A six year old falls from a ride at Six Flags and dies. A father and son die as a result of a snapped cable on a fair ride in France. Legal Pubs previous stories detail other tragic deaths at amusement parks. Austin Haley, a five year old boy, was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, this weekend when a stray bullet hit Austin in the head. Apparently, a Noble police officer had discharged his weapon in an attempt to kill a snake in a tree. A state investigation has been launched into the shooting but it appears the fatal shot was fired by the officer, said Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown. Yet Matthew Savage, a 17 year old Georgia teen, fell six stories from a hotel balcony in Myrtle Beach and sustained only bruises and scrapes. Savage was reaching up to a balcony one floor above to grab a bathing suit that had fluttered down from the 11th floor when he tumbled over the railing. Friday. Matthew hit other balconies on his way down and slammed onto a slanted rooftop, then into bushes. After landing in the bushes, Savage got up and started walking back to his room. Paramedics flew him to a hospital, where tests showed he sustained no major injuries.
Also testing fate and winning was Zalman Friedman, an 8-year-old Israeli boy, who floated in the Dead Sea alone for six hours at night. His father accidently left him there during a family trip. The Dead Sea, (literally and figuratively the lowest point on earth) has a high salt concentration that helps swimmers float. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the family was visiting a beach reserved for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men (they do not bathe in the presence of women or in public areas.) His father only noticed the boy was missing as darkness fell. Friedman was found about 2 miles from the shore. Yehuda Meshi-Zahav of the Zaka rescue organization indicated that the boy was dehydrated and frightened but otherwise healthy. Omer Cohen of the Megilot volunteer rescue unit said, "We were surprised to find the boy alive and well."
Apparently Matthew and Zalman do not need any additional proof that God exists and is alive and well. On the other hand, the family of Austin Haley have got to be wondering why fate in the form of a serpent led to their loss...
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19 comments:
And I was complaining about stumbling off the porch step last week.
Ralph
What a lucky dude.
Shell
I wonder if alcohol was involved?
L.P. this story of the snake reminds me of a man who was given the last rights by his priest. "Renounce Satan the serpent of evil," said the rightious priestly dude. But the man refused. "Why do you refuse to renounce Satan," inquired the Priest.
The man replied that until he knew exactly where he was going, he did not want to piss anyone off.
Not any consolation to the family of those who have lost love ones, but snakes, especially hissing ones in trees, are not to be messed with...
Surfer Dude
It is important to make sure snakes are not in trees. Once the area is rid of snakes in trees, the police need to move forward and make sure there are no squirrels in trees. After that, no cicadaes. We can't have all this creatures living in trees.
What are the requirements to be a cop in Noble? Do you like lose a bet to get that job? We are looking for a new police superindentant here in Chi-Town. Is the snake shooter (who can't even hit the snake) available? I think he exercises excellent judgment. I can just see him here in Chicago, where we have quite a few kids climbing trees. He can eliminate the middle creature and go straight for the kid.
Man, that guy should get into huge trouble. I don't mean just losing his badge. His exercise of judgment was horrible and he needs to be held responsible. Anytime anyone discharges a gun they need to be held accountable but especially a cop, who is supposed to exercise excellent judgment and only draw in extreme circumstances and under life threat for himself or a another. Again, what are the requirements to be a cop in Noble?
Ian, very funny. You are right incredibly poor understanding of physics. What goes up must come down. Bullet fired into tree will keep going until it hits something or some one. Poor child.
As for the falling 17 year old, fate was definitely shining on him that day...
The cop who shot at a snake in the tree must have had his head up his rear...
Lucky dude who fell and lived to fall again...
What a twisted compilation of fate as it affected different folks!
We heard the story about the little boy and the snake this morning. My husband (who has been a firearms instructor) was really ticked off at the officers involved. What were they thinking? Really sad.
As for the boy left behind in the water for hours - it shows you that even orthodox jews need women to really watch over the kids.
OK, guys - just kidding!
Ms. C., as always, I like the way you think. I just posted on the softball death thread and saw you pop up on this thread.
The cop is a dumb sh@t or at least he exercised horrible judgment here. Where is L.S. our resident cop? Can't wait to see him try to defend this piece of work...
As for the ocean Jewish boy, yup, leave it to a pig to do the child watching and it gets all wet and salty real quick.Not a good thing.
Shell
It was not fair for this little lad...
Shell,
You have a way with words - well said . . .
I’m with Did You Stop and Think. What kind of moron shots at a snake in a tree? I’ll bet you’ll find that this city has a policy of keeping their law enforcement on a shoestring budget….including salaries. You get what you pay for people!
What a moron!
And why would Blond Bombshell think I’d defend this person? I find that curious. I defend actions and positions…regardless of source. He’s an idiot. I don’t give a damn who or what he is….stupid is as stupid does.
And I’d go farther…and venture a guess…that this city has a policy and practice of hiring high school dropouts with bad histories, bad credit, bad…etc. Now, it’s true that not every governmental entity can afford the graduate educated, 8-year Army Ranger, 6’5” brick shithouse built, triathlon champion, Nobel Prize winner. But damn, some of the people wearing badges make me wonder about the governing council of any given governmental entity.
Look at those who an entity has defend its laws….it speaks volumes about the entity.
I hear the banjos from Deliverance playing.
L.S.
L.S. just thought if anyone could defend him it would be you. :)
Can't you think of something to argue on his behalf? Even us Hollywood types can grasp at straws once in a while...
Shell
The only point of defense that comes to mind is a lack of foreseeability. I would agree that, if the area is sparsely populated, that there is no way a person can reasonably foresee that somebody else is going to be where the bullet comes down.
Hunters do it all the time….I know, I do it. But it’s done in areas where there is simply nobody else for 10 miles. You’re in the woods and there is nobody else around. And it’s done with low power firearms….150 foot/pounds or less. The projectiles from these weapons are designed for small game, they don’t really have the power to break through the forest canopy, carry a good distance, break back down through the canopy, and have any real energy left.
There might be a defense in that there was a thick backstop of 300 year old oaks, followed by a high ridgeline, and backed by 12 miles of open and non-occupied space. If that’s the case….maybe. However, I still say that a snake in a tree is not a police matter….he never should have taken any action at all….other than politely leaving and going for donuts and coffee.
At the end of the day….it’s not a police matter. Even if it’s the dreaded “purple banded, pink tailed, spitting cobra-rattler from Zyam”….don’t shoot it in a tree! Secure the area, keep it under observation, and call animal control. If it comes down and tries to leave, grassy soil is always a good bullet stop. But not up into a tree!
Nope. It was a stupid thing to do. Should’ve left the snake in the tree.
L.S.
There you go. See, you came up with a partial excuse. I think, I am going to like you. It would be a first, the others will say...
My Grandma would have said use salt in a shotgun shell. (Not only does it kill the varmint at short range, but it also seasons it for cooking.)
Shell
Yes, Shell. Out in Hollywood we eat snake all the time. Yeah right, first thing we do out of rehab...
Poor little boy. This story was pretty big out on the left coast. Hard for some of us to imagine firing a weapon into the air and not foreseeing that when it lands it may hit someone. It also does not surprise me that the cop missed, out here, they "miss" more than just their shots. The t.v. stations covered 30 minutes of some slow speed chase. Unless it is a celeb suspected of DWI, not much of a priority out here to stop someone right away...
Oh, Ian if you are reading this, read your column on dating advice. Maybe that explains what all the men are doing wrong in my circle.
Legal Pub, I love ya. You keep me smiling. And yes, I am staying "good."
Your Secret L.A. Reader
I was fishing with my daughter and the whole time I was looking up at the trees to make sure there were no snakes up there. Had I seen a snake, we would have went inside because now I foresee someone using bad judgment and shooting at it!
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