Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports that, during an appearance on American Family Association Radio, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) mocked Bryson’s accident, wondered if a seizure had indeed caused the crash, and suggested Bryson was unfit for his position in government. Launching an attack on President Obama’s cabinet — “These are not the kind of people that you want heading up the country; they’re not honorable, honest people” — he said:
You got Bryson out in California. It’s really unusual to have a seizure cause you to have one wreck and then cause you to put your car in gear and keep going until you have another wreck. That kind of seizure is really unusual, y’know?…
That’s who’s in charge of keeping businesses going — a guy that crashes his car from car to car.
Watch the video posted by Salon:
There’s an entirely plausible situation that could have led to the multiple crashes and obviates Gohmert’s theorizing about a conspiracy: Automatic transmission cars, by far more common today, stay in gear unless they are taken out of gear. When the brakes are not depressed, idling cars move forward at low speeds. Though all the details of Bryson’s crash are unknown, this likely scenario could have caused his car to keep moving and striking other vehicles.
During Gohmert’s remarks, one of the hosts of the right-wing Christian radio show can be seen and heard laughing.
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