Worker crushed by 7800 lb pipe.

Yes, his last words really were, "Don't worry, I've got it."

-Blast

He got it alright. OOF!

Ouch.

Remember kids, when the guy who works with this stuff every day tells you to wait, you bloody well wait.

Darwin strikes again.

He had spinach last night, his Wheaties in the morning and saw the Incredible Hulk do it, so he was thinking it would work out.

On the other hand he probably had done it that way dozens, if not hundreds of times, before and he had always gotten away with it. If he was alert and quick on his feet there was probably some chance he could have caught sight of the pipe rolling and ducked under it and sheltered under the trailer.

Didn't work out that way.

I have taken similar risks. I would like to think well of my self, that the actual risk was somehow less and, of course, I always had my ducklings more firmly in line and was more on the ball than this guy, I suspect that none of that was always true. Sometimes I was swift and sure. Other times all that saved me from death or disability was dumb luck.

I can joke at this guys end. But not without feeling that it could have been me.

Same here. There's a great deal of truth in the old saying "there but for the grace of God go I." I grew up dealing with heavy equipment, agricultural machinery and cattle in confined spaces. I've learned to be careful but, to be honest, I've also been very lucky.

The unlucky (perhaps unwary) fellow who was killed will have his last words immortalized in training videos, manuals and cartoons for a long, long time. I guess influencing others to stay alive is a legacy of sorts.

I really feel for the fellow who tried to do the right thing and was told to buzz off. He has to live with that terrible image.

I tell stories of some of the incredibly STUPID things I did as a young man, working as an Iron worker. 6 Stories up, no harness? Common Working live on 110/220 electric? Common. Using the edge of the sole of your boot to prop an I beam to be able to get the sling out, without needing to go get a block of wood, or use a dog and do a second lift? Pactically every darned day. I won't even go into the really crazy stuff, where someone did something REALLY dumb

This is a bit insensitive...this man may have been someone's father/husband, and was certainly someone's son. It may not have been the brightest thing in the world, but a human being is dead. We've all said things that made us look stupid, but let's not jump to conclusions here.

It is a cold hard fact that if you work with heavy stuff that moves (and lots of other things), you can (and will) get hurt eventually. How badly you are hurt depends, I like to think, on whether or not your number is up. I used to work as the derrickman in the old steel oil rigs. Lots of ways to get hurt there. I was lucky, but friends/co-workers weren't always...

Like some of those who have posted above, I've done some risky things in my life, many trying to get a job done easier or faster. I was lucky and suffered no serious injuries. I only had one person working under me suffer a serious injury, and that was one too many. Others weren't so lucky. I've had cases involving some who were not lucky, and I've known others; Fingers lost, heads split open, broken bones and more bad backs than I can recall.

He made a mistake, a very costly mistake. Feel bad for him and his.

But we also need reminders about such mistakes when they are made. And it is a natural tendency for those who are or have been in risky jobs to make fun of those who are not lucky. If we stayed very serious about it, it would hurt us too. We need to laugh, so as not to feel the hurt.