Been kinda busy lately, friends, so haven't had much time to do the newsgroup thing.
Somebody should call the Mark Wassum in the news story below and ask him to join our group.
Trapped under a car, man manages to call for help
By JO CIAVAGLIA - Bucks County Courier Times - November 21, 2007 5:51 AM
As a Boy Scout, Mark Wassum Jr. learned to always be prepared, though he probably never planned for the day that he'd be trapped underneath a junk car.
His family, though, believes his years of Scout training are why the Middletown man kept calm ? managing to fish out his cell phone and call
911 ? after he was crushed underneath an old BMW earlier this week.
His lifesaving phone call, paired with a persistent emergency dispatcher and a resourceful cop, are why the 20-year-old is recovering from his injuries at a Philadelphia hospital, police said.
Sunday morning, the young auto body technician was looking for some spare parts for his car, an older model BMW, at Pic-A-Part, a Morrisville auto salvage yard that he regularly uses. Wassum was underneath a black, four-door model when the two scissor jacks holding up the car failed and it collapsed on top of him, leaving only his feet visible.
Around 10:30 a.m., a Bucks County radio room dispatcher answered a cell phone call. It was Wassum, who calmly explained he was pinned underneath a car. But shortly after giving the salvage yard's location, the phone line suddenly went quiet. The unnamed dispatcher kept trying to get Wassum to talk, but there was no response.
Meanwhile, Falls police Offer Sven Beauchmin had arrived at the scene but couldn't find anyone who knew where Mark was in the roughly 2-acre property crammed with old cars and trucks.
Beauchmin knew how to find him. The cop turned on his emergency siren and started driving around the yard.
Tell me when you hear the siren really loud, he told the 911 dispatcher.
Within five minutes, Beauchmin found Wassum in a more remote section of the junkyard not easily visible from a nearby internal access road, said Falls police spokesman Lt. Ron MacPherson. click here
Only his feet were visible from the passenger side, MacPherson said.
As suspected, Wassum was unconscious. He had a pulse, but he was not breathing.
The officer summoned backup, and four men, including Falls Cpl. Mark Bertone and Levittown Fire Co. Chief Rich Van Schaick, lifted the car and pulled out Wassum. After Beauchmin started CPR, Wassum was breathing on his own.
He was airlifted to Temple University Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition and recovering in the intensive care unit, police and family members said.
?The whole thing is a miracle,? MacPherson added.
Especially since Wassum didn't suffer any broken bones or major internal injuries, said his older sister Katie, who lives with Mark ? the youngest of five siblings ? and their parents. Aside from cuts and bruises, he had an air pocket around one lung and short-term memory loss, she said.
He doesn't remember anything about the accident or making the emergency call. The last thing he remembers is what he ate for lunch on Friday, she said.
That her baby brother managed to call for help didn't surprise Katie.
After all, her brother earned his Eagle Scout badge, the highest rank for a Boy Scout, two years ago. He has also remained active with Scouting, including going on camping expeditions and assisting others with Eagle Scout projects.
?I would have been freaking out.? Katie said. ?He is a very calm person, even when things are really, really bad.? =====
The guy is an auto body tech, yet he was using scissors jacks instead of proper jack stands to support the vehicle. Yow.