Fatal monorail accident at WDW

[Minnie&Mickey]

Just heard on our local news that there was a fatal monorail accident at WDW last night. Somehow two monorails colided and one of the monorail drivers was killed. Luckily no one on the monorail was hurt. So sad... :sad1:

[We4mickey]

Just saw this myself. Prayers for the family of the castmember that died.

[Shan-man]

Thank God it happened so late... can you imagine if it happened soon after MK closure on the 4th after the fireworks with a thousand standing passengers? Very sad about the CM, my prayers are with his family and friends.

http://image.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/mono(4).jpg

Very sad to see Pink and Purple mangled too.

[Minnie&Mickey]

http://image.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/mono(4).jpg

Very sad to see Pink and Purple mangled too.

Oh wow! Our local station didn't show the accident. That looks awful! There weren't many details on the news here, so I'm curious as to how this happened. Did one monorail just rear-end the other one? They can't hit head-on because they go in different directions on different tracks, right?

[ntsammy5]

According to CNN, one train was stopped and the other one hit it from behind. Driver was probably tired and didn't see it. The monorails are shut down now. If the trains had been full there would have been lots of injuries. What a shame.

[mncherokee]

So so sad. Thoughts and prayers out to everyone involved and the families.:hug:

[neffernie]

That poor driver's family. The drivers we have met have always been so nice.

[Shan-man]

According to the news reports I've read, this occurred about 2am on the track between TTC and Epcot just outside the TTC station. MK closed at Midnight (and presumably Epcot closed earlier) so there were very few guests around at the time of the accident. There were 2 pilots and 5 guests on-board the two monorails at the time of the accident, and the pilot who was killed was the only injury, though the other pilot was taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. I have also read that Monorail Purple was stationary and Pink ran into the rear of it (but this was a solitary report, so it may be incorrect). From the sound of the reports, the monorails remain closed this morning, so bus-borne mayhem is doubtless a huge part of the Disney experience today. Bad day to be staying in a monorail resort.

[loveDmouse]

I was shocked and sadened to hear about the accident. Someone posted this link.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530102,00.html

I always thought the monarails were automated. Is that not the case? :confused3

[datgrt@fw]

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the Monorail Driver as well! Very thankful that no one else was hurt!

Doug / datgrt@fw

[Shan-man]

I don't believe there is any automation in the monorails. The times I rode up front I was surprised by the lack of technology... they are about as advanced as the boat launches! Very manual.

[DisneyRose&Boys]

I was shocked and sadened to hear about the accident. Someone posted this link.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530102,00.html

I always thought the monarails were automated. Is that not the case? :confused3

That makes two of us... and I just read in one of the articles about the accident, that there's an emergency feature that stops the monorail if there aren't two "points" between monorails. It can be manually over-ridden by the driver, though.

Weird.
And terribly sad.

Rose

[datgrt@fw]

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the Monorail Driver as well! Very thankful that no one else was hurt!

Doug / datgrt@fw

Attached is a comment that was posted from one of the News Reports that I read about the Monorail crash!

Doug / datgrt@fw


ddphillips 5 minutes ago
As a former monorail driver I can tell you this. The people on board were Guests going back to their cars at the TTC. It was fortunate that no Guests (up to 4 allowed) were riding with the driver in the cab. Fatalities would have been higher.

It looks to me like that it was a failure of the MAPO system... The MBS (Moving Blocklight System) that keeps the trains safely separated and automatically stops the train when it gets too close to another. The trains MAPO systems are tested at least twice daily - Once when they go on line and then again in the afternoon. This is an extremely rare accident. The MAPO system can be overridden by the operator but without authorization from Monorail Central the Cast Member WILL get fired! My condolence goes out to Austin and the Wennebergh family.

[Shan-man]

It is reassuring to hear that there is an automated braking system (though cold-comfort for those affected by the failure to be sure). I knew that there was a block signaling panel in the cab to alert the driver as to when he could advance. Seeing inexperienced pilots stop 2-3 times at a station to properly align with the gates is why I said there seemed to be no automation. It is hard to imagine how a system which is tested twice daily could fail in conjunction with a distracted/disabled pilot (both are necessary for this accident, presumably). Again, very sad.

[liv luvs disney]

Just now heard about this and knew I would find out more information here. This is very sad news indeed and we'll definitely keep this family in our prayers.

[bouncycat]

I heard about this on local news this morning, my heart and prayers go out to the family also....just so sad. My first thought was the breaking system or the MAPO system malfunctioned. I knew they couldn't go too close to another train without it shutting down the whole train. been on there once when it was totally shut down for that reason. I'm definedly gonna keep an eye on this when there's news out from the investigation. those trains are showing their age, and malfuntion is my only thought on the 'why' of this terrible tradgedy.

[JPG]

Terrible. This absolutely turns my stomach. I have seen fatal accidents of one type or the other my whole career (20 plus years) but it is just so different when it happens at a place that is so "magical" and special to me and my family. You just want to believe things like this can't happen, but reality has reared it's ugly head on this one.
Very, very sad story. My heart goes out to the young CM's family, friends, and co-workers.

As a side note....I don't understand how this happened. If the MAPO system failed, how did the pilot not see the other train sitting in the station in time to react and at least have it slowed down. Those pictures indicate the train was moving at a pretty decent speed I would say.

[Sisdy]

My ds and dd were riding up front on Thursday night the 2nd. The driver could not see out because of condensation on the window and the defroster was not working. Also he had trouble contacting monorail central due to failure of both his walky talkies. My son videoed his ride. We didn't think too much of it, knowing WDW had a great safety record. But now, this is very troublesome to me.

[ntsammy5]

There appear to be some striking similarities between this and the Metro accident in DC.

[Shan-man]

Some more info is leaking out on other parts of the DIS and other Disney-centric websites. The killed pilot was apparently named Austin Wuennenberg. If you do a search on Facebook you can see his picture. According to video posted on ScreamScape.com, the accident happened IN the TTC on the Epcot-bound track. The video is a bit disturbing, so you may not want to view it... it is taken mere moments after the wreck and shows CMs attempting to communicate with the pilot and the clearly shaken family who was on-board. There is also a lot of buzz suggesting that one monorail overshot the station and was cleared to BACK toward the TTC by central monorail control. So the killed pilot was (if this story is true) the one sitting still in the station! That would account for the emotional distress of the uninjured pilot, which was severe enough that he (or she) was taken to the hospital. Can you imagine!? This guy was sitting in his cockpit at 2am, maybe catching 40 winks waiting for the beep that clears him to leave the station when when the approach of a familiar whine rouses him only to see a monorail careening toward him! Or the torture of the other pilot who was trapped in his cockpit outside the station, knowing that he had crashed into another train and could now do nothing as rescue workers tried to free the other pilot, and then to discover his co-worker was killed! It wouldn't have been until they cleared the scene that they could move the trains to get the other head unit into the station to recover the backing pilot. That would sure account for a ton of emotional distress! So the pics posted earlier are after they moved the trains to recover the surviving pilot, and to pick the cars off the rail with a crane. Simply awful.

[disneynutsx4]

This is terrible news and our condolences go to the family of the young man who lost his life, as well as to his co-workers involved. One thing is certain - no one, not the NTSB, the Orlando police, or any other potential investigative agency, will do a better job of finding out what happened than the Disney people, and whatever the cause they will do what's necessary to prevent this from happening again.

[Shan-man]

I have just read the best theory I've seen to explain what might have happened. Assuming Pink was finished for the day, the pilot would have proceeded out of the TTC and pulled far enough forward on the Epcot-bound beam to clear the switch to transfer over to the MK Express beam in order to head off to the monorail barn. For some reason, Pink must have been cleared to back without the switch being thrown. Chances are neither Pink's pilot or the control tower were aware of the mistake until far too late. I also suspect that the accident avoidance system (and the two empty block rule) are not in force when switching beams.

[loveDmouse]

I don't believe there is any automation in the monorails. The times I rode up front I was surprised by the lack of technology... they are about as advanced as the boat launches! Very manual.

Interesting. Thanks Shan! I have never ridden up front yet. Not sure I want to now though.

That makes two of us... and I just read in one of the articles about the accident, that there's an emergency feature that stops the monorail if there aren't two "points" between monorails. It can be manually over-ridden by the driver, though.

Weird.
And terribly sad.

Rose

Glad I am not the only one who thought that. Interesting how they work.

[loveDmouse]

They just showed it on the local news here in Va but didn't really say anything we didn't already know.

It will be interesting to find out the results of the investigation.

[loveDmouse]

Some more info is leaking out on other parts of the DIS and other Disney-centric websites. The killed pilot was apparently named Austin Wuennenberg. If you do a search on Facebook you can see his picture. According to video posted on ScreamScape.com, the accident happened IN the TTC on the Epcot-bound track. The video is a bit disturbing, so you may not want to view it... it is taken mere moments after the wreck and shows CMs attempting to communicate with the pilot and the clearly shaken family who was on-board. There is also a lot of buzz suggesting that one monorail overshot the station and was cleared to BACK toward the TTC by central monorail control. So the killed pilot was (if this story is true) the one sitting still in the station! That would account for the emotional distress of the uninjured pilot, which was severe enough that he (or she) was taken to the hospital. Can you imagine!? This guy was sitting in his cockpit at 2am, maybe catching 40 winks waiting for the beep that clears him to leave the station when when the approach of a familiar whine rouses him only to see a monorail careening toward him! Or the torture of the other pilot who was trapped in his cockpit outside the station, knowing that he had crashed into another train and could now do nothing as rescue workers tried to free the other pilot, and then to discover his co-worker was killed! It wouldn't have been until they cleared the scene that they could move the trains to get the other head unit into the station to recover the backing pilot. That would sure account for a ton of emotional distress! So the pics posted earlier are after they moved the trains to recover the surviving pilot, and to pick the cars off the rail with a crane. Simply awful.


The video is hard to watch. So I guess the trains hit outside the station and they somehow backed them back up so they could get to the driver???
The one picture shows the trains outside of the station but the video is in the station?
Scary stuff. :eek:I hope they release the findings of the investigation. I am sure everyone who has ridden the monorail would like to know what happened.

[Cheloconnell]

Why do I have this feeling that the public will never know the real reason and it will be covered up by Disney....:confused:

I feel very sorry for Austin's family.

[Shan-man]

I think the accident happened inside the station and the video was shot just moments after impact. If the crash had happened outside, by time the train had been moved the TTC would have been covered with security escorting cameras away post-haste. I suspect the photo of the crashed cars outside was quite a bit later as they moved the trains to remove the other pilot.

Here is a graphic showing the operations area in question.

http://i523.photobucket.com/albums/w359/SLSettles/TTCMonorail.png

At the right you can see the switch that would put the Epcot train on the MK Express beam.

[PixyDusted]

This is completely TRAGIC. My heart is aching for the cast member who lost his life (and at such a young age), his family and friends.

[BLT_BobbyComics]

Why do I have this feeling that the public will never know the real reason and it will be covered up by Disney....:confused:

I feel very sorry for Austin's family.



Personally, somethings just are not our RIGHT to know what happened. A man died, we dont need to know every single gory detail. Besides that, the young man who died needs a little privacy, but in this day and age of "We have the right because of first admendment" I am sure he will get none.

[Shan-man]

Bobby, I'm glad you began your post with "personally", since that tags it as opinion and makes it easier for me to disagree without foment. I have an opinion too, wanna hear it, here it go! While I certainly agree that nobody needs to know the "gory details" about this tragedy (in the same way nobody needed to see pictures inside Princess Di's limo!) but I disagree that we don't deserve to know what went wrong, and to know that the proper measures are taken to prevent it happening again. We deserve to know this as much as we deserve to hear the reports from the NTSB after an airline crash. Disney is in a very public business and makes safety decisions that affect tens-of-thousands of people every day. If there is no transparency, then there is no reason to believe they are making those decisions in the best interest of the public and not their bottom line.

As for the young man's privacy, I hope my posting his name and suggesting folks could see a picture of him on Facebook were seen as invasive. Frankly, my heart broke all the more knowing just these few snippets about him and it makes me feel a stronger connection to the tragedy, and more sincere about my desire to pray for his friends and family. I certainly didn't do it for any lurid or sensationalist reasons... but you'd have to have spent some time around here to know that such motivations are just not in me.

[freshlybarked]

It is sad. My DH and I were there that day and rode that monorail in the late afternoon. If you go often enough, as we, do you almost think of the employees as people you know on some level. We always try to talk to them and thank them for their friendliness. They all have hard jobs greating the public day in and day out with a smile.

Not that this has any bearing on the accident, but my husband mentioned that day that the monorails seemed to be overshooting their stops a little and had to back up. Not noticible unless you ride them a lot. It's just one of things you mention while riding, but don't think of until later. I still say, although 1 death is one too many, Disney has a pretty fantastic record with the number of people that they carry on monorails, boats and buses ever day. Shan-Man is correct that it is important that the reason be found and if a problem and not just a terrible accident, it should be fixed.

[loveDmouse]

Personally, somethings just are not our RIGHT to know what happened. A man died, we dont need to know every single gory detail. Besides that, the young man who died needs a little privacy, but in this day and age of "We have the right because of first admendment" I am sure he will get none.

We don't want gory details we just want to know what happened to cause the accident and what they will do to fix the problem as to hope it doesn't happen again.

[ntsammy5]

Oh just forget it - lots of new members abound

[liv luvs disney]

Bobby, I'm glad you began your post with "personally", since that tags it as opinion and makes it easier for me to disagree without foment. I have an opinion too, wanna hear it, here it go! While I certainly agree that nobody needs to know the "gory details" about this tragedy (in the same way nobody needed to see pictures inside Princess Di's limo!) but I disagree that we don't deserve to know what went wrong, and to know that the proper measures are taken to prevent it happening again. We deserve to know this as much as we deserve to hear the reports from the NTSB after an airline crash. Disney is in a very public business and makes safety decisions that affect tens-of-thousands of people every day. If there is no transparency, then there is no reason to believe they are making those decisions in the best interest of the public and not their bottom line.

As for the young man's privacy, I hope my posting his name and suggesting folks could see a picture of him on Facebook were seen as invasive. Frankly, my heart broke all the more knowing just these few snippets about him and it makes me feel a stronger connection to the tragedy, and more sincere about my desire to pray for his friends and family. I certainly didn't do it for any lurid or sensationalist reasons... but you'd have to have spent some time around here to know that such motivations are just not in me.

You are such a well-articulated individual! :worship:

[PixieDust32]

We just got back from WDW and we were in Epcot last night we stayed until 11:00PM we rode the same monorail from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom around 12:00AM, we were gonna go to DHS for the EMH but it took a long time to leave Epcot so we went back to the Fort and we didn't hear anything until later after we checked out, I was in shock and very sad.

[PixieDust32]

We notices that too. We rode the monorail to MK on July 3 and we stopped about 3 times from the Ticket Center to the MK. But you're right one incident in 38 years.

[PixieDust32]

............

[PixieDust32]

the video shows de accident on the boarding platform and the pics on the news show de monorails on the rails above the bathroom.

[bigdisneydaddy]

Sometimes its best just to take a deep breath, step back and let the experts investigate. I am confident that the amount of oversight will be adequate to come up with a cause and a solution. At this point it is pure speculation what happened, in the end I am sure we will know the facts.

[Abagpiper5]

At work, I was talking to 2 old CM’s about what happen with the Monorail. During the discussion, another person reminded us that there was a pretty big recent layoff at Disney and if maybe there wasn’t enough people monitoring the system.
I’m sure that this horrible accident is just that, a horrible accident.

:grouphug:

[PixieDust32]

That's right, it was a horrible accident. Im so sad.

[LONE-STAR]

Found this on INTERCOT

July 6, 2009

Monorail System Re-Opens With New Sensors

Walt Disney World will re-open the monorail system today. Changes include new safety sensors added to monitor track switches. In a note to employees, Disney said that investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have "released" the monorail system allowing it to be operated again. "We have completed a thorough safety inspection and system checks to verify that it is safe to operate the monorail for our guests and cast," Disney said. "We've added additional verifications of these track switch positions, supplemented our safety procedures and protocols for these operations, and communicated these changes to our Transportation partners."

[loveDmouse]

Here is a link regarding the reopening of the monorail system.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-world-monorail-crash-070609,0,5007407.story

[meggymouse]

We were there june28-july5. We rode the monorail several times and once on tuesday when we pulled into the contemporary stop the monorail was completely evacuated and we were told maintenace was on its way. On several days and automated message would play several times throughout our trip it said something like (we are now stopped to allow a safe distance between the other monorails) But it would play while we were going and when we were stopped and several times over.

[Shan-man]

From the Orlando Sentinnel article linked above:

The new procedures include having multiple employees verify that a switch between monorail beams has been completed before a train is allowed to advance.

That seems to lend substantial credibility to the theory that Pink was preparing to return to the barn, and the pilot (and tower?) thought the switch was thrown and began backing. But the switch was not thrown and Pink backed into the TTC on the occupied Epcot track, right into Purple. Tragic.

[disney92]

Very sad. Thoughts and prayers for this young man and his family.

[2goofycampers]

WDW reopens monorail


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-disney-monorail-accident-070609,0,6419159.story

[FlaFortCampster]

The latest news (reported by WESH2, Orlando) coming out of this tragic event is that a switch malfunctioned. I thought perhaps someone fell asleep at the controls, but it appears that a switch didn't work properly and reveresed one of the monorails from moving towards Epcot or MK, (no sure which park) and reversed the train back towards the Ticket/Transportation Center. It was the same track that the incoming train was on (the train which the young man was killed).
There are so many questions to be answered yet such as why didn't the other driver stop or call in the problem or why didn't the central control folks catch the problem, etc.
The news also had a home video of the young man shot by a family just a few days before the accident. They were riding up front with him. The report also talked about how much he loved being a monorail driver. So very, very sad, only 21 years old.
My prayers to all involved in this. Such an unDisney like event. One is so use to nothing but happy things at WDW.

[ftwildernessguy]

As morbid as it may sound, few of us will get to check out of this life doing what we loved doing.

[BRDof3]

As morbid as it may sound, few of us will get to check out of this life doing what we loved doing.

Our friend my have disdain for this thread, too, but I'll agree with you on that. I meet too many people that seem like they never even got to do what they loved, much less got to have it end that way. Goes back to living life every day. I can't always do what I love best, but I do my best to keep focused on what counts. You only get to focus on it in this life for a very short time.

[ftwildernessguy]

You know, Rob, I've thought about death a lot. I spent 8 years working a hospice ward, worked my share of ER's doing head and neck trauma, and was a forensic and a triage officer in the Army for many years, and I have observed that death is usually painful, frequently violent and seldom peaceful. Without exception, regardless of how difficult their life was, every one fought for one more breath. If I can leave this world doing something I loved doing, then that's the way I want to go.

[tlh0726]

If I can leave this world doing something I loved doing, then that's the way I want to go.

That is the way I want to go as well.

[ntsammy5]

That's the only constant in life - death.

[BigDaddyRog]

Ive lived a good enough life. I have the things I need, which aint much. I some things I want...that aint much either.But then I have the things that have made my life worth living....my wife and kids. If I were to die tonight,I wouldnt be able to say I had gotten shorted out of anything. My only real fear is dying in the club I work at. Thats NOT where I want to be picked up from on my last ride out!

[bigdisneydaddy]

Ive lived a good enough life. I have the things I need, which aint much. I some things I want...that aint much either.But then I have the things that have made my life worth living....my wife and kids. If I were to die tonight,I wouldnt be able to say I had gotten shorted out of anything. My only real fear is dying in the club I work at. Thats NOT where I want to be picked up from on my last ride out!

Make a deal with the manager and tell him to drag you outside if anything happens, trust me, we find people in a lot worse places than a club.

[Just Beachy]

I was just wondering if anyone had seen this video of Austin Wuennenberg. He seemed like a nice young man. In true Disney fashion, he made a lot people very happy. I don't think this little boy will ever forget him. :angel:

Here is the Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=5029407a-0f2d-4569-99ce-a7b43bbab685&src=front

[Born 2 Fish]

Not try'n to be morbid or funny,,but when it's my turn I wanna go in my sleep.

[ftwildernessguy]

Not try'n to be morbid or funny,,but when it's my turn I wanna go in my sleep.

Everybody says that, hardly anybody does.

[Born 2 Fish]

Everybody says that, hardly anybody does.

One of my grandfathers actually went that way,,they had company over for dinner, they did some dancing after, he said he was a little tired , sat down and said he was gonna rest his eyes for a moment, and never woke up.

[RvUsa]

My grandfather went almost the exact same way. He was over at our house when I got off the bus, he gave me a hug, said bye to my dad, and walked to his house... My grandma said he came in said hi to her, said he was going to take a nap in his chair before they all came to my 5th grade band concert. He sat down, laid his head back and "fell asleep".

I didn't understand why no one from my family but my mom was at my band concert that night. :(

But dang, that is the way to go!!! Either that or "in bed" ;)

[ftwildernessguy]

My grandfather fell down the basement stairs.

My dad died in pain from cancer.

[ntsammy5]

My dad died in pain from cancer.

I've seen many, many, many people die in pain (someof the deaths I caused) - I'm sure you have too. A couple died in my arms -not the best experience of my life by any means. Not by a long shot. Does the term GSW through and through mean anything to you? I'm positive it does Jim.

My FIL died peacefully with his entire family at the bedside at home - the only time in my life I ever experienced anything remotely like that. My parents (and Debbie's) not so much. I'll always regret not being there when our mother died. I thought she was exaggerating. Stupid on my part.

[JCJRSmith]

My father went in his sleep. He was in a care facility for Alzheimer's patients. My Uncle went to see him and fed him his lunch. Uncle George left at 1 p.m. when the nurse came to put dad down for his nap. Twenty minutes later, while sound asleep, dad went home. 18 years ago next Tuesday.

[disney4dan]

I had a grandfather who died of lung cancer and I visited him frequently in the nursing home. I still remember one visit when he was struggling to breath, but still found the energy give me a wink and a little smile. Fighting to the bitter end, but so sad to see.

My other GF passed suddenly one day in a confused state due to medication making him confused. He took off early to see his doctor (my uncle was supposed to take him, did not realize my GF kept a spare key hidden). Unfortunately, he got onto the highway in the wrong direction and it was over quickly. Fortunately, the driver of the on-coming vehicle suffered no injuries (sore neck only).

Sad, think I'll go have another cup of coffee and spend time with my kids. Life is short...

[2goofycampers]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General_Disney_News/Two_Disney_buses_collide_injuring_12.htm

[AuburnJen92]

This is a sobering read and gives the history behind the monorail training and why this should have never happened in the first place...

http://www.mouseplanet.com/8909/Carelessness_Kills_Monorail_drivers_lay_blame_for_ fatal_crash_on_sloppiness_and_shortcuts

[LONE-STAR]

This is a sobering read and gives the history behind the monorail training and why this should have never happened in the first place...

http://www.mouseplanet.com/8909/Carelessness_Kills_Monorail_drivers_lay_blame_for_ fatal_crash_on_sloppiness_and_shortcuts

Wow that's bad.

[RocklandRVers]

WOW! Scary stuff. WESH 2 Orlando shows a family who video taped a ride in the front with the very driver who was killed a few days later. EERIE! Makes me not want to ride the monorail unless they clean up their act.

[Escape Artist]

...He sat down, laid his head back and "fell asleep". ... that is the way to go!!! Either that or "in bed" ;)

Oh man, way to haunt the other person involved for the rest of their life! Ewwwwwww!!!! :scared1:

Sue in Texas

[auntie]

Certainly any long time visitor to Disney has seen a decline in quality and service. I suppose it should come as no surprise that training and maintence would be effected. It's been obvious during our most recent visits that employees are not so happy in the happiest place on earth.
I remember when I first read about this tragedy that I was shocked at how young the poor boy was. I mean how much training and experience could someone that age have?..Not...that any of this was at all his fault. Just that it got me to thinking that if he was that young..that meant likely anyone else involved was likely to be young and inexperienced as well. I just kind of assumed that monorail operators were full time employees with a particular skill, and years of experience. Obviously..it's more like college students with limited training.

[bigdisneydaddy]

My grandfather fell down the basement stairs.

My dad died in pain from cancer.

My Dad died almost instantly right after mowing the lawn, when he had been told for years not to. He put a new roof on his house just 3 months before that. He did it his way up to the last second.
My Mother has been in stage 4 of a rather insidious lung/vascular disease for almost 5 yrs now.

I have seen more death in 20 plus yrs of EMS than I will ever be able to forget, unfortunately it becomes part of who you are and you just have to process it in whatever way works for you, inversely I have delivered several babies and helped many people who otherwise may have perished, I choose to focus on the triumphs rather than the failures.

[Escape Artist]

My grandpa died in a barber's chair, getting a last haircut before he was supposed to leave for a cruise.

When my dad talked to his barber about it, his barber said it's not all that uncommon. Apparently some guys walk it, settle down for a haircut, but don't walk out.

Sue in Texas

[Born 2 Fish]

My grandpa died in a barber's chair, getting a last haircut before he was supposed to leave for a cruise.

When my dad talked to his barber about it, his barber said it's not all that uncommon. Apparently some guys walk it, settle down for a haircut, but don't walk out.

Sue in Texas

Wow, talk about bad timing !
Sorry for your loss.