"I watched a guy die today. The Scanner traffic came across as a one
car ax. The car had supposedly left the road and hit a power pole. Seeing
as how I hadn't done anything all nite, I decided to take the drive
out of town, just to get away.
Most wrecks on this particular road are usually not that serious. When
I pull up to the Ax site, it is me and the Chief of the local Voluteer
Fire deparment there no one else besides the guy in the car. I know
Bennie pretty well, and asked him if it was a fatal. This car hit the
pole pretty hard. Bennie told me, "Not yet, but if you get close to
those power lines it will be!" About that time I noticed the power lines
drapped across the car and the road, still very much hot! Also the other
Rescue units were showing up about this time.
As I start to spray the wreckage of the car, I see a head move, then
a hand. Both slightly stained with blood, but not much. I figure the
guy is coming to and basically waking up from his drunk. Not the case..
he was gasping for air. His wind pipe was crushed and he was barely
even breathing at all. By this time there were 20 or so rescuers, but
no one could touch him...They had to wait on the electric company to
dispatch a man to come turn off the power. It was actually on about
25 minutes, but it seemed like a day before the Power man came.
As soon as the clear was given, the fire fighters started to pry this
guy out of his Lexus. He didn't look to bad, but was really pale and
not breathing. The paramedics called out the helicopter. The really
worked on that man harder than I have ever seen a paramedic work. When
the helicopter landed he had a faint pulse, but was not breathing. The
Flight nurse tried for about 5 minutes to get the Trach tube in him,
but never did. They got him on the chopper and flew away, but he was
already dead, they never gave up. Seen plenty of dead people, but watching
someone die while rescuers are only feet away has really shaken me up."
More Photog "Whatchashoot"
Stories
-"Would you ever stop shooting
video to help at a scene"
"I had been on scene for 10 mins when a fireman
yells: "There's someone under this van! We gotta move this thing!" There
was no tow truck around. I was standing about 10 feet from the van"
More...
-My Nightmare
"Come to find out a cop had been shot as well,
they killed a guy, and MY CAMERA ISN'T WORKING!!!"
-Aussie Gunplay
"The gunman turned away from us and walked the
other way up the street. PUT THE GUN DOWN! He started to raise one of
the guns he had and... CRACK CRACK CRACK......"
-Flooded Fido
"It was weird doing the breast stroke and occassionally
feeling your foot hit a car's roof or antenna."
-Chopper Crash
"He got to about a thousand feet and his tail
is cut off and the chopper starts a death spiral."
-Deer Me
"Just as I pass the deer, it is coming back
into my headlights, WHOOOOAAAA! "
