Slush Pile: Lowering the Boom

HOME
Darwin Awards
Honorable Mentions
Urban Legends
Personal Accounts
Slush Pile

2005 January Slush

Once lucky... twise... well...

hunter becomes the hunted

Shit! Shit? SHIT!

Kieper: "Repeal Seatbelt Laws"

See What I Can Still Do

Not So Happy Camper

A Sinking Feeling

4X4's and invulnerability

Can't see my speeeecccss...

Lowering the Boom

Cleaning chimney with a bomb

Bridge Suspension

Tsunami in South Srbia?

Off With Your Head!

Chemist Meets His Match

Invulnerable BMW driver

Buglary Balls Up

Woman dies after fall from hot

Woman Blows up Home

Guns unloaded?

Spitting Fireballs

Butaine is only for refills

Rebel Road

Darwinian, One Piece At A Time

SUV + Quicksand = RIP

Swan dive

Win(e)dBreak- Personal Account

Click it or ticket!

teens freeze to death while hi

Private Irons Out Problems

Explosive p(l)an

Christmas Tree Explosion

Petrol Braai (Barbeque)

Slush Pile

~ Randomizer ~

Newsletter

Gift Shop

Rules – Search

Contact Darwin

SiteMap

Home

2005 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Lowering the Boom

2005 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I was working for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) during the summer of 1987, on a bridge project in Des Plaines, Illinois. I was out in the field when there was a loud BOOM about a hundred feet away. I rushed over to find out what had happened, only to find a man crushed under the boom of his crane. I had to do some investigations for the IDOT project and here is what happened.

The crane was done with the pylon driving on his side of the bridge. In order for the crane to be moved to another project, the boom sections (about four feet square by twenty feet long) had to be removed. The boom sections are attached with four inch pins. The booms have to be stabilized before removing the pins.

The crane operator on this day set the boom down and told the laborer to start removing the pins. The laborer had a few choice words for the operator. Among them were "that would be suicide!" The operator returned a few choice words to the laborer, and got out of the cab of the crane. He grabbed a sledge hammer and walked over to the first pin and knocked it out. As he walked over to the second pin, the laborer continued to yell at him to stop. The operator ignored the laborer and proceeded to knock the second pin out. The boom was not balanced and stabilized, and caught the surprised operator across the shoulders. The boom had compressed the six foot tall operator to about 30 inches.

The entire time the co-workers and rescuers tried to free him from the boom, he had the most surprised look on his face. The operator was pronounced DOA at Lutheran General Hospital. Rescuers indicated that he died only after they removed him from the crane and placed him on the stretcher.

Submitted on 01/23/2005

Submitted by: Chris Westgor
Reference: Daily Herald, ~ Summer 1987

>> Moderator Scores <<

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I like it. This is the sort of Darwinesque arrogance that we look for - "You can't tell me anything! I are a highly trained Heavy Equipment Operator, and you are just a common laborer." " Oh S**t!"

Daniel said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I like it! Arrogance and stupidity.

The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$13 for Pack of 4

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects

Home Rules FAQs Awards Slush Site Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend

2005 Slush Pile

Lowering the Boom

2005 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2005 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance