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2008 February Slush
(DA)Chalk one up for the dog.
(DA)Slip Sliding Away
(?)Seatbelt subterfuge kills driver
(?)Mamba kills Man
(Hmmm)Surfing the wrong wave
(DA)A Breathtaking View
(HM)Mexican Divorce
DA:Dynamite Defroster
(?)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
Fatal Ski Slope Prank
(?)Winched up
(No)Swimming with the fish (bits)
Man died after driving down boat ra
Monk killed by own runaway lawnmowe
Up, Up, and Away!
(DA)Hare today, gone tomorrow
Top of the train
Killer locomotive
A good thought gone bad
(HM)Shock Horror
Inspiration + Youth + Explosives =
Brain Evacuation
Manhole kills man, Dove in for Cana
Bridges are lower than they appear
no diving please
Roping a Bobcat
Mattress Race
Just Say No
Old shells never die
Man has friend shoot him to get off
Wash those genes away
BASE jumper succumbs to stupidity
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
Tree felling made easy
Community service for teen who burn
If at first you don't succeed
The $500 Bullet
Please Take This Outside
Trailer burns when woman uses gas t
Man dies trying to beat train in Sa
Death by iPod?
BBQ Whippits
Two men burned in backyard blast
Sledding Accident
The Widow Maker
Redneck Bee Exterminator
Miner nearly crushes himself
Too Close For Comfort
A fool and his bike
Drain Surfing
arrange your own hit
A tough act to swallow for student
Grocery Bang!
Drove 2.5 miles on the wrong way
2 teens hurt by explosion while dri
Departing parted
I'm dying for a drink
Smoking related near miss
Smoky bar triggered fatal asthma at
Man's death linked to cotton swab u
putting your foot in it
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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!

Fatal Ski Slope Prank

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

His wife called David Monk, 46, "the best dad in the world" to their two sons. David died from severe head and chest injuries, after he and two friends dismantled the protective matting from a safety barrier at the Italian resort of Sauze d'Oulx, west of Turin and used it to toboggan down the beginners ski slope. They careered straight into the barriers that they had stripped of the protective matting, killing David and seriously injuring one of the other two. The third required medical attention. David had been on holiday alone, leaving his wife to run their business. A spokesman for the Alpine Rescue Service said, "it was an act of suicide. These mats are made of plastic and gather speed frighteningly quickly without any way of being stopped. He hit the barrier at the exactly the spot where the crash mat had been stripped from". Police said that all three men had been drinking. Speaking from their home, Mrs.Monk said, "They were just having fun. He wouldn't have thought he was taking any risks. He wouldn't have done anything that he thought was dangerous".

Submitted on 02/28/2008

Submitted by: Keith Armstrong
Reference: Daily Telegraph.Page 15, Feb.5 2008.

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
We already have this story well-documented, but the last line (a quote from the victim's widow which, IMO, cements the DA nomination) is priceless, and may make a nice addition to any final award this incident may get! I'm passing this on to Darwin!


Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I'll go with James on this. That last quote is worth passing on to Darwin. Thanks, Keith.


Darwin Awards II: Unnatural Selection

Hardback. 240 pages. Autographed.
$15
A fresh collection of magnificent misadventures! Lust, Vanity, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, and Wrath extract an evolutionary toll on the wicked. Salute the owner of an equipment training school who demonstrates the dangers of driving a forklift by failing to survive the filming of his own safety video. Witness the man who becomes a victim of his own strange passion for jumping into rivers. Heed the honest bricklayer who loses a battle of wits with 300 pounds of tools.

This book includes more History of the Awards, Gordon's Law, and 10 discussions of evolution, including speciation and the role of verbal memes in civilization.

Autographed by Author!

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