Today's award goes to a French student.
A drunk French teenager narrowly escaped death on Sunday after falling asleep on a railway track and slumbering undisturbed as a high-speed train roared over him, police said.
The 19-year old, whose name was not released, remained fast asleep face down on a stretch of track near Saint Nolff in southern Brittany, as the Quimper to Paris train passed, leaving only a few grease stains on the back of his jacket.
The driver saw the body lying on the tracks and slammed on the brakes, but was only able to stop a few hundred meters further on.
"It was his unconscious state that saved him really, as he lay there completely still like a dead body," said a spokesman for the local police force, adding that the clearance under the train is only around 20 centimeters.
According to the spokesman, the teenager was making his way back from the Saint Nolff music festival when he stopped to take a nap on the railway line.
Roused by police and fire fighters who attended the scene, the young man gave a one-fingered salute before rolling over and going back to sleep.
He was subsequently transferred to a nearby hospital where police say he is still recovering from his alcohol binge.
"He's not really aware of what happened," said the police spokesman.
When he finally sobers up, I hope he realizes what a lucky SOB he is! One hopes it'll deter him from similar binges in future . . . but, given that he's a student, I have my doubts.
Peter
5 comments:
Since he's a student, he's still learning.
Hopefully, he'll live long enough to graduate. . . .
B Woodman
III-per
Missed by That much! (Channeling Maxwell Smart.)
He'll win his Darwin Award the next time. His type are members of the terminal stupid.
Darwin wannabe is right!
20 cm? Man, that's just UNDER 8"! I'm not a big guy, but that's a tight fit for me!
Reminds me of a story (true, btw) told me by a fraternity brother from Spokane, WA from the early sixties. One drunken night an intrepid party-going youth made the wrong turn and tried to cross the Spokane R. in attempt to drive home but missed turn and drove car across the RR track bridge. When ride began to get bumpy guy thought it was a flat tire, opened the door and stepped "outside" to check things out--thusly managing to free-fall several hundred feet into the river, survive, and float downstream totally unconscious from combination of impact and booze, but on his back!! Luckly somebody noticed object floating by close to shore and they fished him out. Was relatively little worse for the wear after he sobered up my friend said--who knew him personally--as they were HS class-mates. IIIRC my guy said a train came along shortly thereafter and demolished car--was lucky he fell off bridge! LOL!!
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