E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe wife of former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana died Saturday after she was run over by her own car, Bloomington, Ind., police told NBC News.
Police said 82-year-old Nancy Hamilton arrived in the parking lot of a veterinary clinic with a pet Saturday around 4:15 p.m., but her car was not shifted into park. As Hamilton walked behind the vehicle to retrieve her pet from the passenger side of the car, the car rolled backward, striking and running her over.
Alex Wong / Getty Images file
Former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana testifies during a hearing in Washington, D.C., in 2006. His wife, Nancy, died Saturday.
Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualters said Hamilton was alone at the time, and he believes the incident to be entirely accidental.
Monroe County Coroner Nicole Meyer told NBC News Hamilton died from blunt force trauma to the head and suffered chest injuries. She was taken to the Indiana University Health Center in Bloomington where she died hours later.
"This is so tragic," Charlotte Zietlow, former Bloomington City Council president, told the Herald-Times. "They were going to have a life together."
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
Zietlow said she had just met with Lee and Nancy Hamilton at a party for Bloom Magazine last week. The former congressman and his wife were starting to settle into their new life in Indiana after decades of living in Columbus, Ind., and Washington, D.C., she said.
Zietlow said Nancy was an avid painter and used oils and watercolors to paint landscapes and portraits of her children.
“She was just wonderfully cheerful, a great wife for him, and also led her own life,” Zietlow said, adding that Nancy had a brilliant smile. “[Lee] was very, very stable, and it’s not easy to hold up a family when one person has to give up so much time to do a job. And it’s no ordinary job; it was serving the people of this country.”
Lee Hamilton, 81, represented southern Indiana in Congress for more than 30 years and was vice chairman of the 9/11 commission. He joined Indiana University in 1999 to create its Center on Congress. He remains the center's director.
Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com
Pat Williams, the former head of the Democratic Party in Monroe County, told the Herald-Times she met with the Hamiltons at the same party as Zietlow. She said she was delighted to hear they would be starting their retired life in Bloomington.
“Nancy always did it better,” Williams said. “She was truly a beautiful person, and we were all saddened that she had so little time with us in the Bloomington community.”
The Hamiltons had three children – Tracy, Deborah and Douglas – and five grandchildren.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Evangelist Billy Graham hospitalized with bronchitis
- Police: Mother kills 2 children, then shoots self
- Cops: Woman fatally stabs fiance hours before wedding
- Small plane crashes in West LA; 1 dead
- Few fraud cases to back up voter ID laws
- Video: Near-death plane crash caught on video
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Just another perfect example of why older americans need to be driver tested after 70 years old.They need to have a REAL hands on driver test.Here in florida these older ppl are always driving straight into the nearest publix making them a drive threw store.
through
HKA-1950410, this was not an age related accident. It is easy enough to mistakenly believe a car is fully in park when it may in fact not be. Some cars are more prone to this than others. This could happen to anyone at any age. Stop with the age discrimination comments.
Unfortunately, these 'types' of accidents happen to both the very young driver and the very old driver; most often, for the older driver, these 'types' of accidents result in more fatalities than with younger drivers.
Inexperience is the problem for the younger drivers, whereas a deterioration of motor skills, memory, reaction times, etc is the issue.
Older drivers should be tested frequently to make sure they are physically able to drive (and I'm not talking about physically being ABLE to drive).
1001 ways..
What a terrible accident! My condolences to the family. Very sad indeed!
it was hardly an accident. she was too old and not capable of operating a motor vehicle and fortunately only took herself out this time instead of someones kid.
The truth is old people get in a lot of accidents and this was no different, when you are 82 your mind isn't what it's like when you were 22. Every week I read about an elderly person plowing into a store because they confuse the brake with the accelerator. I'm not being mean...I'm being honest, when I can no longer drive I want a relative to take away my keys.
Shawn-1486781, one difference may be the reaction time. A younger person who is distracted by you name it - cell phone, crying baby, toddlers, children, pets, person walking along the sidewalk, etc - can just as easily have similar mistakes/accidents. Some may just react faster avioding the accident, while others find their car rolling down the hill, infant/toddler/kid locked in the car with them on the outside, keys locked in the car, confusing the accelerator for the brake while playing with the radio buttons, and so on. Accidents happen. Most are preventable, but we are only human and mistakes are bound to happen.
I agree liberalssuc but i don't believe that you are anything but a lib.
some pets hate going to the vet. i'm not accusing the pet of wrongdoing, just sayin'.....
i don't see how its possible,something stink in this story .if trans was engaged how she get out of car take pet ,if wasn't engaged there is not driving force to kill her
zidri,
Typical American automobile weighs between 1700 and 3500 pounds. Moving a just 1 foot/sec (less than 1 mph), it can exert about ONE TON of crushing force. On a 5% slope, it would require about a 100 lb force to stop it rolling at 1 fps. How many 82yo women can do that? And by the way, this is actually a quite common accident, resulting in either pinning injuries or roll-over injuries.
I am sorry for your loss Representative Hamilton and I hope for good things in your future although I know it will never be the same with out your soul mate.
My prayers are for the Hamilton family
I'm sure a Teabagger will be saying it's in the Constitution that she had a right to drive.
They quote the Constitution for everything else.
You sure have a fixation with teabaggers. One can only hope your hygienic standards are high.
yeah! friggin' constitution! what's it ever done for anyone? i'd wipe my butt with that old rag.
Yet here you are, frreely running your mouth with absolutely no restrictions on living in your mothers basement.
nibor - as ibjonnyc noted, your sarcasm detection skills need work. I was goofing on the clown who seems to hate people who like the constitution.
This really can happen to anyone, not just old people! My sister was in a hurry one day, stopped her car in the parking lot of her bank, took a phone call after stopping, being safe! Ran into the bank after the call and left her car turned off, but in neutral on a standard transmission and didn't put the break on. The phone call took her off her usual system of parking the car. Ran into the bank and the car rolled backward - very slight incline. Luckily, it didn't hit a person or another car. Very lucky!
The problem for older people like this woman is that if it does roll, they can't move quickly enough to get out of the way! Everyone has to be very careful. My sister is 40 years old, an excellent driver, and has never even had an accident! It can happen when we are busy and pre-occupied.
Good Lee Hamilton deserves this. He is a goddamn scumbag who played a critical role in the largest deception ever forced upon our country. Maybe there is a god afterall.
mattdub,
Go back into your hole and pull the dirt in around you. Neither the time, nor the subject to attack Representative Hamilton.
you should probably be hoping there's not.
No reason for anyone that age to be driving....too dangerous . By the time granny got out of the car and walked behind it,she had forgotten what she got of the car for in the first place.
Much better texting at higher speeds so others can enjoy it as well.
Funny how this car somehow waited to start rolling until she was behind it. At 82 years old, how mobile was she? Did she jump out quickly from the driver's side and sprint around the car to run over? More like it took her several seconds to get out of the car and go behind it. This sounds more like she was setup to be murdered. Poloticians have ways of making accidents happen.
I had a car wait until I had walked behind it, closed the garage door, and went into the house before it rolled back and pinned the door (it was really fun trying to get it off the door so I could open it). If the incline is slight it takes time for the vehicle to start moving on its own.
While her death was tragic it isn't as if she was 20. I Mean she did live to be 82. What I find strange is the comment from the city council guy saying "they were going to have a life together". Uh, at that age if they didn't have a life yet I'd think it was a little too late.
daotien,
Their life together was to be real periods of together alone time, without aides stopping by with papers or calling to remind the Congressman of appointments to keep. All politicians make choices of family time vs. public time. Now, Representative Hamilton could concentrate of family time. By the way, we are all politicians in some way, negotiating time between job or career, children, friends and partner. Too many retirees have the same dream, and too many find it cut short by accident or illness.
CNN is reporting her groceries (and incontinent supplies) were stored inside the engine compartment instead of the trunk...
See what illicit drugs do the mental skills.
You ought to be doing your routine at a comedy club, you are one funny clown!
What a terrible tragedy. Former Rep. Hamilton was a honorable server of the people no matter what the politics. He deserved a life of love and togetherness with his wonderful wife. Few of us realize how the spouse of a famous person has to give up so much to allow the other to soar. Bless Nancy and Bless Lee.
----No the dog is the one who shifted the lever----- I see the police captain stated in the investigating that she was alone---I wonder how long? Think how much harass and collect money Indiana lost why the police was without leadership, people probably did use the cell phone to call for help while sitting in a car--just possibly----
Nasty---correct--I am getting very tired of it
The poor lady had an accident for Gods sake--so what do we need police for---
This was a very common occurace with Post Office Jeeps even if you put them in park. They shook so much the gear lever would slip into reverse. You should always turn the engine off if you are out of the car.
This is a very sad accident. I feel for the family. My empathetic thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
An alarm goes off if you open the door with the keys in the ignition, and it's not possible to remove the keys unless the car is in park. This has been true for over a decade. I don't see how this could happen unless there was a mechanical malfunction.
Because every car is exactly the same, regardless of age, manufacturer, etc. You are all knowing on how all motor vehicles function. Mine doesn't work like you said, btw. And some people do have vehicles that are more than a decade old, contrary to popular belief (and cash for clunkers).
Mattdub,,,oh, there's a God alright,,,,,,and your comment just pissed him off!!!!!!
At 82, they still had a chance of a good 10 or more years together,,,,,,,
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to the whole family, my prayers that you all heal from this loss.
if you lack the mental acumen to park a vehicle safely then you should not be driving. this lady could have ran over someones kid or crashed into a building.
or she could have been texting at 60mph. At least others could then enjoy it then.
And right on cue all the "christian" republikhuntz come crawling out from under the covers while sleeping with their 12 yr old boyfriends to pass their "family values" comments!
Does the hospital know you're off the grounds again?
what? where? I see a bunch of bad jokes and condolences and age-discrimination comments. your political foes might just be in your head and if they're angry it's because they don't like being up your arse.
I suspect its more of the case that trolls are planting comments to make one party or the other look like heartless s-o-b's. I've seen many cases where such a comment is made while the terminology, writing styles, etc, reflect that of another blogger.
I don't even want to read these comments: it's an accident, it's tragic for the loved ones as well as pain for the victim. I know there would be too many comments about her age, and of course politics. Please show some respect, as you would want.