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Suicides Using Ground Vehicles (Trains; Trucks; Etc.)

When I was growing up I lived about 30 seconds casual stroll from the Preston to Manchester rail line which obviously became one of my main play/pratting about areas. I never thought that there was much chance of being hit by a speeding train as you could hear them coming for quite some distance, if not by the actual noise of the engine then by the vibrations on the track. There was a local lad, a bit older than me, that one early morning took a long walk to a fairly remote part of the line, put his head on the track and waited for oblivion. It always bothered me somewhat how he went about killing himself, that long walk, knowing what he was planning and then seeing it through when that train was heading towards him. It bothered me but not enough to stop me from playing on the tracks!
 
Sgt Girth said:
When I was growing up I lived about 30 seconds casual stroll from the Preston to Manchester rail line which obviously became one of my main play/pratting about areas. I never thought that there was much chance of being hit by a speeding train as you could hear them coming for quite some distance, if not by the actual noise of the engine then by the vibrations on the track. There was a local lad, a bit older than me, that one early morning took a long walk to a fairly remote part of the line, put his head on the track and waited for oblivion. It always bothered me somewhat how he went about killing himself, that long walk, knowing what he was planning and then seeing it through when that train was heading towards him. It bothered me but not enough to stop me from playing on the tracks!
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A bloke in my home town went off to kill himself on the railway. He somehow messed up and just lost his legs, so he somehow crawled back to civilisation to raise the alarm. Within a couple of years he was considered a local hero.
 
escargot said:
A bloke in my home town went off to kill himself on the railway. He somehow messed up and just lost his legs, so he somehow crawled back to civilisation to raise the alarm. Within a couple of years he was considered a local hero.
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The North is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
 
Sgt Girth said:
You’d have thought that the sheer amount of blood loss would have seen him off! I bet it stung a fair bit too!
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You'd think that but with this sort of injury the blood vessels are crushed flat, which closes them off.
 
Sgt Girth said:
You’d have thought that the sheer amount of blood loss would have seen him off!

I bet it stung a fair bit too!
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From a BTP officer of my acquaintance - who had closeup experience of such an incident - apparently the train’s wheels are so hot they simultaneously amputate and cauterise. Combine that with arteries’ natural tendency to close up when severed, due to their muscular walls, and it seems that pegging out might not be as rapid as we assume.

l bet it would make the back of your eyelids itch a bit, though.

maximus otter
 
escargot said:
A bloke in my home town went off to kill himself on the railway. He somehow messed up and just lost his legs, so he somehow crawled back to civilisation to raise the alarm. Within a couple of years he was considered a local hero.
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A not too dissimilar attempt happened in my town back in '98. We have a hostel here that is home to folks with a variety of problems and issues.
One morning a fellow attempted to take his life by laying upon the railway tracks but only succeeded in having both legs severed by the oncoming train.
One of the local doctors was across the street buying coffee and was able to offer immediate assistance. The saddest part of this story was that the suicide attempt was in clear view of a bus stop full of kids waiting for the school bus.
 
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Little_grey_lady said:
Samaritans worked with Network Rail to provide training to railway staff about how to look out for people.
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One sunny day off, last year, I went for a wander. I ended up on the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

I meandered over the bridge, looking at the details, enjoyed the view from the central section for a bit and did a visualisation of throwing my cares into the river below. I also thought about the young lad from work who I was acquainted who'd killed himself by jumping off the bridge. I wondered about the effort needed as the wire barrier looked tricky to negotiate. I even reached up my hand to get a sense of how one might even go about it.

Got to the other side and was leaning on a parapet admiring the colours and shapes of the opposite cliff face when a man appeared beside me and asked if I was ok. He said they'd been watching me on the cctv and decided to check on me. I was jolted out of my daydreaming, suddenly realising how my behaviour must have looked.

When I crossed back over I strode purposefully with a spring in my step to reassure anyone watching.
 
EnolaGaia said:
Two college students fell from the roof of a 4-story apartment building while partying and taking selfies ...
FULL STORY: https://6abc.com/temple-university-...rooftop-party-teens-fell-from-police/6735533/
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Back in Summer 2004 I got a train to Edinburgh to visit my aunt. From Waverley station I walked up the steep Fleshmarket Close towards the Royal Mile and near the top of the close saw a very odd stain on one of the 'landings'. It was red, and my first thought was that someone had dropped a strawberry flavoured drink of some kind, or something similar. This one really didn't look like that - it was just different enough to be noticeable. It was spread across most of this landing in the picture below - just where the red sign is here

When I got to my aunt's house I read in the newspaper what had happened the previous night:

Woman dies in hostel plunge

If you look up and to the left of the above Google Streetview link you can see the roof that she fell from. :(

I was shocked that no-one had cleaned the steps before reopening them to the public. I still think about what had happened there every time I walk up/down that close. It must have been horrifying for her falling that distance in the night.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
Indeed, it's usually a side-splitting topic.
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When you cut down people it hardly laughs a minute. When people are still alive and you think "how can I fix your destroyed throat and keep you going before the ambulance arrives ?" The sounds they make really don't help.

Airway management?? - yeah right.

Am I up for this?
Do I have the skills?
What happens if I freak out?
Can I deal with this?

What will the family feel if you fuck up or forget something in your panic? If you've fucked up can lose your job or face a manslaughter charge - cherrio career - this is now the new normal - you might end up on manslaughter charges.

Usually, everyone is freaking out, moaning horror, even professionals will fall apart if a suicide attempt is something particularly different. The job is to do the best you can until emergency people arrive - that can be a long wait.

Support staff.
 
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My colleagues were on conference in Vienna a number of years ago, and, travelling back to their hotel one evening, got caught up in the mother of all chaos due to a suicide on a train line. It turned out to be the guy who had been holding a teenage girl hostage for years, who decided to take the messy way out when she escaped.
 
bugmum said:
My colleagues were on conference in Vienna a number of years ago, and, travelling back to their hotel one evening, got caught up in the mother of all chaos due to a suicide on a train line. It turned out to be the guy who had been holding a teenage girl hostage for years, who decided to take the messy way out when she escaped.
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From the details you provide, that would have been the suicide of Wolfgang Přiklopil in 2006, who held Natascha Kampusch captive for over 8 years.
 
AnonyJoolz said:
From the details you provide, that would have been the suicide of Wolfgang Přiklopil in 2006, who held Natascha Kampusch captive for over 8 years.
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Yup. That would be a number of years ago! Still, 2006 - where does the time go?
 
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