Posted on 01/29/2007 11:47:25 AM PST by xcamel
A Brooklyn man froze to death in his car after he and his wife spent 32 hours stranded in below zero temperatures upstate.
The couple was driving home from a wedding in Montreal when their car crashed off Interstate-87 around 1 a.m. Thursday.
Barbara Langner had tried to call for help with her cell phone but couldn't get service.
Family members reported them missing, and state police found the couple Friday in their Lincoln Town Car in North Hudson, about 90 miles north of Albany.
When authorities found the couple, Alfred Langner – who was 63 – had died of hypothermia. Barbara Langner is hospitalized. She suffered frostbite and also hurt her back.
This kind of tragedy can be prevented with a little preparation. Canadians are taught to take an emergency kit along, when traveling remote roads in the winter. Even a blanket and a candle (for heat) can keep you alive till help arrives. A can of Sterno and some instant soup would also help.
I had a kit when I lived in Michigan, but nowadays with everyone having a 4X4 and cellphone they probably don't even have a coat with them.
ALWAYS pack some blankets when traveling in cold weather.
ALWAYS pack extra drinks when traveling in hot weather.
Basic rules to live by.
The APA?
If you have an empty coffee can...or a can of equal size, you can get some heat by placing the lit candle in the can (of course you drop some wax in the bottom to keep the candle from slipping)...
RIP. Prayers for the wife's full recovery.
Adirondack Park Agency
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01282007/news/regionalnews/death_freeze_trap_regionalnews_john_doyle_____and_leela_de_kretser.htm
Excellent point. I have a usually bright daughter, but understanding the elements in this day and age is not something she does. I rushed after her one morning last week with her coat. It was well down in the teens. She said that her car was warm when it got heated. I reminded her that it could break down. But she has a cell phone. Take the coat! What kids will do to get rid of Mom standing out in the snow arguing with her child. And they wonder why we worry.
How many six packs would that be?
The story doesnt mention the fact that the woman was pinned.
When you said this I thought you were from Texas were distances are indeed measured in six packs.
"ALWAYS pack extra drinks when traveling in hot weather."
Agreed. And my friend from Southern California tells me you better have a few gallons of water with you if you're traveling RT. 10 between SoCal and Arizona during the summer. Not fun if you're broken down in the desert in 100 + degree temperatures in the summer without water.
Been there, done that, except I had a half-full (by the that time) ice chest in the back. Pre cell phone days, chilling out on the back with a nice cold drink waiting for someone I could flag down, then for another several hours waiting for the tow truck.
Being prepared turned a potential horror story into a nice, lazy day. For this couple, it could have turned a death into a prolonged warm snuggle in the back seat.
Many many years ago, I took a geology class at the local J.C..The instructor on the first night of class mentioned that he was a volunteer ranger during summer and was tired of looking for lost hikers. Therefore, he said that we'd all have to give up one of our Saturdays and he would teach us all how to use a compass and a map.
I raised my hand, and declined his kind invitation to give up one of my Saturdays, as he could rest assured he would not have to come look for me.
He became somewhat indignant that I didn't want to come play with him, and asked how I could be so sure he wouldn't have to come look for me as a lost hiker.
I told him, well sport, I learned to use a map and compass as a Marine squad leader in the Nam where it was really really important, and that now, I never hiked further than a 12 pack, and followed my empties back to the starting point for more.
He was not a happy camper. Since it was so many years ago, most of the class was made up of vets, and when he said we do it or fail, we withdrew, and his class was cancelled for not having enough students. Hippie enviro communist instructor lost a paycheck.
Hippie enviro communist instructor lost a paycheck.
stumpy's Post #18 : )
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