Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
At-Risk Survivors
Slush Pile
2008 February Slush
(?)Seatbelt subterfuge kills driver
(?)Mamba kills Man
(DA)Chalk one up for the dog.
Fatal Ski Slope Prank
(DA)A Breathtaking View
(HM)Mexican Divorce
DA:Dynamite Defroster
(Hmmm)Surfing the wrong wave
(?)Die Hard
(DA)Chemistry Went Over Her Head
(>)Living the High Life (On a Budget)
(DA)On the Piste
(?)Darwin in heavy traffic
(DA)Stabbing suspect dies in car crash
Man died after driving down boat ra
(?)Winched up
(DA)Slip Sliding Away
(No)Swimming with the fish (bits)
Top of the train
Up, Up, and Away!
(DA)Hare today, gone tomorrow
Brain Evacuation
Killer locomotive
A good thought gone bad
Bridges are lower than they appear
Monk killed by own runaway lawnmowe
(HM)Shock Horror
Inspiration + Youth + Explosives =
Manhole kills man, Dove in for Cana
no diving please
Roping a Bobcat
Mattress Race
Just Say No
Man has friend shoot him to get off
Wash those genes away
BASE jumper succumbs to stupidity
Old shells never die
A Mattress of Life and Death....
(DA)4 Die In Dirtbike Collision
boat welding
Trail Blazing Gaffe
It only works in the movies
feeling tyred - near miss
Tram drags man with him
Trailer burns when woman uses gas t
Tree felling made easy
Community service for teen who burn
If at first you don't succeed
Man dies trying to beat train in Sa
The $500 Bullet
Please Take This Outside
Death by iPod?
BBQ Whippits
Sledding Accident
Two men burned in backyard blast
Redneck Bee Exterminator
The Widow Maker
Miner nearly crushes himself
Too Close For Comfort
Drain Surfing
A fool and his bike
arrange your own hit
A tough act to swallow for student
Grocery Bang!
Drove 2.5 miles on the wrong way
Departing parted
I'm dying for a drink
2 teens hurt by explosion while dri
Smoking related near miss
Smoky bar triggered fatal asthma at
Man's death linked to cotton swab u
putting your foot in it
Older Slush 
 
~ Random Story ~
Email Alert!
NEW! Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

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

Monk killed by own runaway lawnmowe

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

A Monk was killed when he was run over by his own sit-on lawnmower as he trimmed the grass at a convent, an inquest heard.

Moments before, the 50-year-old was seen running after the driverless machine as it set off in the 12-acre grounds of a peace temple.

The Milton Keynes coroner heard that 10 years earlier, Rev Seiji Handa had lost three fingers in another lawnmower accident.

An eye-witness told the jury how she had found the Buddhist monk after he had fallen beneath the blades of the mower at the Peace Pagoda in Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Venita Slater said she saw Mr Handa chasing the machine as it pulled away from him while he was cutting lawns at the peace temple.

She said that the monk was dragged underneath the blades as he tried to get into the cab and regain control.

The mother-of-two said: "The tractor was running away and he was chasing it to stop it. I looked up but he had disappeared."

Emergency services were called, but Mr Handa had died instantly. A post mortem examination revealed that he died of multiple injuries.

Taran Hewitt, from the Health and Safety Executive, said officials had inspected the diesel vehicle and found that it should not have been in service.

The ratchet on the handbrake was not working, the brakes were not able to hold the tractor steady and the footbrake did not work.

Mr Hewitt said: "The only way to get the tractor to stay stationary was to turn the engine off and leave it in gear. It should not have been used."

Mr Handa was in charge of maintenance of the tractor and was also responsible for cutting the grass in the grounds of the convent, where he lived.

The jury heard that he was born in Japan and became a Buddhist monk at the age of 21 years. He was ordained at a peace pagoda in Sri Lanka.

He arrived in Milton Keynes in 1978 and built a temple with the help of nuns and volunteers.

The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

The coroner, Rodney Corner, said: "He got out of the cab and desperately tried to get back in. He must have slipped on wet grass. It was just an unfortunate accident."

Submitted on 02/25/2008

Submitted by: Rick Benson
Reference: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/25/nmonk125.xml 25/02/08

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
So, he was responsible for the maintenance. He should have been very aware of the problems this. Give the monk an award. I think he earned it. Thanks, Rick


Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Sounds like he should have gotten a new mower 10 years ago when he lost his fingers. Thanks, Rick!


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

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend