posted on September 2, 2003 07:30:59 AM new
Did anyone hear on the news about the man who lost his family in the flooding over the weekend? It seems the van became sumerged somehow while traveling. He busted the window and the van fillled with water. He survived but his wife and children persished. Here is the hole: this van was found and the children were still in their seat belts, the wife has yet to be found.
If my care waas to become submerged inn water the first thing I would do is unbuckle my kids! then kcik out the window and try to bring them to safety by swimming out the window with the kids. Not to even try to unbuckle the seatbelts? This is crazy! what kind of parents wold swim out of a window and leave the kids behind buckled up?
So he is on TV giving this speech on this tragedy and he does not even seem that upset! If I had just lost my entire family during a flood I would have to be hospitalized and put on a suicide watch!
posted on September 2, 2003 09:25:07 AM new
First rule of Driving during Flooding: DON'T DRIVE THROUGH RUNNING WATER ACROSS THE ROAD. Seems his van stalled halfway across and was swept away......
posted on September 2, 2003 05:06:27 PM new
He was sitting still blocked in between other vehicles that were stopped and the water came and swept them right off the road. The force of the water was such that it swept the big concrete dividers in the center away also. He had to kick the window out to get out and the van was upside down.
It's real easy to say what a hero you'd be but quite another thing to be in a upside down vehicle under water that had just been tumbled off the road. It seems unlikely he could swim with any burden in such a current.
I'm not going to second guess the guy. He doesn't have to beat himself in the head and wail like I see the Iraqis doing on TV to convince me he feels bad.
People often kill themselves trying an impossible rescue. Perhaps it would be better not to demand that of them.
posted on September 2, 2003 05:28:25 PM new
Orleans:
I think you posted before you knew the whole story. The concrete road dividers that his van originally was washed into weigh about 12500 lbs. each. The van weighs probably less than 3200 lbs. Yet the concrete road dividers were washed over 150 to 200 feet off of the road. I think it was amazing the guy was able to get himself out, let alone anyone else in the van. Sounds like it was quite a wall of water coming at him. It's not like getting into a swimming pool and going for a walk across the 3 foot end of the pool. It probably wasn't like the calm Mississippi River going past the front door on a lazy summer day. I guess I would suggest walking a mile in the other guys shoes.
I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people
who annoy me.
posted on September 2, 2003 05:47:58 PM new
It definitely does not sound like it was in any way the fault of the driver.
It's easy to say what you would do in this situation, but you never know until you are there.
Still, you'd think he would have unstrapped the kids BEFORE breaking the window. Unless possibly the window was broken as the van rolled over. In that case, there would be VERY little time to get out.
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