Boy Dies In Weightlifting Accident At Home

local6 ^ | 11-april-2008

[stainlessbanner]

LONGWOOD, Fla. -- A 15-year-old Seminole County boy died on Thursday when a barbell apparently fell on his neck while he was lifting weights alone at his home, authorities said.

Elie Khoury, who attended Seminole High School, was working out in the back of his home, located at 208 Cambridge Drive in Longwood, at about 9:40 p.m. when a barbell apparently fell on top of his neck, deputies said.

A Seminole County sheriff's deputy responding to a 911 call said he found Joseph Khoury, Elie's father, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on his son, who could not be revived.

Grief counselors were at Seminole High School, located at 2701 Ridgewood Ave. in Sanford, on Friday to assist students trying to cope with Khoury's death.

[stainlessbanner]

use a spotter folks, sad story

[Zevonismymuse]

sad story

Very sad. We all make mistakes, especially at age 15. His poor family.

[JackDanielsOldNo7]

lifting weights by yourself is foolish.

[KenHorse]

We obviously need to regulate barbells and who can use them.

[scan59]

Prayers for the family, especially the father. I can’t imagine the fear and panic of doing CPR on your child, and failing to revive him.

[RegulatorCountry]

This is every weightlifter’s nightmare. Never use free weights without someone to spot you.

[InsensitiveConservative]

Very sad story — prayers for the family.

[trisham]

Tragic. What a dreadful shame.

[radiohead]

lifting weights by yourself is foolish.

Alas, it seems so. When my son was this age, I bought a BowFlex. I was well-aware of this type of accident. Your kid can swear up and down that s/he won't use the weights w/o a spotter, but shite happens. I thought a BowFlex, with its system of rods rather than weights, was a better choice. Prayers for the family.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

We need comprehensive dumb bell legislation which includes tax on dumbbells and licensing of dumbbells users.

That way, children will be safe from dumbbells.

[SeaHawkFan]

Crushed esophagus isn't conducive to CPR.

[Darren McCarty]

I second the spotter comment. Oh man. I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often than it does considering how many people lift weights nowadays.

I was lucky once when I lifted freeweights alone. I tried one too many reps, and it went down to the chest. Luckily I didn't have stoppers and "unbalanced" the weight off. If I didn't have the stoppers, I would have been in a bad way. I learned from that, and am glad I lifting reps not for power then.

Prayers to the family. Very sad story.

[SeaHawkFan]

Smart move.

[patton]

We seem to need to regulate who can post.

Can you imagine, finding your son in repiratory distress? Fighting like hell to save his life, while you cry for help?

Nah, I guess you would be looking at the barbells.

[rednesss]

"use a spotter folks, sad story"

Uhhhh, huh huh huh huh, there you are.

[Mr. Brightside]

Prayers.

[Paradox]

I've been lifting on and off for 30 years now. Sometimes, I lift alone. However, you should NEVER do certain movements without either someone else around you, or with specialty equipment that is made to deal with things like this (power cage/rack).

Most bench press benches are simply NOT safe to use alone, you need safety catch bars on each side.

[Sans-Culotte]

I know someone who lost a son about a year ago to a weightlifting accident exactly like this. The youth was alone at home with no one to help. His father discovered him pinned under the barbell, but it was already too late. Tragedies seem even more senseless when, like these, they can be easily avoided. I agree with the poster who recommends Bowflex as a safer alternative.

[Mr. Brightside]

Depends on what exercises, how much weight and experience of lifter.

Sounds like all three were a factor here.

Very sad.

[NYFriend]

I also second this rule. It's not a suggestion or advice, it is absolutely critical. NEVER use free weights alone. When I was in high school, my spotter pulled weights off of me more than once.

I once was told by a coach that I should never lift weights alone, but if I did, I should not use collars (there are spring things now to hold the weight on the bar) so you can dump the weights off. However, I've seen guys power lifting and hurt themselves badly enough that I don't know if they could have crawled out and found help fast enough. This is terrible, and I know that poor planning could have landed me in the same place when I was younger. Supervised weightlifting is great for high school and college aged kids, but unsupervised weightlifting can lead to injuries, and lifting without a spotter can very likely kill you.

[MattinNJ]

I doubt he went for one rep too many on the bench. If that happens, you simply tip the bar to one side and rest it on the floor while squeezing out (Yes, highly embarassing). More likely, he thought he racked it when he hadn’t.

[Salvey]

Bench pressing mishaps are the #1 cause of fatalities in weight-training.

[thisOldCabin]

Spotters- very important while lifting. I was lucky enough to have a my trainer, who was/is a very experienced powerlifter, stress the importance of this while lifting and always reinforced this during every training session. He taught me alot, and Im grateful that he did stress the importance of spotting.

[NYFriend]

You're right, a Smith rack is an option. However, I've seen guys get hurt badly (including one numb skull who almost killed him self by knocking himself on the head doing either a shoulder or military press) that made me afraid to lift any real weight alone.

That said, I run now, and someone just warned me about knee and hip problems from running frequently, and I know I've known career military guys who've needed knee surgeries at 40 due to running too much.

[Myrddin]

I have the Wieder Crossbow, kettlebells and dumb bells for workouts by myself. The weight bench is off limits without a spotter with the exception of the leg extension/curl attachment. I wanted a BowFlex, but at the time the order interval was 6-7 weeks and prices were astronomical. Both problems have been solved. You can get a first rate BowFlex setup for a very reasonable price...off the shelf.

[nascarnation]

The obvious answer here is an airbag on the weight lifter’s chest triggered by impacting barbells.
Mandated by NHTSA.
We’ll do it “for the children”.
O’Bammy are ya listenin?

[Sue Perkick]

A much better choice that’s well worth the money.

Prayers for the family. It has to be unimaginable grief to find your own child like that.

[Centurion2000]

lifting weights by yourself is foolish.

Please put a few more qualifiers on that before you sound like a complete 'tard.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with lifting single hand dumbbells and lifting using machine weights by yourself.

[mrmargaritaville]

I’m waiting for someone to sue the bench or barbell manufacturer for negligence. It’s just a matter of time.

[freepertoo]

I’m a personal trainer student. If they drill anything into our heads it it this: THIS is one of the most dangerous exercises to EVER do alone.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

If you can blow 300 psi, it might just work. About the only thing harder than confronting this scene as a parent would be having the nuts required to perform an amateur tracheotomy.

[Myrddin]

My knees would never permit running. I opted for inline skating. Much less pounding of the knees, while providing a great sustained workout. Before the 9/11/2001 event, the road around Miramar Lake in San Diego was open as a continuous 5 mile loop. Some of the best inline skaters in the world turned out to skate there. I skated there at least 3 days a week with a non-stop 15 mile skate. On one afternoon the world record inline sprinter showed up (Julie Brandt). She showed off her techniques and helped a few aspiring sprinters. Later, we all took an easy loop around the lake. She was just ahead of me as we rounded a sharp corner. You could hear her skates slamming against the pavement through the turn. In just seconds she stretched out a 10 yard lead.

[Neoliberalnot]

May the Lord offer them comfort. Nothing worse than the loss of a child. My own father never recovered from the freak accident that killed my older sister when she was less than 2 years old. Dad only mentioned it once during the next 50 years.

[Paradox]

I was just going to add that using dumbells is a safe alternative. It is probably a better exercize anyway. Truth is, the Barbell Bench Press is probably the most overrated exercise movement in weight lifting. It has little transfer to the real world, and you can get greater benefits doing other movements.

That said, when I DO do any barbell pressing at home, I do it in a power cage, with safety bars placed where a dropped barbell would not kill me.

[Paradox]

I was just going to add that using dumbells is a safe alternative. It is probably a better exercize anyway. Truth is, the Barbell Bench Press is probably the most overrated exercise movement in weight lifting. It has little transfer to the real world, and you can get greater benefits doing other movements.

That said, when I DO do any barbell pressing at home, I do it in a power cage, with safety bars placed where a dropped barbell would not kill me.

[Obadiah]

Let this be a lesson to you kids, NEVER use barbell collars when you are doing the bench press! You may be totally embarrassed by having to let the weights slide off one end of the barbell and crash to the floor, but you will never get trapped with the weight resting on your neck with no way out.

Very sad, I'm sure he was a good kid who was simply trying to improve himself.

[JmyBryan]

I also recommend Bowflex. Very safe. Easy to regulate. Less damage to joints. Can be found for very good prices on Ebay and Craigslist.

[fso301]

Never use free weights without someone to spot you.

I don't think there is anything wrong with lifting free weights alone as long as you don't lift near your max repetition or max weight.

A mechanical failure of the weight rack is something a spotter won't be on guard for and will leave you seriously messed up regardless of how many people are present to watch you suffer.

[freepertoo]

You can get a nicer range of motion using dumbbells.

[tumblindice]

That’s a damned shame. 15 was when I started weight training.
I’m guessing triceps extensions and he lost control of the weight.
Young people should stick to solid dumbells until they have the drills down.

[NYFriend]

I'd agree about the benchpress, but I'm biased. High school was the last time I ever did a benchpress for weight. After that, the most I think I ever did was my body weight (which ranged from about 135 at my lightest to about 210 at me heaviest, not in that order however). When in high school, until my senior year I couldn't bench press 225. It was the craziest thing. I could bench press 220 ten times, but I couldn't move the 225 bar off my chest. My football coach said it was mental, but I don't know. I could squat over 450, and get a couple of reps. I think the most I ever did was a 500 lbs deadlift. I could shoulder press 225. I could curl maybe 200. I could incline press more than 225, but I couldn't more that 225 bench press.

[El Gran Salseron]

“shite”

Did you misspell “Shiite” and forget to capitalize?

[weeder]

My heart goes out to the family. A terrible tragedy, indeed.

“Grief counselors were at Seminole High School,...”
This really ticks me off, though. They’ve made a cottage industry out of grief. Between this and the candlelight vigils, I feel liberaled to death.

[radiohead]

Did you misspell “Shiite” and forget to capitalize?

Why yes, yes I did. How astute of you to catch it.

[Bommer]

Truth is, the Barbell Bench Press is probably the most overrated exercise movement in weight lifting.

Very true, but in high school it is THE #1 boasting right! How much someone could bench press was how high school jocks proved their greatness.

[Anti-Bubba182]

It does not say but this has to be a Bench Press lift.

To be safest you need spotters or a power cage, but honestly there is a lot of benching going on with neither.

When I hear about deaths from benching it is often a young person who does not have good technique or tries to press too much and loses the weight.

[upsdriver]

“Grief counselors were at Seminole High School,...” This really ticks me off, though. They’ve made a cottage industry out of grief. Between this and the candlelight vigils, I feel liberaled to death

Thank you! I scanned the posts looking for someone to comment about that. I thought I was the only one who has a problem with all this grief counselor crap.

[MaggieM]

Truly sad.
Prayers for this family.
I cant imagine how painful this is for them.
My son had his own weight set from Jr High to High School.
We told him if he was caught lifting without a spotter, wed take it away.
To my knowledge he never did.
A few times he even used his sister.
Always have a spotter!
Why the grief counselors at school though?

[JackDanielsOldNo7]

i might be a tard but you sound like an ass. you know what i meant D**k head.