Larry A. Smail's Blog

The day started off in a great way. I was in the hunter mode and told my wife I was going to bring home a deer today to fill the fodders for winter is coming. I met my step father, Bob and told him I was going to hunt along a bottom area and would be back on top later.

Around nine o’clock I met up with Bob and we planned a drive. Bob has been successful at this spot a couple of times in past hunts.

I circled a field and spotted a small buck and two does. the two does dropped over a ridgeline heading towards where Bob was to be. No shots! I didn’t think anything of that fact for deer do not always present a perfect shot.

I continued out a ridge and dropped over heading towards Bob. The cell phone rang and I heard weak words…Larry, I need help. A tree fell on me. I was not far and hurried through the woods. At first I couldn’t see anything until I spotted orange. Bob was holding his arm into the air.

I hollered and ran to him. I quickly assessed him and circled below the tree and immediately saw his foot wasn’t facing the right way. I called 911. My next step was to reassure him and headed off in a run up over the hill and across a field to the landowner’s home. I inquired about a gate at the field where a grassy-farming road was located. She said it wasn’t locked. I ran up hill to the gate just as the first ambulance arrived. Issues with mud became real.

Two EMT people and I began hurrying down the road along the field before a Humvee-style vehicle followed behind. Others followed. Chainsaws were out trying to clear tree debris along a gas-well lane near to where Bob was waiting.

The landowner’s grandson arrived with his 4-wheel drive pick up and drove down to the gas well.

The workers worked to clear some vines and limbs around Bob and checking his vitals. He was in much pain. Eventually a stabilizing plastic board was placed under him and his leg was straightened and splinted. They didn’t cut the big tree that had fallen for fear it might collapse onto Bob. He was slid out from under the tree.

We carried him on in a basket onto the pick up bed. The mud caused issues and the Humvee-style vehicle had to back down and chain the truck out. I remember saying keep it steady for that vehicle was spinning and swaying as well, but we made it to the field.

Bob was taken to a local hospital where they put him under and straightened the ankle. He, also, had great pains in his right chest and stomach area. Bruising was visible. He is scheduled for surgery to repair fractures in the ankle area.

UPDATE: AS OF TODAY: DECEMBER 4 WE HAVE LEARNED OF FRACTURES IN SPINAL BONES, BUT NOT AT AREAS OF THE SPINAL CORD.

THE INCIDENT MIRACLES:

The tree that fell was around forty or more feet and up to twelve or so inches in diameter. It was either a poplar or aspen tree. The tree uprooted and fell hitting Bob at his shoulder’s edge knocking him backwards and down. The tree, apparently, slid along his chest and abdomen area. An inch or so would have been a direct hit crushing his shoulder and, quit likely, his head killing him instantly.

Interestingly, another tree had fallen in the past for it was moss-covered. This tree’s root ball was immediately on Bob’s right. The falling tree landed on that root ball stopping it from completing the fall to ground level. This allowed for a several inch gap between Bob’s body and the underside of the tree. If that root ball hadn’t had been there to stop the falling tree this trunk would fallen across Bob’s chest and abdomen crushing him.

I told Bob while the people were working on him, “Bob, you may not realize it now, but you are a very lucky man.”

Yes, it was a bad day!