Very Important (1 Viewer)

[fsusteve]

I posted this info yesterday under another thread, but I think it bears repeating.
A good friend of mine went four wheeling, by himself, Mon nite. He became stuck in a large mudhole and called another buddy to come pull him out. While he was waiting, he kept the engine idling and turned on the a/c because of the mosquitos where so bad. Apparently there was an exhaust leak into the cab of the truck causing him suffocate from carbon monoxide poisoning. Whe the other guys showed up, they couldn't wake him, so the towed the truck out to the road and began cpr, to no avail. This guy was no dumbass, he was a college graduate, an army veteran and a 14 year veteran at our local police dept. He left a wife and three young kids. This was a huge loss to us here, and unfortunatley I believe this could have been prevented.
1. Never go four wheeling by yourself.
2. Never go four wheeling by yourself at night, on a trail you're not familiar with.
3. Never sit in a truck idling for long periods without venting a window.
We'll miss you Hugh :'(

 

[IDave]

I am truely sorry for your loss. I was wondering what vehicle type he was in. It seems that some would lend themselves to that more than others.

 

[FJ60]

I saw the thread earlier :-[

 

[3_puppies]

:'( unfortunetly this happens around us every winter, when someone gets stuck in the snow. :-[

 

[fsusteve]

Thanks guys, late 80's or early 90's Bronco. Not a rust bucket, but obviously there was some airflow going on. If he didn't have the a/c on recirculate then maybe it was coming in thru the vents off the exhaust manifold, who knows, at this point it's academic. He was no newbie to the woods, just a simple mistake that any of us could make. Plan for the worst and hopefully noone else here will make this mistake.

 

[IDave]

What I said in the other thread about alcohol applies very strongly in this type of situation. Don't know if your friend had a beer while he was waiting, but the relaxing effect of ethanol at the same time CO is doing its thing can fool someone into ignoring the warning signs.

 

[fj40crusher]

That is a horrible story yet a good warning to us all.

I am sorry for the loss of your friend :'(

 

[fsusteve]

Actually Dave that's a very likely scenerio with the beer. Hugh was known to knock down a few and you compound that with being tired and the heat and you could very easily fall asleep and then become unconcious from the fumes. Not trying to preach, just reminding folks how quickly things can get crappy on ya.

 

[FJ60]

just remember it COULD happen to any of us, I can see myself cracking a cold one and turning on the radio to wait...like alot of situations we see and think about AFTER it's too late. :-[

 

[CruisinGA]

My mom nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning in her house, passed out on the driveway after stumbling outside.
I can't fathom what it would be like to lose a close friend, or a father, like his 3 kids did.
Sorry. :'(

 

[IDave]

A lot of people around here heat with propane (we don't have natural gas available.) I think the connections break with the extreme weather. Anyway, CO poisoning is not that uncommon, and it is probably far underdetected.

 

[folsom50]

That's exactly why I have CO detectors every where, I can't mow the lawn with with the windows open or the things will go off. Sorry about the loss, I'm sure it hits hard and deep. Poor kids.

 

[tclndcrz]

sorry to hear that brother. Im actually glad you posted this. On early monday morning before school i decided to go wheel my truck. After having a great time i saw an area that looked simple enough and tried to make it through it. well damn carolina mud and ruts. It seems someone with much larger tires than me had hit the same place. I got stuck in the middle of nowhere with water up to the bottoms of my doors, which reminds me if i keep this up im going to need a snorkel soon. Hopefully ill get some more climbing in than mudding in the near future. Anyway back on subject. I was out by myself and called my friend up. My buddies on the way and i left my engine on. Same situation except i left the door open.

I will remember this and pay more attention next time. thanks.

 

[fsusteve]

[quote author=tclndcrz link=board=1;threadid=7194;start=msg60038#msg60038 date=1068168283]I will remember this and pay more attention next time. thanks.[/quote]

That's all I can ask and more than I can hope for, thanks.