dangers of off roading and getting stuck

[NoDak]

sad story

now this is an aspect of off roading and getting stuck I never thought of.

A Florida woman and her baby died over the weekend when their Jeep sank into deep mud during an off-roading trip.

Taylor Brown took his girlfriend Hallie Lewis and their infant son Bryson off-roading in his Jeep Cherokee on Saturday night. The Jeep became stuck in thick mud, according to WESH. Brown got out of the vehicle while Lewis and Bryson remained inside.

Using a winch, Brown tried – unsuccessfully – to free the Jeep. The Cherokee was left running as he struggled to pull it out of the mud. When he returned to the Jeep to check on his son and girlfriend, he found them unresponsive.

Taylor pulled the two out of the back window, but it was too late. Lewis was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The baby died shortly thereafter.

Police are still investigating, but their deaths appear to be a tragic accident due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The tailpipe of the Jeep was either submerged or caked with mud, allowing the deadly gas to build up inside the vehicle.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

Here in Nevada several hundred people a year die on freeways - It has been quite a few years since anyone died off-roading.

 

[Thai]

Weird story...seems really odd! Off-roading in deep mud at night? Alcohol involved? How long was he out of his Jeep? Foul play? Anyway, so sad to hear.

 

[BRUIN8124]

Who in the hell brings an infant off roading?

 

[BrianSD_42]

Very sad.

 

[tH1e swiN1e]

I remember a kid off MTVs "Buck Wild" and his 2 family members died the same way a few years ago.

Terrible stuff man.

 

[wkeryder4]

I wonder how the exhaust fumes were able to get back inside the cabin. I always thought the motor will just stall out if the exhaust pipe gets plugged enough that the gases can't escape. Unless there was some sort of exhaust leak but even then it would need to find a way back into the cabin somehow.

 

[02SE]

I wonder how the exhaust fumes were able to get back inside the cabin. I always thought the motor will just stall out if the exhaust pipe gets plugged enough that the gases can't escape. Unless there was some sort of exhaust leak but even then it would need to find a way back into the cabin somehow.

Vehicles are not airtight. With the exhaust pipe tip surrounded by mud or water, and the body likely submerged too, the exhaust fumes will buildup in any air pocket, such as underneath the car body. The fumes get in, and you just lose consciousness. Stay in that environment long enough, and you will die.

Sad story.

 

[Range]

Yeah very weird. Winch lines aren't long enough to lose sight of your vehicle. So he was trying to which them out and didn't notice his GF nodding off or his GF didn't notice the smell in the cabin?

 

[NoDak]

I guess I should have know better myself. big thing we tell people up here and prob in Canada, if you get stuck in a snow bank on the side of road with no help nearby, ensure you have 1/2 tank always and check your tail pipe for blockage when running the vehicle to keep warm.

the winds up here are always blowing so it doesn't take long to get snowed in.

didn't even put 2 and 2 together on that article and winter time rules we have up here.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Yeah very weird. Winch lines aren't long enough to lose sight of your vehicle. So he was trying to which them out and didn't notice his GF nodding off or his GF didn't notice the smell in the cabin?

CO is odorless and deadly in concentrations small enough that you aren't really aware of an exhaust smell. It's exceptionally dangerous and a ton of people die from accidental CO poisoning in houses, cars and garages every year.

Besides being odorless, the effects are subtle if the exposure is subtle and it just feels like you are getting tired. By the time you realize something is wrong you may only have a few seconds to get to clear air before you pass out for good. And that's IF you realize what's happening...

 

[BlackWorksInc]

This entire scenario seems weird to me...

-How long were they in the vehicle for the adult to have succumbed to CO poisoning in that situation.

-How was the boyfriend not aware of his GF dozing off? How many people sleep through being recovered in a vehicle?

-Of which, why did he not have them wait OUTSIDE the vehicle after it becomes apparent it is fairly stuck, or at the very least have the windows rolled down so he can talk to his GF about what the vehicle is doing as he is recovering it (something I would have any passenger do if I am outside the vehicle trying to recover it.)

I don't think that there's any malicious intent here, just that there so much lack of common sense that I just can't help but feel somewhat confused and frustrated by the situation...

Its like that woman and her child who literally drove off a cliff because her GPS told her to...

 

[CXS]

Common sense is seriously lacking everywhere so that aspect isn't surprising to me. I bet Mom & kid stayed in the truck to avoid having to slog through the mud.

 

[NoDak]

same incident happened to me as a kid in korea back in the mid 70's.

back then we lived off base outside of camp casey, and in the bedroom (or what is called a bedroom by our standards) is just a big room with everything in it.

they heat the floor using charcoal bricks and slide them under. well apparently the floor had a crack in it and during the night the room filled with CO2, if my mom hadn't checked up on me, I wouldn't have been here.

Yeontan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[amalik]

Agree with BlackWorks. At least have a Window rolled down. I know it's not intuitive, and hind-sight may be 20/20... but in a Recovery situation, how are you not communicating with each other?

Anyway, their story serves as a good lesson, although a tragic one.

 

[Troutsrunner]

What an idiot. That whole situation just reeked of disaster from the beginning. It's a shame an innocent baby had to die because of this jack a$$ and his woman. They both should have known better.

 

[ARC]

Who in the hell brings an infant off roading?

Lots and lots of people. Don't think that was the problem...

 

[NoDak]

What an idiot. That whole situation just reeked of disaster from the beginning. It's a shame an innocent baby had to die because of this jack a$$ and his woman. They both should have known better.

by the same token I could say that of people who are pregnant/travelling with babies/minor on airplanes, cruise ships, mini-van's cross country, camping out in the boonies, riding motorcycles, driving go carts at the state fair, etc.

just saying

 

[SLWRNR]

I never go off-road alone. I always go with friends and more than one vehicle, especially in places where there is no phone service.

 

[Troutsrunner]

by the same token I could say that of people who are pregnant/travelling with babies/minor on airplanes, cruise ships, mini-van's cross country, camping out in the boonies, riding motorcycles, driving go carts at the state fair, etc.

just saying

So you would take your infant and wife/girlfriend into the woods late at night alone to do some offroading? Yeah not the same thing as taking your infant on a plane or on a cruise. Not even close.