man, 84, talks about being stranded in desert for 5 days

http://bit.ly/e7CnLL

"I want to drive again, but those guys want to take my car away," Morello said. "They've got another thing coming."

That's the kind of spunk that kept him going. A pretty resourceful guy for someone who's 84 and has some dementia.

Interesting that it took 5 days to find him. Cave Creek is pretty close to northern Phoenix as I recall. Not exactly remote country. Maybe they didn't have a good idea of where to look?

HJ

He is very fortunate this happened during the winter with significantly more reasonable temperatures than at other seasons of the year. In the summer, his chances of survival would have been significantly less. I am glad he made it.

I must say I am surprised that he did not carry water in his vehicle. In desert country, water is a must item for a vehicle...

Amazing story!

Among other things (water, gear etc), it is a pretty strong case for having a 12v charger for your phone in your car:



It doesn't take long to recharge enough to make that call.

Lucky man. Don't think I would of ever thought of drinking windshield washer fluid...

I am curious though on how his car battery went dead and how his cell phone battery ran down before he could make a call for help.

I Hope he played the Powerball Lotto while his luck was still Valid,& He was diabetic,No Less!I Hope he becomes an Advocate of Preparedness,amongst his Friends,etc.He Definitely had the Will to Survive!

Glad he made it out. Interesting to note how it's often a bunch of small things going wrong that add up to a serious problem.

One big caveat: if you drink windshield washer fluid in northern climes, you are dead.

One more thing:

If you drink properly maintained washer fluid anywhere, you are at least blind for a few hours to days. The blind part is relieved usually by a miserable death if there is no medical attention. . .

Some people, to be frugal, just put water in. If he's been doing this for a few years there may only be traces of the actual cleaner left.

I've carried antifreeze before and would use an empty antifreeze jug to carry water in to make the 50/50 mix, if the jug is rinsed out a few times it would probably be safe to drive from. But now they have those pre-mixed jugs so the last one or two I've bought have been those. Might be better to go back to mixing it myself at least I'd have extra water if needed. I helped a lady and her son in a rest area, the boy was running a paper cup up to the water fountain and running back and pouring in the radiator but I think it was running out as fast as he could fill it. There was a tiny line, one of the little hoses that circulates water around the intake for emissions that was rotten and leaking. I had a scrap piece of fuel line in my toolbox that fit so I replaced it and gave them my containers to refill.

I'm guessing this is where the whole "dementia" problem came into play. It's too bad that this old coot sounds like he has alot of fight left in him but someone, for pete's sake, please take this man's license away before he accidentally tries to kill himself again or he mistakes a store entrance for the freeway entrance and kills someone else.

My Mom had dementia, and after one incident where she drove the wrong way to a neighbor's house, Dad convinced her the police had pulled her license. That and he hid the car keys.

Granted, elders need some form of independence, but when they start to become a danget to themselves and/or others, it's time to do something.

DW's aunt lived in an assisted living center, where she had her own apartment, could cook her own meals or go to the dining hall. The staff checked on the residents daily, if not more. There were trips to the supermarket and the mall quite frequently, as well as movie nights.

I agree with Ajax, do something for this guy before he hurts himself.

"...He left his favorite restaurant in Cave Creek, Harold's Corral, Monday night and made a wrong turn on his way home..."

If that's not a giant sign for his family to step in and start addressing the dementia, nothing is.

JBMat: "My Mom had dementia, and after one incident where she drove the wrong way to a neighbor's house, Dad convinced her the police had pulled her license."

Thanks for the idea. I'll use that tactic, too.

I think this is more a case of Gumping (as in Forrest) his way through a crisis. At 84, and a bit of dementia, I think he was just not coherent or rational enough to save himself.

That said, hey, good for him he lived. Plenty of people a 1/4 his age don't in stranded situations.

A good argument for kits in every car. All my cars have, at a minimum
Matches, candles, food, snow shovel & a sleeping bag.


Would onstar have helped?

OnStar uses cellular technology. It has the advantage of a better antenna than a handheld, but ultimately, it is cellular. It runs on the car battery. It may have been able to be used if there was enough residual power left at some point.

One advantage of OnStar is that it automatically calls for aid if the airbags deploy.

True, but that doesn't appear to be the case in this incident.