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Seat Belts Key to Survival in Bridge Collapse
ABCNews ^ | Aug. 2, 2007 | EMILY FRIEDMAN

Posted on 08/03/2007 9:11:41 AM PDT by Daffynition

Plunging 60 feet off a bridge in a car sounds like a sure death sentence, but survival experts say people can and do walk away from such a calamity, for a simple reason: They were wearing their seat belts.

"The people who got out without a scratch absolutely had their seat belts on," says Brian Brawdy, survival expert and a former New York City police officer. "If you're knocked unconscious because you weren't wearing your seat belt, you won't be swimming to the surface."

Kimberly Brown, who survived the bridge collapse, told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts that had she not been wearing her seat belt, she was certain she would have gone through her car's windshield.

With four confirmed fatalities, Minneapolis authorities say they expect the death toll to rise as vehicles' that fell more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River are recovered.

Chances of surviving for those still submerged in the river now almost 24 hours later are remote, experts say. The combination of the impact and the speed at which cars sink give passengers mere minutes to avoid suffocation.

"[Drivers] would have three to five minutes, depending on how much of the water is rushing in and then given the size of the car," says Brawdy.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Local News; Miscellaneous; Travel
KEYWORDS: 35w; bridgecollapse; seatbelt; survival
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To: jwh_Denver
From what I saw most of the window pretty much "exploded" in dry conditions and what was left was easy to push out of the way. There were lots of pieces of glass but they were all really small and any cuts would have been small and none life-threatning...certainly preferable to drowning or burning. Keep in mind this was a side window though. I would think that a windshield would be considerably tougher.
61 posted on 08/03/2007 4:53:30 PM PDT by Gator101
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To: ishabibble

Sorry for your loss. My dad was the same way but was lucky enough to die of old age.


62 posted on 08/03/2007 4:55:08 PM PDT by Gator101
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To: Gator101

Thanks for the info Gator. I’m going to set up both cars for the possibility of a need in the future which I hope never happens.

Have a great weekend!


63 posted on 08/03/2007 5:12:16 PM PDT by jwh_Denver (Ok, it's time for the Republicans to start ripping themselves apart.)
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