Ghostface, Pennywise, spiders, and ghosts: with spooky season on the horizon, everyone is tuned into the spine-tingling and hair-raising things in this world that leave us in a state of fear and panic. Outside of the realm of the haunted and spooky, the real horrors of the world still exist, too, and you should get prepared to add something truly terrifying to your list of “things you didn’t know could harm/kill you.”
So, forget things that go bump in the night; a TikTok video highlighting an unnerving situation has unlocked a new fear in all of us, and it’s not something you’ll see in the scary movie watch-a-thons you soon enjoy. It’s something that could happen in the blink of an eye, and alter the course of your life forever.
Quan, @bigbroquan95, shared his harrowing story of being trapped in his Corvette via the social media platform, and from the first seconds of his recording, you can tell that this is his worst fear come to fruition, and trust us; you’re going to feel a superhuman urge to find a way to help him somehow. It’s not just that he’s trapped in his Corvette; Quan is sharing a story of his claustrophobia and anxiety, and we get to see him go through the motions of the realization, the fear, and finally, the relief.
Quan shares that he initially attempted to beat on the window and ask for help, but the men in the car next to him didn’t take him seriously. He notes that it was a scorching day outside, his car wouldn’t start, and he didn’t know why. Also, when help finally arrived, they attempted to jump his car before getting him out, causing him more panic. This comment raises a good point: Quan is lucky that he had his cell phone and was charged.
In addition to the already stressful circumstances, Quan added that he had anxiety and that he was claustrophobic, making the entire situation way harder.
What is claustrophobia? For those who don’t have it (consider yourselves lucky), it’s a phobia that can make many aspects of life quite impossible, and it can happen instantly. The official definition reads as follows: “a feeling of discomfort or discontent caused by being in a limiting or restrictive situation or environment,” but anyone who has experienced it knows that it’s much deeper than that.
Claustrophobia can make you feel almost like you’re suffocating when there are too many people around, or you’re in a space too small, and that’s the type of situation Quan found himself in. The claustrophobia led to an anxiety attack, and his adrenaline was already pumping from being at the gym on a day when the temp was 100; it was a “perfect storm.”
The situation has happened so many times that McGuire Locksmith actually posted an informational page on its website about it, confirming that there is a way to get out:
“Fear not! There IS a mechanical release for the door latch inside the car. It’s on the floor right next to the door. The lever has a red door symbol on it. Pull that, and you can get out of your car. Sadly, there was a news report of an elderly man in Texas and his dog dying inside his Corvette due to loss in battery, aand he did not know this and could not get out. Please remember this and tell your friends with a Corvette too. Also, if you are letting someone borrow your Corvette, make sure they know too. We don’t want to see another sad and preventable story like this in the news again.”
Several comments on the video state that those who saw Quan’s story knew other people this had happened to.
Unfortunately, it’s not a foolproof option that would work for everyone, and here’s why: the type of Corvette that Quan has was a convertible top, and while there is a lever in the trunk, he would have had to get out of his vehicle to access it. While other comments on the original video suggested he pull a lever near the door, that isn’t something he has with the convertible top, and while others said he should have just kicked a window or door open, he was physically incapable. Quan says there’s not a lot of room in the Corvette; he’s got bad knees, he’d just left the gym, and quite frankly — it wasn’t something he could adjust his body to do at that moment.
While Quan could sort of giggle about his circumstances the following day, safely removed from the situation, it was something terrifying for him at the moment.
The follow-up video from Quan actually served to make others with anxiety feel less alone. So, while you may have opened it up to hear the rest of his story, you ended up hearing Quan saying that anxiety and phobias are genuine and you’re not alone if you suffer from them.
While Quan has parked the Corvette for now and doesn’t plan to drive it for a while, he did recommend reading the manual to learn the ins and outs of your vehicle, and we think that’s quite solid advice that we’ll be taking ourselves.