Er… by definition, a dazed accident victim is… “dazed.” You go get hit in the head and see how well you make decisions. It’s like those stories you hear about folks being pulled out of burning houses, only to have them run back inside.
All true. BUT…
Drilled reactions tend to be the action you take when you’re dazed or panicked. this is why they tell people to practice your fire escape plan. Alright - so “stay with the car” isn’t something that can be conveniently drilled or practiced; but you can discuss it. In detail. Plot it out, think up scenarios, and discuss them. The more it’s discussed, the more likely it is that when your hind-brain takes over in an emergency, it will take the right actions.
‘Staggering off in search of help’ is a default reaction, and is what most people will do, unless they’ve got an alternative deeply planted in their heads.
That’s the purpose of reiteration, to make it stick.
Yes, and I’ve had it reiterated over and over and over too, as part of wilderness survival. You stay with the boat/tent/whatever, to make you easy to find for rescue.
Butt with significant head trauma and your spouse dying next to you and time is of the essence, your urgent instincts to get timely help for your dying spouse will probably outweigh any discussion you’ve ever had about of you staying with the car if you’re lost.
Yes, I agree. That’s why I said (in a different post above) “I keep telling myself, in the hopes of drilling it into my brain to the point that I can remember it even concussed, ‘STAY WITH THE CAR!’”
Should the situation arise, will it work for me? I don’t know. But the chances that it will are better than if I’d never thought about it.
Now I’m torn. In the case of a minor accident or being stranded in very bad and dangerous weather, I too have always been of the mind that you should stay with the vehicle. However, in cases where there is an injury and a delay in medical assistance is likely going to have critical consequences, it seems unreasonable. I’ve taken part in adventure racing events where the required minimum is three people specifically in case of injury. One person stays with the injured party while the other goes for help. That was part of the event rules. You had to sign u[pwith a team of four, so that no one had to go off alone, ever, but they would let you continue with three if someone dropped out during he race.
Simply waiting for discovery is not always an option. My friend was returning from her mother-in-laws and was hit from behind by drowsy driver in a big-rig. Her car was knocked into a ravine. “Stay with the car” was not an option. It would have been several hours before anyone would have noticed that she hadn’t returned and her route was hundreds of miles. She potentially wouldn’t have been discovered for several days.
There is a rarely a one-size-fits-all option. In cases where you’re likely to encounter help promptly, by all means, stay put. If one bright sunny afternoon, we crashed and my partner was unresponsive and bleeding beside me, her chances of survival would probably improve dramatically if I followed the road in hopes of flagging down another driver, getting into a zone with cellphone reception, or getting to a farmhouse. If the situation was identical but it was at night and in a snowstorm, it would be a different case entirely, because my chances of success would be drastically diminished and there would likely be two victims rather than one.
I really think she wandered off. My money is on her taking shelter in an outbuilding or culvert somewhere, and if so, she may not be found for some time.
Staging an accident that severe, even if she had her seat belt on, runs the risk it’d kill or maim her, and the reports I read indicate her blood was also found in the car.
Sad…it looks like the driver (Dale) was a bit intoxicated, his blood alcohol level was .266, more than 3 times the state’s legal limit:
http://www.mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=420208
It really doesn’t take much to die once you leave the car in a snow storm. In the clean-up to the recent storm near Sarnia, Ontario, they found the body of a young man whose car got stuck; he walked to a nearby house to phone home and say he was going to walk the rest of the way to work. He left the house where he made the call.
His body was found in a field, 50 m from his car. And that’s a young, healthy guy who wasn’t in an accident. It’s really easy to get disoriented and fall into hypothermia.
He was trashed.
One of the comments in that article says that she had filed for divorce in September. Hmmnn.
Dammit. Whatever happened to ‘designated driver?’
Well, I think we’ve got the proximate cause of death, then…
Spoke to my cousin today.
They still have lots of snow, and it is freezing cold, so land search is pretty much over for the time being, although they will try again if the snow ever melts a bit.
Then again, everyone in the area is aware of the story, so most likely lots of people still looking around while out in the larger, surrounding areas.
Couple of things he mentioned:
Yes, wife had filed for divorce back in September, but by all accounts, they were in the process of reconciliation and no family drama going on.
The case is now being handled by detectives who seem to think there is more to the story than just her wandering off in the snow - but my cousin told me they have made no statements about other theories.
Supposedly, they are getting many phone calls and emails from psychics around the world saying things like “look near a railroad track” or “there are three trees nearby” which, so far, have not been all that helpful.
Mystery solved. No serial killers were involved, apparently. Very sad nonetheless.
I’m not surprised that it took this long and that someone found her body now; the thaw over the weekend (and rain, in many areas) wiped out most of the snow around here. The local (Chicago) news mentioned that searching would resume this morning, so it makes sense that there were news helicopters in the area today.
At least it’s an end, and the most logical one, to this mystery.
Tragic, but the obvious outcome. She probably was dazed and injured and wandered off, confused, and probably looking for help. My condolences to her family and friends.
Strange that this is the second missing woman whose remains were found and identified today. Human remains those of missing Georgia woman.
Now, if we can find Tom Hamilton. Puzzling story. . . daughter draws a very detailed drawing of where she left him, and no one familiar with the area was familiar with anything looking like it.
Just an expected follow-up: she died of exposure to the cold. No evidence of trauma. Toxicology results are still pending.
Side note: She made it three-quarters of a mile from the crash while barefoot and wearing only a hoodie and dress. I’m surprised that considering the cold and snow, she made it that far.
This implies she was very confused/disoriented, either from the crash or (perhaps) alcohol in her system.
It’s not as though she could drive home to get boots and a jacket.