17-yr-old Jason Christensen
may never see again
Posted on 06/16/2005 10:54:41 AM PDT by Junior
A Cache County teen is recovering after a water balloon prank almost turned deadly. It all started in North Logan with a group of kids in a pick-up truck tossing water balloons at oncoming cars.
The teenagers admit they were throwing balloons from the truck last Friday. One of the cars they hit belonged to 58-year-old Herman Forsberg.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at kutv.com ...
I predict interesting comments.
Dunno. I mean this was splashed across the news, but there does not seem to be a major flood of responses. I guess I'm all wet on this one.
Thought you might like this one, ping.
I could see following some kids who threw a water ballon. But chasing them to the point of their driving recklessly to lose you is rather crazy.
Play with fire. . .
Sucks to be them.
A don't mess with Herman ping too!
Hopefully, the boys learned their lesson...
17-yr-old Jason Christensen
may never see again
It's a steep price to pay for being stupid, but considering the typical punishment in this universe for stupidity is death, he might be considered to have gotten off lightly.
Oh well.
Makes you wonder what goes through some kids' minds.
When I was a teen, my friends and I used to drive around the local neighborhoods throwing water balloons at each other. We only did it a few times, but it was fun. Reckless to be sure, but we were teenagers and teenagers are supposed to be foolish and reckless.
58-year-old men, though, ought not to get involved. My guess is, Herman was teased a lot as a child and took the ballooning personally.
Today, there's about a 50/50 chance the Richmond resident will regain his eyesight, as Christensen is recovering from major injuries sustained Friday night when a truck in which he was riding rolled over after a teenage prank involving water balloons turned bad.
Christensen was transported Saturday morning to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he remains and is expected to undergo a 13-hour surgery on Friday to repair damage to his face. When the Toyota truck that Christensen and five of his friends from Sky View were riding in rolled over, Christensen was left pinned under the truck until some of his friends and passers-by were able to get the truck off of him.
Christensen's grandfather, Bart Johnson, said Tuesday that much of Christensen's family had come to LDS Hospital to show their support for the teenager, who has been able to communicate with friends and family by writing notes. He can hear, he can write, and most importantly, Johnson said, he's alive.
"I think he's had some heavenly visitors," Johnson said from his home in Clinton. "His other grandfather (who passed away last year) appeared to help him get the truck off."
Johnson said Christensen is aware of what happened in the crash. As far as his medical condition, Christensen sustained a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a skull fracture. He has undergone brain surgery for blood clots and for the fracture, and been treated for extensive road rash on his chest and back.
And while Christensen likely will be able to speak again, chances of him regaining his eyesight, Johnson said, are perilous.
"It's a 50/50 maybe, or less," he said.
Through the surgeries and pain, Christensen's family will continue to hope for the best.
"It's taken a while, but we hope that he's on the mend good," Johnson said.
Friday's crash happened after Christensen and his friends allegedly threw several water balloons at passing vehicles in North Logan. After hitting a Nissan truck, the 58-year-old driver of the truck reportedly turned around and started chasing after the teens, hitting their vehicle in Hyde Park, causing it to rollover.
The incident is still under investigation by North Park Police and the Utah Highway Patrol, and criminal charges may be filed pending completion of the investigation. Charges could be filed against the teenagers and the driver of the Nissan truck, according to police.
The Herald Journal is withholding the name of the 58-year-old driver until criminal charges, if any, are filed.
Out of concern for possible retaliation against the man, police are reportedly performing a property watch on his home as the investigation continues.
http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2005/06/15/news/news01.txt
The kid is a good shot. Maybe instead of prison he should go to boot camp.
i recall in college some student dropping waterballoons from their tenth floor dormitory on passersby. i think one person was seriously injured as a balloon from that height hits like a canon ball.
Seems the chaser Mr. Forsberg displayed the most stupidity. He's the one that let his temper turn a mildly dangerous prank into a nearly deadly confrontation. He's the the only one that claim the stupidity of youth as an excuse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.