This guy wasn't as lucky as the Texans....

[Rick]

Dead Link Removed

8/14/00 Gibson Lake
The high country claimed the life of a Morrison man in a spectacular rollover accident. The Platte Canyon Fire Dept. was paged at about 5:00pm on Saturday, for a one car rollover at Gibson lake. Gibson lake is located near the continental divide about 2 miles from Hall Valley at about 13,000 ft. elevation. Crews searched until after 10:00 pm. Sunday a pair of Platte Canyon firefighters located the site and it was not until mid morning on Monday that Park County Search and Rescue teams were able to get to the scene. The vehicle was a 1982 Jeep CJ that was decked out with all the toys that could be added to a Jeep. The driver had made several attempts to climb the steep hillside and exhibited an impressive driving skill. The vehicle rolled for nearly 1/4 mile and was almost completely disintegrated.


Dead Link Removed

 

[Rick]

Here's the story from the guy who saw the whole thing and tried to save the Jeeper.

"Hello all,

I hope to pass on some things i learned this weekend.

I hiked in with my girlfriend sat morning to gibson lake, near webster pass. i caught a few fish and alot of rain when we heard a vehicle. crazy, i thought, nobody could drive near here. but in a higher valley, on the mountain where whale mine is, a jeep was motoring about with a dog in tow. my girlfriend and i watched in horror as the jeep tried unsuccessfully to climb back up the mountain face from which it had descended, the top being somewhere around 12,700'. through my binocs, i could distinguish a powerful jeep carrying a single man with a rott following as he repeatedly ground to a stop on the very steep face (if it were a ski run it would be at least a black diamond). eventually, the inevitable happened: we stared on dumbfounded as the jeep tipped to its side, then slowly rolled to its roof. by the time it had rolled back to its wheels it had so much momentum it flew into the air. crashing down violently; it repeated several times, breaking the chassis from the body, debris everywhere. it easily traveled 300 yards. grabbing my first aid kit i ran for him, about 3/4-1 mi away. i reached him maybe 10 min after the roll. his body was far up on the slope thrown early on from the truck. i could not find any life signs. i signaled my girlfriend to get help, as his body did not look very bad. cpr was difficult b/c his body tried to roll down the mountain. also his rott was very protective. straightening the man and fighting the rott (eventually i was able to secure the dog away from me with a rope) i gave cpr for 5-10 min before giving up. i wait now with the kind young rott i call "jeep" to hear from the man's family.

i am writing this b/c i learned a couple lessons:

1 apparently the man entered a valley he could not leave and was taking this incredible risk to escape. do not take such risks. this man had many choices. he could have walked out. he would be alive if he had. even if you will be late for a meeting, work, whatever, please do not take such risks. walk from that hairy gorge when you find you are in over your head. trespassing fines, equipment, etc, are nothing compared to human life. consider your options--you ALWAYS have them. this man had great equipment and clear skills--this won't always keep you above water.

2 take a first aid class and stay current. i was slow with my cpr. i was inefficient. i had difficulty opening the airway and remembering the breath/compression ratio. it has been several years since my only class. these accidents happen to/around someone every day. could i have done more? don't carry my doubts.

3 be patient at the scene. nobody talks about what to do when nothing works. discovering this gentleman was actually dead left me sick and wanting away. i left with the dog after only a few min to confirm the situation (he was heavy, and i didn't feel i could move him carefully alone). last night and today i have felt my stomach drop and my mouth run dry many times as i imagine that the man was not dead and that i only mistook him as such. my god, what if he was alive when i left him on that cold, wet slope? i can console myself only with my clear memories of his vital signs. but did you check carefully enough? i didn't open his eyes to check his pupils--i remember they seemed content. please, take your time with the person.

i just needed to get these things off my chest. i know that i am enrolling in more safety classes. you cannot be prepared enough. learn from this. sorry for the long read.

be safe in all your adventures,
mike a"





[Edited by Rick on 08-20-2000 at 10:54 AM]

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

Doubts

Rick,

I don't know if you can get this to "Mike A" but I'd like to share some things (might be useful to others as well).

As a public safety professional and Certified EMT, having responded to hundreds of medical emergencies I would like to leave with you the following:

It is very normal to have some doubts, even feelings of guilt after witnessing and attempting to aid someone in a serious situation. It had to be nothing short of horriffic! It is a psychological phenomenon known as "survivor's guilt" . Even medical professionals experience it to some degree. It is important to remember that you did the best you could with the training and equipment you had at hand. This guy had many things going against him, and you gave him a far better chance than he had given himself! Professionals learn through training and experience that you can't save everyone, you can only do what you can, the rest is up to a Higher Authority. Don't beat yourself up, sounds like you performed very well in a very difficult situation. Firefighters, ER personnel, rescue squad personnel and others develop a "gallows humor" type of thing, as a coping mechanism for the post-incident stress you describe. We also often get critical incident debriefings from psyche professionals after especially bad incidents.

If you wish to get more training to improve your skills, ,great! This also serves as a positive action way of handling the emotions we all feel. We can never be too prepared, but after reading your description of the events and seeing pictures of the wreckage, I doubt he could have been saved by a team of trauma specialist with all their equipment
right at the scene!

Just hoped it would help to know the feelings you are experiencing are normal for everyone dealing with a similar situation

 

[Jeannie]

Sorry but for this being so long. I came to this site through a link on Hootus, funny btw , and this thread was forwarded to me by your own Perry. It also has personal meaning to me, it's small world we live in. To give you all a more personal note on this, Mike Lane was my good friend Dan's BEST and I mean BEST friend since the age of 14. I will qoute what he stated in our Jeepin' BB. I had a few opportunities to wheel with Mike and have wheeled with Dan. Dan is miffed by what happened, Mike treadly lightly and was a very experienced wheeler!

A Very sad ending to a Friendship... From what I gather this is what happened. Somewhere around Georgia Pass (Colorado) Mike was Jeepin' alone He slid off a switchback and was unable to get back on , so he road it down about 1500 ft. it got worse an some how He got it turned around an climbed back up almost making it back up to the top. After 10 or so trys to make it back on top he got turned sideways and rolled about 200 ft. getting thrown or trying to jump we don't know, but his Jeep rolled another 700-800 ft. down. He died instantly. This was witnessed buy two hikers in the area. Mike an I go back to the beginning of high school. We were best of friends from day one. We enjoyed many of the same things in life "Jeepin', Campin', Fishin', Goldpannin', Horses, etc... Guess you could say we were a couple of "Jeremya Johnsons" He was like a twin Brother to me all these years... He will be missed Dearly by all us Jeep'ers, an many others too.
I'll pass the word on to his folks an his Brother Ken
Thanks again Grizzer. Here is my link to our last Jeep trip a few weeks ago "Colorado dirtroads" Go to "www.photopoint.com" then album search type in "GRIZJEEP53@CS.COM"[/qoute]

Here is that link: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=761063&a=5534770

Dan has asked me on his behalf to post this in our Jeepin' BB in memory of Mike Lane and as you are all fellow wheeler (most I think here), I will post it here as well.

Cards or donations can be sent in memory of Mike Lane to his brother (Ken) and his brother's wife. Monetary donations will be donated toward a charity or organization that Mike's brother sets up in memory of Mike.

Dan and Ken headed to Alamogordo today for Monday's funeral service. Ken also has Mike's dog, Buck.

In Memory of Mike Lane
c/o Ken & Becky Lane
181 San Pedro Dr.
Alamogordo, NM 88337

Mike had just picked up some airline tickets for him and Dan to take a trip to Alaska to scout up there for a wheelin' trip there next year.

On behalf of my friend Dan and Mike's family, Thank You.

Regards, Jeannie

 

[mattadams]

oen other thing to add on the subject... some friends and family were planning on removing the vehicle and repairing ALL damage that they could done to the tundra, and selling all salvagable parts possible from the destroyed vehicle and sell them with all benefits going to his family and charity. Seems someone already "helped themselves" to several of the parts and they are asked to turn them in to Avalanche Engineering, no questions asked. Among other parts already removed from the vehicle was the atlas II transfar case and many other components. That's the email I got from the Mile High Jeep Club.

 

[mmpc]

SICK.

Sounds like a bunch of buzzards rushing in to scavenge while the remains are still "fresh." What is WRONG with some people?

My heartfelt thoughts go out to Mr. Lane's family; appears he was a good friend and a decent man...

 

[Stephen]

Damn what a shame. My thoughts go out to Mike's family.