Posted on 05/03/2022 4:56:45 AM PDT by EBH
Three University of Oklahoma meteorology students died in a tragic car crash on their return trip from Kansas Friday, where they had successfully intercepted a tornado while on a routine storm chasing outing.
According to a report from The New York Times, Nicholas Nair, 20, Gavin Short, 19, and Drake Brooks, 22, had been traveling southbound on Interstate 35 in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, a small town near the Kansas border, when their truck hydroplaned and stalled in the middle of the road before being hit by a truck. The students were pronounced dead on the scene, and the truck driver, who was hospitalized with injuries, survived the crash.
Their deaths have shocked the weather community, leading to touching tributes from across the field of meteorology.
In a statement, AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers and President Stephen R. Smith grieved the fact that such promising young lives had been cut short.
"The pursuit of science, especially for the ultimate purpose of saving lives and keeping people out of harm's way, is the most noble pursuit there is," Myers and Smith wrote. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the families."
Extreme Meteorologist and storm chaser Reed Timmer posted multiple tributes for the chasers and said that his future chases will be dedicated to the trio.
"Heartbreaking loss of 3 OU students in an accident on the way back from chasing. These students are close to my heart and a shining light in the weather community," Timmer tweeted. "Words cannot describe the sadness. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends. RIP my friends."
(Excerpt) Read more at accuweather.com ...
“That needs some explanation.”
Indeed it does if we are to learn from their deaths. There are very few accidents IMHO. Accident avoidance is a big part of life.
Giving in to the idea that computers can drive and multiple computers can fly are two ideas I take issue with at every opportunity. There is still the human hand controlling those computers and the more we know about skills computers are attempting to take over the safer we will be.
Looking like an idiot helps center me. It’s a kick to the egotistical “junk”...
:)
Well, there are also civil liability issues here.
I don’t know if the driver was responsible in any way, but if he was, that should come out.
And it should be a lesson to people who ride that if a driver is irresponsible, don’t get in. And if a driver is doing something stupid and refuses to cease, get out.
The families of all three are very fortunate that, if the driver was at fault, nobody in addition to the people in that car were killed.
If all in the car are drunk, can the driver be blamed?
Wonder if there was water pooling in the area due to inadequate draining for the conditions. And the driver was blindsided by adverse hydroplaning conditions. I’ve gone through many conditions like that(unintentionally and lucky, too.)
It was raining.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I've even chased rain/snow lines during New England northeasters and when the waves are whipping up along the coast, I like to stand by the seawall and watch them.
I don't do it much anymore, sign of old age I guess. But I knew the potential danger I was putting myself in. I just like extreme weather, what can I say?
Driving like was done in the movie TWISTER? Like bats out of Hell.
Well, there are also civil liability issues here.
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Here is a link with a little more info:
The article doesn’t say what year the Volkswagen Tiguan was manufactured or who owned it. If a parent had title to the car and was paying insurance, there might be a problem for the parent as you suggest. My guess is the driver was driving too fast for the conditions and had high tread wear on the tires. If they were driving on an older road bed, good tires might not have helped where water was ponding
They were driving home
Yeah, I was corrected.
Huh???
It’s welll known that storm chaser types drive like maniacs and endanger people for their fun hobby. Almost no useful data comes from this activity. Sad, and hope the trucker is ok.
I have a great distaste for storm chasers. It seems that any science generated from chasing is just a mere excuse for an adrenaline rush.
It boils down to watching farms, towns, and people being destroyed by nature... all for fun.
To put in another perspective, imagine chasers driving around a decaying urban environment hoping to witness a mugging, robbery, or murder for fun.
When you see it’s raining so hard that water is collecting on the roadway, you need to slow down to 40mph and put your flashers on. Premium tires can only help so much. It sounds like a foolish thing to send students chasing tornadoes.
Caution, after any heavy rain, comes from driving experience.
When on an interstate or expressway after a heavy rain, most experienced drivers do not use "Cruise control" even while driving long distances.
Never use "crusie control" after any heavy rain or during snowy conditions.
Wow Cow?? WTF was that from?
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