California regulator said on Friday, contrary to a media report that the EV maker would offer a robotaxi service. Unlike Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo unit, Tesla cannot operate its service using autonomous vehicles because the EV maker does not have the required permits and has not applied, according to a spokesperson for the California Public Utilities Commission. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. This week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call that the company was "getting the regulatory permission to launch" robotaxis in several markets, including the San Francisco Bay Area. Business Insider reported on Friday that the service would be a robotaxi operation with humans in the driver's seat who would be able to control the car. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla's self-driving efforts, said on Tesla's Wednesday earnings call that the company would launch a robotaxi service in the Bay Area "with the person in the driver's seat, just to expedite, while we wait for regulatory approval." Last month, Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, using about a dozen Model Y SUVs. Tesla invited a few passengers to use the service, where human safety monitors sat in the front passenger seat. Tesla's autonomous-driving software controlled the vehicle. With the Bay Area service, Tesla "is not allowed to test or transport the public" in an autonomous vehicle, even one with a human safety driver, according to the CPUC spokesperson, who added Tesla can only transport people using a human driver in a "non-autonomous vehicle." The spokesperson said Tesla told the CPUC on Thursday that it plans to offer rides to "friends and family of employees" and "select members of the public" under a permit the company has that allows a human driver to transport passengers in a "traditional vehicle" for "charter services." For the Bay Area service, Tesla may be able to use its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature, which can perform many driving tasks but requires a human driver to pay attention and be ready to take over at all times. The CPUC spokesperson did not respond to a question on whether Tesla could use that feature, but such technology does not require an autonomous vehicle permit in California because the human driver is expected to be in control at all times. Companies need a series of permits from both the CPUC and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in order to test and deploy autonomous vehicles in the state. To date, Tesla only has a DMV permit to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver. A DMV spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. The next step in the process for Tesla would be to apply for a CPUC license for an autonomous vehicle to pick up passengers with a safety driver, according to a review of California's autonomous driving regulations. But companies must first operate in a pilot phase, where they cannot charge customers. Waymo, which offers autonomous ride-hailing in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, logged more than 13 million testing miles and secured seven different regulatory approvals in California over nine years before receiving the go-ahead to charge passengers for rides in driverless robotaxis in 2023.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Tesla gets multiple shareholder proposals related to investment in xAI
July 25 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab said on Friday it has received a number of shareholder proposals regarding the automaker investing in CEO Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI. Musk earlier in July ruled out a merger between Tesla and xAI but said he plans to hold a shareholder vote on investment in the startup by the automaker. Tesla, which will hold its annual shareholder meeting on November 6, said it will only include one proposal on each topic in its proxy statement, in accordance with SEC rules. Earlier this month, the board set July 31 as the deadline for the submission of shareholder proposals to be included in the proxy statement.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Tesla plans to expand chartered transport service, California regulator says
SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab has told California it would expand operations of a chartered transportation service in the Bay Area, a state regulator said on Friday. The permit does not allow the company to run vehicles autonomously, the California Public Utilities Commission said. The update follows a report that Tesla was preparing to roll out robotaxis in the Bay Area with a safety driver as soon as this weekend. "Tesla is not allowed to test or transport the public (paid or unpaid) in an AV with or without a driver," the CPUC said in an email to Reuters.
