Sad story here - just read this on a local web site.

Always be safe when working on your car. Use jackstands, ramps, wheel blocks, etc. Here's what can happen if you take shortcuts. Very sad and unfortunate...........

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A car fell on top of a 27-year-old man and killed him at a Northside home around midday Friday, Jacksonville police said.

Police said the man was changing the oil in his car in the 13700 block of Fish Eagle Drive when one of two scissor jacks slipped and the car fell.

Police said the man's wife came home for lunch and found her husband dead in the garage, crushed by the car he was working on.

"Apparently, something malfunctioned with the jack," Lt. Reginald Lott said. "He was found underneath the vehicle. We don't know how long he had been there. He was pronounced dead at the scene."

 

Thanks for sharing. Excellent advice and a tragic story. Don't get complacent...

 

This is why you use jack stands.

 

Very tragic.
When my dad works on cars, he uses every step possible for safety.
On top of that, he places two tires; on top each other underneath the vehicle, talk about safety.

 

i do the same thing i use jack stands and throw the front tires and a set of full sairs as well incase of one of the stands fails just for extra get the f$%^ out the way time. plus having a jack rased but not suporting on the car for paronoia

 

Jack stands are a good idea. But this guy probably didn't chock the wheels or set the parking brake.The sissor probalby fell over laterally due car movement. Not all jack stands are created equal either. Check the capacity of the stand and the feet. For example you can't rely on a skinny footed stand on dirt/sand. The thing will settle in and the car settles in after it.

These cases don't always kill right away. When the car falls on your chest it prevents you from breathing. A bad thing.

 

Jack stands and the jack just in case for me too. Then a set of 12 X 12 solid wood blocks my father in law has for a backup Also Ive seen jack stands sink into asphalt so not a bad Idea to put something down first to spread the load out, like pressure treated plywood pads.

 

I would never, EVER trust a scissor jack by itself! I admit, I will trust my hydraulic floor jack for oil changes (I know, I know, that's what this guy was doing). I admit, I am in a bigger practice then I used to be of using jack stands.

But any time I have to do anything on the car where I remove a tire, the tire goes under the car (as someone mentioned earlier). It may not prevent injury if the car falls, but should save my life at the least.
I was paranoid as heck pulling a lower control arm off a Grand Am in a salvage yard 1-2 years ago (I grabbed some tires laying around and had a friend with me while I was under it just in case something went wrong).