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'Why isn't he stopping?' Mini driver describes being pushed sideways by dump truck

Yesterday, a video out of Toronto made the rounds on social media. It was scary to watch, as a dump truck pushed a Mini sideways a half-kilometer (third of a mile). But there were no details about why this accident happened or who was involved. Today, we know more:   This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Courtenay Erhardt, 26, is a nurse who was driving her Mini to a coronavirus vaccination site to administer shots to homeless people. She says she was waiting at a stoplight before heading up an onramp. “I was in front of him at that stoplight. We were both trying to get onto the Gardiner (Expressway)," she told the Toronto Star, which has a photo of Erhardt and a close-up look at the Mini stuck to the Kenworth's bumper. "He hit me from behind when we were merging." "[The dump truck] just sort of bumped my back rear-end and unfortunately I went sideways and the truck just continued to go up the ramp," Erhardt told CTV News Toronto. "I just remember holding my horn and my steering wheel and just screaming. Just like bawling and screaming. I honestly didn't know if my Mini was going to flip, or veer out into oncoming traffic on the Gardiner," she said. "I just remember thinking, 'Why isn't he stopping? Why is he still going?'" A couple in another car behind the truck saw smoke coming off the truck and knew something was wrong, Erhardt said. They pulled up alongside her, saw what was going on, then pulled ahead of the truck and forced it to stop. They called 911 and helped Erhardt escape her car. The truck driver, Erhardt said, emerged. “He said, ‘I didnÂ’t see youÂ’ and asked me not to call the cops. He asked if he could pay for the damages. He was young.” He has been charged with several offenses, Toronto police said.  Police Sgt. Murray Campbell released a statement to CTV saying, "Operators of large vehicles do not have the benefit of such lower/smaller vehicles, in their ability to see out of windows in all directions," implying the truck driver couldn't see the small car beneath his hood. Campbell advised motorists to make sure they can see truck drivers so the truck drivers can see them.  Which is good advice. That said, this truck driver surely felt that something was wrong — and heard the sounds that we can hear in the video. Erhardt, though terrified, was not injured. She credits the couple who helped her, along with the Mini Cooper.

Mini John Cooper Works Concept heading wide-eyed into production

We now know that Mini will offer a stupendous number of total models over the next few years, so it's fair to assume that most of the brand's concept cars have series production written all over them. So, a 'concept' like this new John Cooper Works Mini is more or less a mortal lock to hit showrooms in very similar trim.
That's probably a good thing for future JCW owners, as this Mini looks decidedly better than the standard car that debuted in Los Angeles late last year. Something about the bigger grille, lowered front fascia and pumped up wheel arches make the car more visually compelling than the weird-nosed 2014 Mini Hardtop. (At least to this author.)
By hey, don't take our word for it - with the official press release down below, and our box-fresh gallery of live images up above, you can make up your minds for yourselves. Tell us what you think in the Comments.

Mini Vision Next 100 concept invokes an alternate universe

Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the 1959 Mini, would probably find Mini's new Vision Next 100 concept amusing. The original Mini was largely an exercise in efficient packaging and clever engineering. That it was handsome, and became iconic, was more a product of its wild success than an intentional product of its exterior styling. While the Mini concept is undoubtedly cleverly packaged, it's almost purely a styling exercise, no matter what sort of futuristic connected/autonomous functionality Mini says it'll have. Mini doesn't seem able to move past the Mini as a caricature of itself. The heavy, floating roof, the vestigial round and friendly "headlamps", the oversized gauge pod. This seems very German, the inability to communicate essential brand attributes without using cliches. Mini is in a styling rut, trying to evolve the same basic styling language with each new generation, stretching it over larger hard points. The Vision Next 100 program would have been a great time to communicate to the public that Mini is more than just styling tropes: it's an attitude, a way of thinking, a connectedness to the driver. More than a badge or bug-eyed headlights. To its credit, the interior is massively decluttered. That's in part to the rear-engine layout, but more on that in a follow-up piece. The comparatively vast footwell and ultra-minimalist dash pair well with the giant windscreen. It feels light, airy, and authentic to the ideals of the originally Mini in terms of space efficiency, without being overly sentimental. Futurism is a thankless profession, and we can't take this concept literally as a vision of what the brand will be in 100 years. We can say this: it doesn't seem that Mini will be able to transcend the styling tropes that currently define Mini. Let's hope they find a way out of their rut. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mini Vision Next 100 Concept View 38 Photos Design/Style BMW MINI Coupe Hatchback Concept Cars Future Vehicles vision next 100