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2007 October Slush
(DA) The Enema Within
(?) Man killed on I-880 held onto back
(DA) Elephants makes Journalist Squash
(DA) When You Guard, Dont Try To steal
(?) Breathalyser Game
(PA) Remember the Hindenburg
(DA) The Wrong Chin-Up Bar
Retired cop struck, killed by train
The Hitchhiker Who Became Roadkill
(?) light me, camera, action!
(DA) Ammo Dumps
Reverend's Odd Autoasphyxia
Lenoir Man Electrocuted
(?) I need it like a hook in the head
Hang on there!
Garden Gnomw
Dead man was in avocado tree for da
Second time unlucky
Grab a ride
“shredded hippy parts!”
Car kills two people fighting
Brilliant Example of Propane Safety
I threw a hatchet in the air,
Anti-Violence activist teen shot
Surf's Up
'Skylarking' man in undies falls ni
Smoking and Abiding Kills!!!!
A simple repair
Syphoning gas with vacuum cleaner
Crocodile Indeed
Newtons Other Laws
Man Stuck in Ex-Wife's Window Dies
oversized load kills man of 75.
Two women burned while huffing comp
Fighting man, woman killed on I-595
Forbidden Fruit
flammable fraud attempt
Body struck repeatedly on I-880
Dogs Shot man on hunting Trip
Burglar slashes own throat
Man accidently shoots himself in ba
Car Surfing
(DA) Fatal a-Traction
Dumped on while dumping
Car Capers
Pervert obsessed with bondage sex d
Theif struck by train
Coleman Stoves are for Outside Only
Gas station.. close call
A garage sale??
No flashlight? No Problem
Pheasant & Highway
Be gateful it's not you
Dying for a leak?
Wheelchair Whacko!
CVS--Crook Vent Stuck!
The invulnerable crossing guard
Tight Chimney
Malfunction Junction
2 Construction Workers Drown in Pon
Their truck was da bomb!
Tuck and Roll
Woman looses arm after a loin bite
Camouflage or not
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Darwin Awards
2007 Slush Pile

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

No flashlight? No Problem

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

While working as an EMT for a San Diego ambulance company, we were dispatched one day to San Diego airport, to meet an incoming air ambulance and transport the patient to the hospital. We were told the person was a burn victim being transfered from a rural medical facility in the desert to a burn unit at one of San Diego's major hospitals. We arrived at the airport with our ambulance and waited for the air-ambulance plane to arrive. Upon landing we saw that the victim was literally covered head to toe in bandages, so we transfered his stretcher as gently as possibly from the plane to our rig. After completing the transport I stopped at our dispatch center and made a call to the rural facility where he had first been treated. I was curious how it had happened. And here's the real story: The victim was a truck driver. He pulled into a gas station to fill up the tank (the kind on the outside of the truck). His gas gauge was broken, so before fueling up he wanted to look in the tank and see how much gas was still there. He took of the top but it was too dark to see inside. He couldn't find a flashlight in the cab so he did the next thing to come to mind. He lit a match and brought to the opening. Guess what happened when fuel vapors met ignition?

feel free to edit, or to contact me for details.

Submitted on 10/04/2007

Submitted by: John Burnap
Reference: Personal experience

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

Great? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Awful?
Love it! Hate it!
>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
John, thanks for a detailed & well written submission. Unfortunately such incidents are amazingly common. While I didn't find a submission that matched your specific case I did find entries in the slush pile over the past year that are virtually identical in places like Seattle and New York. It absolutely amazes me how many people seem to think it's perfectly reasonable to use a lighter or match to check the level highly flammable liquids.


Chip said:
Neutral: Personal Account
It has been a while since we have let one of these through. I am inclined to award a PA to this one. Thanks for sending it, John


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
We do get a lot of this sort of incident, but rarely as a PA! I will vote to keep it!


Graham said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common


Shadow said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I have to agree, we do see a lot of these but not as personal accounts, i also say we should keep it!


Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittest

Hardback. 304 pages. Autographed.
$15
The human race's most popular humor series returns with a brand-new collection of macabre mishaps and misadventures. Honoring those who improve our gene pool by inadvertently removing themselves from it, the Darwin Awards III shows once more how uncommon common sense still is.

Salute the sheriff who inadvertently shot himself--twice! Witness the insurance defrauder who amputated his leg with a chainsaw! Heed the story of the farmer who avoided bee stings by sealing his head in a plastic bag! Cringe at the man crushed by a branch he'd just severed... directly over his head!

123 new stories, 18 full-page illustrations, plus discussions of transgenic animals, the origin of life, and more.

Autographed by Author!

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