Sad and Tragic Recovery Accident in AZ.

[HawkinsHollow]

Sad truck recovery accident out of Arizona. Sad becuase the guy died, but also sad because his 3 kids were sitting in the back seat as a 30 lb. drop hitch came through the window and killed him. Could have been avoided, putting this here to remind us to not make a similar mistake.

 

[5030]

I use a pintle combo and mine is welded (not bolted) to the solid steel shank.

 

[RustyA]

Every time I saw a customer's pickup come in our shop with loose heavy stuff in the bed I pictured them as projectiles in an accident. People use unsecured railroad ties, train rail sections, loose concrete blocks, etc. For me it's a habit that anything heavy gets tied down or doesn't go in the bed. Enough stuff in an accident can hurt you without it being something of yours.

 

[scaredychicken]

Great, informative video. Sending it to my Jeep buddies, because they get stuck regularly, mostly on purpose.
Sad Story. Tragic


FIRST THOUGHT WAS ... nobody should be sitting inside the vehicle during the recovery. The occupants should have been standing like 30 ft clear of the vehicle. There is no way that steering is going to be any concern until there is some movement and progress. Put the vehicle in neutral, keys on, and then stand back. This was not mentioned in the vehicle, but that is MY first safety option.

 

[check]

Great, informative video. Sending it to my Jeep buddies, because they get stuck regularly, mostly on purpose.
Sad Story. Tragic


FIRST THOUGHT WAS ... nobody should be sitting inside the vehicle during the recovery. The occupants should have been standing like 30 ft clear of the vehicle. There is no way that steering is going to be any concern until there is some movement and progress. Put the vehicle in neutral, keys on, and then stand back. This was not mentioned in the vehicle, but that is MY first safety option.

I am wondering about using the tow hooks as an alternative. How strong are they on an F150?

 

[JasperFrank]

Its sad in the way that I can see every small, bad decision, multiply to create something very dangerous: This happens to all of us in one form or another, but 99% of us are lucky that at least one of those bad decisions didn't come into play if it all goes wrong. This initial setup for the tow, must have looked entirely okay, to both parties. We can all Arm Chair this till the cows come home.
Very glad the video points out that drop hitches are a bad idea for a recovery tow like this. I think drop hitches are a bad idea, in all cases, in any situation, as you've created a right angle that just can't take the same forces as a straight pull. What we don't see, is the angles of how they set it up. Was the tow vehicle much higher than the stuck vehicle? I won't Arm Chair here. I'll say, once you've set the tow up, with the pulling straps, or what ever you are using; step back, for a few moments, and think of what COULD go wrong: Run though every way it could fail and the possibilities. That's all we can ever do.

 

[Wolfy]

The video showed a drop hitch with a giant drop. The recovery truck must have been jacked way up. I know people say nylon straps absorb shock but I have always felt safer with chains.

 

[Jchonline]

A weighted blanket over the strap might have been all they needed. 30 lbs is a lot of weight though.

 

[Streetcar]

Great, informative video. Sending it to my Jeep buddies, because they get stuck regularly, mostly on purpose.
Sad Story. Tragic


FIRST THOUGHT WAS ... nobody should be sitting inside the vehicle during the recovery. The occupants should have been standing like 30 ft clear of the vehicle. There is no way that steering is going to be any concern until there is some movement and progress. Put the vehicle in neutral, keys on, and then stand back. This was not mentioned in the vehicle, but that is MY first safety option.

The stuck truck was a heavy duty pickup, not many vehicles can pull it from stuck position without assistance

 

[ovrszd]

I've offroaded for 40 years. Experienced hundreds of stucks. Bought my first stretch rope in 1975. Our group now carry a dozen of them.

1. Both vehicle drivers should always lay over in the seat just before impact. Get their heads below line of sight.

2. Avoid mixing items if at all possible. If you must do so, NEVER use a metal object as a connector. NEVER. There's a very simple way to connect two ropes or straps with loops. Easy to connect. Easy to disconnect.

3. Back to mixing. NEVER use a chain with a stretch rope. NEVER. None of our group even carry a chain. ALWAYS use a heavy static strap or rigging rope connected with the simple loop method. No iron in the mix.

4. Educate yourself to the forces involved using a stretch rope. They can quickly exceed the limits of anything mixed with them. NEVER mix iron into the equation.

5. Understand that the introduction of the stretch rope into the equation rapidly exceeds the capacity of the hitch points. I once saw a receiver hitch assembly ripped off the frame of a ton truck.

Sorry to hear of the loss of life. My rule #1 above would have ensured that couldn't happen.