On Sunday afternoon, a 19-year-old named Daniel J. Calhon caused a car accident under the Highway 26 tunnel in Portland, Oregon involving three vehicles because he fainted while holding his breath as he drove through the tunnel.
When he blacked out, his 1990 Toyota Camry drifted across the centerline and crashed head-on into a Ford Explorer that was carrying two passengers. Both cars hit the tunnel walls before a pickup crashed into the Camry.
Thankfully, no-one was in life-threatening conditions. Calhon and his passenger, along with the two in the Explorer, suffered some injuries and were sent to the hospital; and the two people in the truck were not injured.
Later, Calhon was charged with reckless driving, 3 counts of reckless endangerment, and 4th-degree assault.
State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings stated that he wasn't sure why Calhon held his breath, but concurred that it was because some people hold their breaths under tunnels as part of a game or superstition.
I find this story to be quite amusing and not funny at all at the same time. It's funny that he was stupid enough to hold his breath until he passed out just because of some silly superstition, and I also think it's funny that he couldn't even hold his breath for ten seconds - since the tunnel is only 772 feet long and thus travelling through it at the speed limit of 55mph would only take about 10 seconds.
However, this story is also not funny because it shows just how dangerous it can be to get even slightly distracted on the road. Thankfully, by the grace of God, no-one was hurt in this particular incident; but it should go to show that we need to be very careful on the road (especially as young and inexperienced drivers) and not cause accidents over stupid silly things like this.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/26/police-man-holding-breath-while-driving-through-oregon-tunnel-faints-causes-3/?intcmp=trending
People are crazy.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about people holding their breath when driving through tunnels and clearly this shows the major consequences that can occur. I hope everyone recovers from their injuries quickly.
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