Today I was at his funeral :frown:

[carguyinok]

First let me say I was not a close friend of this person. I did know him and have hug out with him a few times here & there. Yet, Today I was at his funeral
I have taken this from the news paper here. I have also taken out the last names in respect.

Man dies in early morning accident
By K.E. Sturgeon III
Miami News-Record

A Fairland man died early Thursday morning from injuries suffered in a head-on collision about one-and-a-half miles east of Miami on Oklahoma Highway 10.
Christopher XXXXXXXX, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash after he was extracted from his pickup by Miami firefighters using a jaws of life device. He was pinned in his vehicle for about an hour, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Will Langley’s fatality collision report.
Christopher xxxxxxxn was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.
The accident occured at approximately 12:30 a.m. when Christopher's vehicle crossed the center line on the two-lane highway and struck a pickup being driven by Curtis XXXXXXX, 22, of Miami, according to the report.
Langley said Curtis’s vehicle left about 75 feet of skid marks, but that Christopher’s vehicle left no skid marks.
The trooper said he could not determine why Christopher’s vehicle crossed the center line.
Curtis suffered internal injuries and injuries to his legs in the accident. He was flown by helicopter ambulance to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., and is listed in stable condition

After today I do feel I have a changed outlook on life and will always use my seatbelts from here on out. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I just hope that someone else can learn and use there belt. Without going through the huge loss or hartache.

[2strokebloke]

He may have been "dead" before the accident - being that he crossed over the centerline, and that there were no skid marks from his truck, indicating that there was no hard braking on his part (that is he did nothing to avoid collision, unless both his steering and his brakes just happened to go out at the same time)

[carguyinok]

No, He was alive for a part of the hour the rescue people where trying to cut him out. No one is sure of the reason he crossed the line. If I was to toss a guess out. I would say he dropped something and was just not looking.

[heina21]

Thats really sad that he was so young...but you can't stop it when the time comes... Death always makes you look at life in a different way. maybe he fell asleep at the wheel?

[carguyinok]

The thing that gets me, here is a guy that has won a battle with Leukemia. Then put himself threw school for automotive electronics. Even in the funeral it was said he had love for anything with wheels from birth. Then standing room only at the funeral home. Because his life was so rich with friends. Yet, he has his life cut short in the blink of an eye.
This only make the saying (Only the good die young) even more true.

[heina21]

that is so true... a friend of mine died back in hs about 6 years ago... she was hit by a drunk driver & the way she swirved to avoid it she saved her sisters life. She was only 17 when this happened. It hurts to think about death & the people that passed but you just have to remember that they are in a much better place where they don't have to deal with the hardships of everyday life.

[MagicRat]

This kind of thing is very sad and its only at times like this we realise how vulnerable we all are. Just a few moments inattention and we can be gone for good.
I hate to ask this, at this time, but why would anyone not want to wear a seatbelt? Its there, its been saving lives for 50 years.
Why do some people not wear it?

The same goes for any protective apparel, such as helmets, etc.
I want to live a long time. Doesn't everyone? So why doesn't everyone buckle up?

[yotatechie04]

I've heard both reasons to wear seat belts and reasons to not wear seat belts, but I have my reason not to. I had a friend a few years ago who died in a car accident who was wearing his seat belt. The car was hit by an 18-wheeler, in which the driver had fallen asleep, and hit them in the rear end. This caused them to swerve off the road, spin into the guardrail and come back into the path of the semi. After the car had flew over into the median, the driver managed to make it out, my friend in the passenger seat could not get his seatbelt undone which had locked and jammed, and the car was leaking gas which eventually sparked and caught fire, he died in the flames because the seat belt would not let him out. Therefore, some of us have our reasons for not wearing them, and some of us do. It just depends on what happens to make you look at it in a different perspective.

[yotatechie04]

All I can really say is hope that all of those who have been lost are in a better place than we are, and also hope that you had learned from their mistakes, it's the only way we can manage to survive.

[carguyinok]

I've heard both reasons to wear seat belts and reasons to not wear seat belts, but I have my reason not to. I had a friend a few years ago who died in a car accident who was wearing his seat belt. The car was hit by an 18-wheeler, in which the driver had fallen asleep, and hit them in the rear end. This caused them to swerve off the road, spin into the guardrail and come back into the path of the semi. After the car had flew over into the median, the driver managed to make it out, my friend in the passenger seat could not get his seatbelt undone which had locked and jammed, and the car was leaking gas which eventually sparked and caught fire, he died in the flames because the seat belt would not let him out. Therefore, some of us have our reasons for not wearing them, and some of us do. It just depends on what happens to make you look at it in a different perspective.

I can understand the reason for not wearing your belt. I was in a wreck @ age 18 that not wearing one saved my life. I was with a buddy that was seeing what his fresh motor would do. Going around80 MPH when a limo blew a red light and pulled out in front of us. We hit the front clip of the limo so hard as it spun around the rear end of the limo hit our rear bumper. It hit the rear of our car hard enough to put the rear bumper of our car threw the back window And that was the 2nd hit
Now the first hit I went clean threw the front window and landed around 30 yards from the wreck. I was rushed to the ER for a 1 week stay for a broken arm 8 broken ribs and a cracked hip. After getting out I went to see the car. Turns out the hit broke the motor and trans from the mounts. The transmission came up threw the floor of the car and bent the bench seat. Had I been wearing my belt it would have cut mein half @ the hips.
No one was in the limo other then the driver who was drunk and my buddy got bolth legs broken one arm and his jaw.
For years after that I said the same thing (" not wearing one saved my life. So I wont put it on.") After much thinking I have changed my mind. The odds that I see another wreck with that being the case must be about the same as me getting hit by a falling airplane. Plus with todays cars and airbags you better have on a belt if they go off.
The numbers are like 90% better for walking away after a wreck IF your wearing your belt. That should speak for its self

[eversio11]

I always wear my seatbelt. Its the second thing I do once I get in a car (after the ignition). I don't worry about getting my seatbelt jammed, I'd either loosen it and wriggle free, or if theres not enough room for that, I can always grab my knife. If all else fails, my family gets money from the lawsuit on a defective seatbelt.

Sorry to hear about this story man, its always the most weird when someone you kind of knew dies, as opposed to a family member or close friend.

[Cl0ak]

I always wear mine and I have a emergency tool thats velcro'ed under my emergency brake in case I have to get out of the car fast. I highly recommend it, its a specially designed hammer with an attached knife, it can break through a window while under water and the knife can cut your seatbelt. I call it being prepared, my friends call it crazy but hey if it saves my life its worth it.

[yotatechie04]

I've heard of this "emergency tool" that you're talking about. The question is, is there anyone out there who actually knows whether or not they work? I've been contemplating getting one of these for my car, although I'm not too sure where to get one. Where did you get yours Cl0ak?