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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Teen dies on school bus after head hits tree
2003-11-18
Hat tip to Drudge. I guess. Why do we read this stuff?
A Perry Meridian High School freshman died Monday morning after he leaned his head out the window of a moving school bus and struck a tree.
Was that Darwin who snickered? Stop it, dammit! 'Tain't funny!
The accident occurred on Stop 11 Road west of Bluff Road, about a mile north of the Johnson-Marion county line. Raul Gonzalez, 16, died quickly after he struck his head on the tree trunk, said Marion County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Phil Burton. The bus was moving at about 30 or 35 mph when the impact occurred. About 7:15 a.m., Gonzalez’s bus was headed eastbound on Stop 11 Road when the bus passed a tree standing a foot or more from the road, Burton said. it wasn’t clear why Gonzalez had stuck his head out the bus window.
"Hey, y'all! Watch what happens when I do this!"
The bus driver didn’t realize anyone was hurt until she heard screams. She pulled the bus over near Forward Pass Road, less than a quarter-mile from Bluff Road, and called authorities. Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene, Burton said.
His head was pronounced dead back at the tree...
Karen Cantou, a spokeswoman for Perry Township schools, said the driver would be questioned and undergo routine blood-alcohol screenings and other tests.
Why? Did he stick his head out, too?
Neighbors to the site said vehicles had hit the tree repeatedly for years, and the tree was marked with green paint for removal. On the side of the tree facing the road, its base showed old scars.
On the other hand, it didn't come into the bus to get him, did it?
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#22  Made all my kids read the story in the local paper. Tomorrow's follow-up will be a picture of Julia "Butterfly" Hill in tears at the roadside clutching a broken branch lovingly.
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-11-18 8:19:30 PM  

#21  Agreed AP - clearly a head injury was redundant with this fool
Posted by: Frank G   2003-11-18 7:43:21 PM  

#20  After reading all the threads, I am amazed at the twists and turns comments on this article took after the article reported that some idiot stuck his head out the window and got it wacked by a tree.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-11-18 5:37:46 PM  

#19   It's not supposed to be a Sunday picnic in the park

Color me gone.
Jesus would have had TiVo.
Posted by: Shipman   2003-11-18 5:24:43 PM  

#18  Raj,
I offer no apology, but I do hope you understand that I didn't mean what I said as an insult - to you or anyone else, other than those who are terminally stupid - I.E., kill themselves through their own acts of unintelligent behavior.

If you choose not to have children, that's your choice. That isn't stupid behavior, just personal choice. If, on the other hand, you decide to play 'chicken' with 18-wheelers at night, with your lights off, around curves on a mountain road, that's also personal choice, but not necessarily a bright one. Most people know where to draw the line between behavior that's 'sane' and behavior that's 'insane' ('smart' vs. 'stupid'). I place you in the SANE category (not going out of your way to do things to get yourself killed).

This is all very simplified, of course, and there are hundreds of "exceptions" - religion, personal choice, etc. I was just calling attention to the fact that removing one's self from the gene pool by doing something that's dangerous, but with no observable reward for such behavior, isn't the same as not being able to survive because things are worse than what you have the ability to handle (Darwin's 'survival of the fittest'). One is 'stupid', the other is 'tough'. Two totally different evaluations altogether!
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-11-18 5:15:40 PM  

#17  No problem, Ed. Maybe I took it the wrong way reading OP's & your comments: suppose I decide not to have kids (a whole 'nother discussion); OP's comments kinda sorta lump me into the supid / PETA gang of idiots, and yours have me into 'expendable assets'? Who wouldn't feel insulted by that?

Then again, no blood, no foul...
Posted by: Raj   2003-11-18 4:59:32 PM  

#16  Actually, I didn't mean to sound insistent. I merely thought that Raj wasn't familiar with the concept, and sought to let him know that it existed. Whether it's correct or not, well, it's up to history to make THAT judgement.

I do appologize, Raj, if I sounded pushy or abrupt. I honestly thought you weren't acquainted with the philosophy/concept. My bad.

Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra   2003-11-18 4:48:54 PM  

#15  FS - maybe, maybe not. What do you do when your belief system runs counter to others (OP & Ed) and you find their insistence thereof, well, insulting?

Looks like I missed a good opportunity to keep quiet...
Posted by: Raj   2003-11-18 4:33:02 PM  

#14  Raj--Relax, man! I don't subscribe to that belief either, but there's no need to spit venom. Save it for Murat!
Posted by: Dar   2003-11-18 4:11:07 PM  

#13  Raj:

If all you were looking for was insults, there are plenty here who would have been happy to provide them. There was no need to insult O.P. and Ed.
Posted by: Flaming Sword   2003-11-18 3:54:15 PM  

#12  Further proof that schoolbuses not only need seat belts on them, but screens over the windows.

Be very careful with what you wish for.

I was in Aus just this past summer and on one journey I was surprised to find myself in an intercity bus that had seat belts installed on every seat. A bus, with seat belts. The driver even told us that he could be stopped at any time by the cops and that they would check to see if everybody was buckled in and would cite those who weren't. Needless to say, I was shocked.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-11-18 3:45:10 PM  

#11  No thanks, Ed. As I am under no obligation to bend to such tripe societal pressures, you both can politely piss off.
Posted by: Raj   2003-11-18 3:36:26 PM  

#10  His head was pronounced dead back at the tree...
OMG -- ROFLMAO at Fred's comments!
Posted by: Not Mike Moore   2003-11-18 3:20:40 PM  

#9   What the fuck? So I was put on this planet to prove that I'm capable of supporting a family? Sorry, O.P, I didn't get that memo. Want to send me a copy? Thanks...

Actually, Raj, you were. As was I, OP, and all life-forms that DON'T reproduce asexually. The point of life is... to make more life. Keep spreading until you hit a limit of some sort, then either overcome that limit or die. (Think of bacteria in a petri dish.)

This, of course, doesn't take religion into account, it's a strictly mechanistic point of view. By this sort of viewpoint, unmarried males are expendable assets, useful only when they protect someone else's children and pretty much otherwise a waste of space and food.

But that sort of philosophy is too detailed to go into in depth here at Rantburg. If you like, I'll point you towards the appropriate books on the subject.

Ed Becerra.
Posted by: Ed Becerra   2003-11-18 3:18:38 PM  

#8  Living is dangerous. It's not supposed to be a Sunday picnic in the park. It's supposed to be Man proving that he's capable of supporting a family (I.E., children) by providing for the needs of the tribe.

What the fuck? So I was put on this planet to prove that I'm capable of supporting a family?

Sorry, O.P, I didn't get that memo. Want to send me a copy? Thanks...
Posted by: Raj   2003-11-18 2:48:25 PM  

#7  "Why? Did he stick his head out, too?"

LMAO!
Posted by: BH   2003-11-18 2:25:05 PM  

#6  Living is dangerous. It's not supposed to be a Sunday picnic in the park


"Life is hard. It's even harder if you're stupid."
John Wayne
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-11-18 2:15:18 PM  

#5  Let's stop blaming Darwin for abject stupidity. Stupidity is a terminal illness. As Bomb said, the smart ones will get it, the stupid ones will do something else to kill themselves.

Living is dangerous. It's not supposed to be a Sunday picnic in the park. It's supposed to be Man proving that he's capable of supporting a family (I.E., children) by providing for the needs of the tribe. Those that fail don't breed. Unfortunately for the gene pool, we've protected the stupid ones far too much, and they ARE breeding. The smart ones are getting themselves killed, mainly in wars, because they have a sense of honor, and feel the need to protect the less fortunate. That won't matter unless too many of the smart ones die, and too many of the stupid ones are not quite stupid enough to get themselves killed.

PETA belongs in the "I'm going to MAKE myself act as stupidly as I can", and deserves whatever happens to its members. Same goes for ALF/ELF and all the other idiotarians that believe they can change both the laws of science and of human nature.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-11-18 2:09:19 PM  

#4  The bus driver testing is likely routine accident investigation procedure. She'll keep her job.

I *could* support amusing deaths for PETA members if they involve rabies, bear maulings, or anything like the scene in "28 Days Later"!
Posted by: Dar   2003-11-18 2:01:04 PM  

#3  Further proof that schoolbuses not only need seat belts on them, but screens over the windows. Something very much like what the county corrections dept. uses to transport prisoners.

It's a shame they're already trying to blame the busdriver (huh?!?!) about this. No doubt the school, the bus manufacturer, and whoever lives by the tree will be sued. Can the gene pool clarify itself before the lawyers sue it out of existence?
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-11-18 1:37:08 PM  

#2  Anyone wanna bet that incidence of kids sticking body parts out of bus windows is going to drop dramatically? The smart kids will get it. The stupid ones won't.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-11-18 1:22:50 PM  

#1  The bus driver will be fired over this and the school sued for millions most likely. All because of you Darwin. Damn your natural selection! If it truly worked, why aren't the members of PETA dead!?

( I do not support the death of PETA members, no matter how amusing their deaths may be. )
Posted by: Charles   2003-11-18 1:21:21 PM  

00:00