Auto shop finds teeth, hair from fatal pedestrian crash under New Jersey car
An auto body shop in suburban New Jersey found human remains in a car's grill and undercarriage Monday, which investigators say came from a fatal pedestrian-involved multicar crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in December.
Really not an uncommon thing. I supervised a towing service for years. If a fatality was involved we usually got the call because we had a 2000 sg ft warehouse that we could store the vehicle in too preserve the scene. A little brain matter from a suicide, blood and tissue from a roll over etc. was not uncommon. But the worst....
I didn't usually run calls anymore but went out on this one. A young mother spun out in her van in a ice/snow storm. She was hit dead in the drivers door by an Excursion. Killed instantly. The common mistake of snow tires on the front of a front wheel drive and all season on the rear but that's another discussion.
The van sat in the warehouse waiting for the county and state to drag their asses down to do what they had too. We had a week of unseasonably warm weather hit in March and that thing started to stink... bad, rotten meat bad. I have hunted all my life, I know the smell.
Called everyone involved on the investigation side. No time to come down. It was literally stinking up the other 11,000 sq foot of the building. I knew the Paramedics that had been on scene. One confirmed it was a double amputation below the knees to extract the body. Using the jaws of life ironically.
Called the Sheriff and told him he had 4 hours to have someone there. After that it was going in his Dad's barn. Fixed that real quick.
After I got out of the service and while recovering from bone cancer I worked a stint doing salvage on motorcycles for a parts shop. Some of the jobs were pretty nasty with blood and the occasional small body part like the end of a finger or something. Usually we would pressure wash the damaged bike, package the body part and contact the local cop shop about the remain(s).
One day a bike involved in an accident came in where a car had ended up on top of the rider and the bike. Somehow the riders head had been forced against the chain while the bike was still revving. The chain and rear sprocket was covered in his blood, hair, skin, bone fragments and brain matter.
It just so happened there was someone in the shop wanting a part for that model of bike and I was given a pick list to pull it NOW. The boss and I had a disagreement about me stripping the bike before it had at least been pressure washed, preferably steam cleaned. He refused so I packed my tools, told him I had been looking when I found this job and walked out. Come to think of it, I never did collect my final paycheck from that place.
I did high school ride along with Brown & Brown wrecker service. First call, ejection from VW bus windshield during mva.
We're waiting on cops to finish to start hooking. The tow truck driver is standing next to one of the vehicles, calls me over.
You gotta see this and points inside the vehicle.... I'm not seeing... OH FUCK. 2 front teeth stuck in the hard ass platic steering wheel. Unbelievable but there they were, bloody roots and all.
I'll add - i was also an emt in Atlanta for couple years. Saw box blade battles, gun shot victims... I'll never forget those teeth.
Doing the 'return' check-ins of the DotMil vehicles on the GMASS contract at Arifjan in Kuwait. Used to get HUUUGE convoys of flatbedded beat-to-shit LMTVs, HMMWVs, Tanks, Tracks you name it. We'd have them put up in rows for them to be inspected. One LMTV smelled like death man, no one wanted to go near it.
Come to find out a few later that the truck had apparently run over some poor Haj (probably tried to cross in front of a convoy to get 'lightly tagged' and paid off for the 'injury') but this convoy, whelp guess it didn't slow down or stop.
Dude was all squishchulated up in the underframe and carriage... had the damnedest look on his face, mouth all open, dead eyes buggin' out, mangled carcass and mashed up and into the framework. Gruesome as all get out, but at that point all we could do was laugh our asses off
Really not an uncommon thing. I supervised a towing service for years. If a fatality was involved we usually got the call because we had a 2000 sg ft warehouse that we could store the vehicle in too preserve the scene. A little brain matter from a suicide, blood and tissue from a roll over etc. was not uncommon. But the worst....
ReplyDeleteI didn't usually run calls anymore but went out on this one. A young mother spun out in her van in a ice/snow storm. She was hit dead in the drivers door by an Excursion. Killed instantly. The common mistake of snow tires on the front of a front wheel drive and all season on the rear but that's another discussion.
The van sat in the warehouse waiting for the county and state to drag their asses down to do what they had too. We had a week of unseasonably warm weather hit in March and that thing started to stink... bad, rotten meat bad. I have hunted all my life, I know the smell.
Called everyone involved on the investigation side. No time to come down. It was literally stinking up the other 11,000 sq foot of the building. I knew the Paramedics that had been on scene. One confirmed it was a double amputation below the knees to extract the body. Using the jaws of life ironically.
Called the Sheriff and told him he had 4 hours to have someone there. After that it was going in his Dad's barn. Fixed that real quick.
After I got out of the service and while recovering from bone cancer I worked a stint doing salvage on motorcycles for a parts shop. Some of the jobs were pretty nasty with blood and the occasional small body part like the end of a finger or something. Usually we would pressure wash the damaged bike, package the body part and contact the local cop shop about the remain(s).
ReplyDeleteOne day a bike involved in an accident came in where a car had ended up on top of the rider and the bike. Somehow the riders head had been forced against the chain while the bike was still revving. The chain and rear sprocket was covered in his blood, hair, skin, bone fragments and brain matter.
It just so happened there was someone in the shop wanting a part for that model of bike and I was given a pick list to pull it NOW. The boss and I had a disagreement about me stripping the bike before it had at least been pressure washed, preferably steam cleaned. He refused so I packed my tools, told him I had been looking when I found this job and walked out. Come to think of it, I never did collect my final paycheck from that place.
wes
wtdb
I did high school ride along with Brown & Brown wrecker service. First call, ejection from VW bus windshield during mva.
ReplyDeleteWe're waiting on cops to finish to start hooking. The tow truck driver is standing next to one of the vehicles, calls me over.
You gotta see this and points inside the vehicle.... I'm not seeing... OH FUCK. 2 front teeth stuck in the hard ass platic steering wheel. Unbelievable but there they were, bloody roots and all.
I'll add - i was also an emt in Atlanta for couple years. Saw box blade battles, gun shot victims... I'll never forget those teeth.
chillhill
Doing the 'return' check-ins of the DotMil vehicles on the GMASS contract at Arifjan in Kuwait. Used to get HUUUGE convoys of flatbedded beat-to-shit LMTVs, HMMWVs, Tanks, Tracks you name it. We'd have them put up in rows for them to be inspected. One LMTV smelled like death man, no one wanted to go near it.
ReplyDeleteCome to find out a few later that the truck had apparently run over some poor Haj (probably tried to cross in front of a convoy to get 'lightly tagged' and paid off for the 'injury') but this convoy, whelp guess it didn't slow down or stop.
Dude was all squishchulated up in the underframe and carriage... had the damnedest look on his face, mouth all open, dead eyes buggin' out, mangled carcass and mashed up and into the framework. Gruesome as all get out, but at that point all we could do was laugh our asses off