© Courtesy of KBMT Handout photo of James Rogers and his dog 'Baby Girl' Leia. A 72-year-old man from Port Arthur, Texas, died inside his dream car when the lock system malfunctioned and he was trapped inside his 2007 Corvette with his dog, Leia.
James Rogers and his pet both died of heat exhaustion earlier this week, police said.
The accident is not uncommon for some Corvette models, owners say. A low battery or a low key fob battery can cause the locks to lock up. But there is a manual release on the driver's side that allows occupants to bypass the battery, according to owners' manuals.
Rogers apparently didn't know about that according to KBMT-TV. A battery cable had come loose, the station said.
He had just stopped in at a Waffle House, where he was a regular. As he got in his luxury car to leave, the doors and windows locked. He had accidentally left his phone inside the restaurant, so he was unable to call for help.
Another regular customer and employees tried to rescue Rogers but couldn't get the doors open. A firefighter eventually broke a window, but Rogers and his dog were already dead.
On an online Corvette forum, several posters detailed having been locked inside their cars.
"I called my wife and daughter to let me out with the extra set of keys. They laughed so hard and told everyone about it and they have made it a town joke about this," wrote a Corvette owner with the handle "syswayne."
