Port Arthur man, dog die after being trapped in car 1 / 1 Back to Gallery 
 
 A Port Arthur man and his dog died Monday in a maddening and tragic accident after an electronic malfunction trapped them in his recently purchased 2007 Corvette, a car without manual door locks. Police found fingerprints on the window, leading them to believe he tried to get someone's attention. Police believe James Rogers, a 72-year-old Port Arthur man, and his Shih Tzu, "Baby Girl" Leia, died of heat exhaustion after Rogers used tools to try to pry himself from the vehicle and attempted to get the attention of passersby at the Waffle House parking lot on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard. A representative from Corvette Specialists, a Beaumont Corvette maintenance facility, said a 2007 Corvette is no different from a Chevrolet Impala, Ford Mustang or any other car manufactured at that time. Since the car was new to Rogers, he was probably unaware of a door release on the floor next to each seat, a function listed in the 2007 Corvette manual. He could not call for help because he had left his phone inside Waffle House. Rogers funeral will be at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, June 11, 2015 at Levingston Funeral Home in Groves with Reverend D. Stephen McCrate officiating.
– The 2007 Corvette has an emergency door-release handle on the floor by each seat, according to the manual—and if he had known that, 72-year-old Texas man James Rogers would probably be alive today. The Port Arthur resident died along with his pet Shih Tzu in a Waffle House parking lot on Monday after becoming trapped in the car, apparently because of an electrical problem, KHOU reports. Police believe the vehicle lost power to the locks and horn because of a loose battery cable and that Rogers and his dog died of heat exhaustion after he was unable to escape the vehicle or attract the attention of passers-by, reports the Beaumont Enterprise. Rogers, who had recently purchased the vehicle, left his cellphone charging inside the restaurant while he went to check on his dog and was unable to call for help, police tell the Enterprise. After he was noticed inside the car, firefighters broke in but found Rogers and his dog were already dead, 12 News reports. His daughter tells KHOU that the Corvette was her father's dream car. She says she believes her father made every possible effort to escape and may have died while reading the car's manual. (A Utah woman who had a premonition found her husband trapped under a car.)