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News that George Zimmerman helped rescue a family of four trapped in a rollover accident last week in Florida has sparked accusations that Zimmerman actually caused the accident in order to look like a hero.
As WND reported, the crash took place last Wednesday at the intersection of I-4 and Route 417 in Sanford, Fla., less than a mile from where Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said Mark and Dana Gerstle and their two children were in a Ford Explorer SUV when it went off the road and rolled over. A responding deputy reported that when he arrived, Zimmerman and another man helped the two parents and two children out of the vehicle.
By the time a deputy arrived, Zimmerman and another man “had already helped assist the family by getting them out of the overturned vehicle,” sheriffs spokeswoman Heather Smith told the Orlando Sentinel.
“Zimmerman was not a witness to the crash and left after making contact with the deputy,” Smith said. “There were no report of injuries to the vehicle occupants.”
Twitter has now lit up with suggestions that Zimmerman was personally responsible for causing the crash, with tweets including:
- “What they didn’t tell you is, Zimmerman was following the car and caused the crash.”
- “Zimmerman probably shot the tires out & cause the truck to flip over.”
- “All the sudden Zimmerman wanna act like he Superman or some sh–. I bet he cause the accident in the first place.”
Even as the original conspiracy theories began showing up, conservatives on Twitter proffered their own narrative, using the hashtag #MSNBCTonight to predict how that network would further the “Zimmerman caused” the accident theory during prime time.
“Chris Matthew details how Zimmerman always wanted to be Mad Max and actually caused the wreck,” wrote Bob Thompson.
On Monday, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh had predicted leftists would claim the accident and rescue were staged.
“How long will it be before [the left claims] the whole accident was scripted?” he asked. “The Zimmerman haters will say this whole thing is staged, probably rehearsed. ‘This was a set-up so Zimmerman could look good.'”
On Tuesday, Limbaugh noted his prediction came true.
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“It’s now beyond Twitter. It has reached liberal broadcast media,” Limbaugh said. “The liberal broadcast media is now openly accusing the Zimmerman camp of staging the whole thing, particularly since no one was hurt.”
As an example, he pointed to CNN host Chris Cuomo’s question Monday night of Zimmerman’s defense attorney Mark O’Mara
“Is it true that you saw George after this incident and he did not mention it to you?” Cuomo asked.
Limbaugh said Cuomo’s clear implication was, “He didn’t mention it because it was all made up. That’s what Chris Cuomo is thinking now.”
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Limbaugh explained Tuesday the political left “will always tell us what they fear and they will always tell us what they do. Their accusations against us illustrate what they would do. … When they say this whole thing was staged … it occurs to them because it’s something they would do.”
Limbaugh said sarcastically, “Of course, the tea party is behind it, the Republican Party is behind it … before it’s all over, the royal family will have had something to do with it.”
Regarding details of the accident, the sheriffs office told WND the 2004 Ford Explorer SUV was traveling northbound on the off ramp of State Road 417 at State Road 400. Mark Gerstle then lost control of the vehicle, causing it to go off road and roll over. The tires and brakes were not worn and were not an influence in the accident. The vehicle also did not have any airbag deployment. No photos of the vehicle are available.
The rescue is the first known public sighting of Zimmerman since a jury found him not guilty of murder in the death of Martin.
Zimmerman, 29, shot and killed Martin, 17, in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012. The jury determined that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense.
The verdict prompted dozens of protests across America this past weekend, and his lawyers have said Zimmerman has received numerous death threats, prompting him to wear a bullet-proof vest when he goes out in public.
At least one protest in Houston has been in favor of Zimmerman. (Click on the video below to see it:)
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Zimmerman’s parents told ABC News that they, too, have received death threats and have been unable to return to their home.
“We have had an enormous amount of death threats. George’s legal counsel has had death threats, the police chief of Sanford, many people have had death threats,” Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman said. “‘Everyone with Georgie’s DNA should be killed’ – just every kind of horrible thing you can imagine.”
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