60' Fall into the Mud

[dm_gsxr]

Someone inadvertently did some adventure riding I think

Story

BY BO PETERSEN



Pluff mud saved his life.

A teenager lost control of his motorcycle, plunged over the rail of the James Island connector at the Lockwood Drive ramp Saturday and dropped on the bike 60 feet into the mud flats and rising tide of the Ashley River.

He sat there mud-wrapped like a mummy, then crawled out of the water and laid down on the flat, leaving his shoes stuck behind, the bike a twisted freak in the mud and the tide leaking into his overturned helmet.

Charleston Police identified the motorcyclist as Benjamin Fischer, 17. He was being treated Saturday night at the Medical University of South Carolina and was in fair condition.

"I heard a boom, then a loud smack," said Orry Howe, who works at Ashley Marina nearby.

"We saw a debris field splash across the water," said Les Emery, of Hudson, Fla., who was docked at the marina. "He was stuck under the bike. He was half-buried in the mud and water. We couldn't believe it."

Howe sludged his way out to the flat and found Fischer waist deep with the tide beginning to circle him. He was conscious and yelling, Howe said. Howe asked if everything was all right and the man said no, everything wasn't all right.

"I told him, 'What's all right is you're alive. Somebody was looking out for you.'"

Charleston firefighters tied a rope to a stretcher board and slid the teen out of the mud, blinking, barefoot and shivering uncontrollably. The only visible injury was a cut on his arm.

Pluff mud is a soft, sucking fill along tidal marshes that has a distinct, pungent smell.

All The Pics



Carl

[bubba zanetti]

 ... distinct, pungent smell.  

That is quite a story to tell.

[MK96xj]

codos to the cop for getting in that shit.

I would have thrown a rope

[FlowBee]

codos to the cop for getting in that shit.

I would have thrown a rope

SWAMPTHING!!!!  

+1.  For what they get paid, this is an solid example of Doing Your Job Well.

Just remember to write him a ticket for "unsafe lane movement" or "driving too fast for conditions".    

[Samnsc]

"....distinct, pungent smell" doesn't even come close. But it is soft and "pluffy" .

Sam

[waz]

codos to the cop for getting in that shit.

T'was a firefighter.  No way is a cop gonna mess up his patent leathers gettin' in that shiite.

[Orson]

you really are indestructible at that age  

I used to mountain bike with some 18 year olds and every now & then, one would have a mighty crash then get up laughing.

I would think to myself, if that had been me, I'd be laying on the ground yellin "MEDIVAC!"

[FJRmgm]

that is one lucky, and smelly, kid.

[Nny]

Looking at this picture, how did he even fall off the road?    It's not a sharp curve or anything...

[cyjo]

Lucky bastidge! I never land in anything that soft!

[Scratch33]

Geez.  Lucky kid.

Betcha the ER folks had a fun time with all that mud.

[cyjo]

I bet the ambulance had to be hosed down afterwards.

"Excuse me sir but we're going to have to strap you to the hood"

[1moreroad]

Love this pic:


Somebody in Charleston has a sense of humor.  The pictures are filed under the "mudman" directory.  

Hey, at least he was wearing a FF helmet.  Safety first!

What kind of bike was that?  A few new plastics and it could be as good as new!

[jed]

 

Too damn funny.  That's the on ramp from Charleston to James Island.  There's a light at the bottom of the ramp, then it's got a real sharp right hand turn before it gentles out and there is almost not accel lane and it's all uphill.

I don't know how the hell he did that unless he was avoiding a car that was in front of him that slammed on the brakes.  A collge friend of mine is the harbor master for the marina you see in the pics (looking from Ashley Marina towards Charleston City Marina) and I used to keep a little 17' center console at the docks closest to the pylons.

The kid is lucky the tide was low.  The tides there run between 5-7 feet and if he had gotten vacuumed into that crap with a rising tide he woulda been fooked.

[keystonejenks]

I didn't know this guy rode a motorcycle! That's so awesome.

[johne]

That is one lucky kid. Never heard it called pluff mud. Where I came form on the coast of TX we called it swamp mud. Yes, it does have a distinctive smell that might remind you of a real nasty fart.

[Cricket]

He may have added to the pluff mud.      I know I would have.

[keystonejenks]

He may have added to the pluff mud.      I know I would have.

So the "distinct, pungent smell" may not have been just the mud?  

[Hardware]

[I can't believe no one has said it yet...but...]




SQUID!

[Nny]

 I believe you're looking for: