March 30, 2004

Gee, He's Unconscious Now. I Guess That Means I Can Leave.

Local6 does it again, but I've got a bone to pick with them this time. Paralyzed Motorist Spends 36 Hours On Freeway:

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas -- A motorist injured in a crash lay paralyzed in the middle of a freeway with a broken neck for 36 hours before he was rescued.

Ed Theisen's body was blocked from view by Gulf Freeway traffic barricades in this Houston suburb. The 46-year-old survived a night alone on the concrete, unable to move or summon help.

. . .

Theisen had been rear-ended March 22 and was exchanging insurance information with the other driver. To avoid walking in heavy oncoming traffic, Theisen had stepped between concrete barriers when he felt weak.

"He thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke," said Rodeffer-Theisen. "He grabbed the concrete barrier and just went down."

Police wrote an accident report after Theisen disappeared, saying he had walked away from the scene, his wife said. She said the tow truck driver who hauled off Theisen's car did not see him.

Rodeffer-Theisen, relatives and friends were plastering their neighborhood with fliers when they got word that he was alive.
One little detail Local6 left out - what did the other driver do? Seems to me that'd be a fairly important point, and even if they didn't know, I'd at least expect them to say so. Well, the Houston Chronicle knows:
The other driver did not see where Theisen went and told police, who made an accident report, that he had just walked off, his wife said. The tow truck driver who hauled off Theisen's car about 7 a.m., and who likely was his last hope, did not see him, Rodeffer-Theisen said.
Am I an evil person for wondering if the other driver (who, by the Iron Law of rear-end collisions, appears to be at fault) maybe didn't bother looking too hard for Theisen because that would make it easier to spin the accident his way to the police? Does that make me a cynical bastard? Just wondering.

Posted by Chris at March 30, 2004 03:44 PM

Category: General Weirdness
Comments

yes, yes, and I couldn't help wondering that too.

Posted by: chess at April 3, 2004 05:04 PM

OK, just checking.

Posted by: Chris at April 3, 2004 08:36 PM