Sheriff: 3 ND students likely didn't see pond

Three college softball players found dead after their sport utility vehicle went into a pond on a North Dakota farm during a stargazing trip likely drove straight into the water in the dark, authorities said today.

[Laura]

How absolutely heartbreaking for their families and friends. May God be with them.

[Nooner Guy]

Very sad story....I still dont understand how they didnt make it out of the car though :-(

[notanostrich]

Nooner Guy wrote:

Very sad story....I still dont understand how they didnt make it out of the car though :-(

The families deserve the sympathy they get, for sure. One comment in the story troubles me, and that is the comment about the three dialing, late at night/early in the morning, their friends, instead of 911. With the expertise of trained dispatchers, and the technology available to search and rescue teams, the fate of the girls might have been different. 911 is the only number to call when in a real crisis. Certainly your friends can wait while trained professionals assist you. Sad, sad story and as a parent, one I would never wish upon anyone, myself included.

[Hardhead]

Getting out of a car that is in the water isn't difficult if you know what to do. If you don't, its damn near impossible. If the water is only as high as the window frame on the door, you are trying to push 900 lbs of water out of the way, if the water is up to the top of the door, you are trying to push about a ton of water out of the way. You have to let the inside of the car fill with water before you can open the door, if you can get the windows down you can go out through the windows, but with electric windows that usually isn't an option. There is a PSA that is run occasionally on this topic, it should be taught in all the high schools.

[Vikings Fan]

Sad story, my sympaties to their family members.

[Just me]

That's why everyone should keep a hammer or power punch in your glove box.
Sympathies to the families.

[Theresa]

Just a reminder, always beaware of your surroundings. never go down roads or in areas you are not familar with. Esp in the country and after dark.

[sock]

Hardhead wrote:

Getting out of a car that is in the water isn't difficult if you know what to do. If you don't, its damn near impossible. If the water is only as high as the window frame on the door, you are trying to push 900 lbs of water out of the way, if the water is up to the top of the door, you are trying to push about a ton of water out of the way. You have to let the inside of the car fill with water before you can open the door, if you can get the windows down you can go out through the windows, but with electric windows that usually isn't an option. There is a PSA that is run occasionally on this topic, it should be taught in all the high schools.

Mythbusters tackled this one a little while back. Adam was able to operate a power window with the car submerged AND filled with water, although it would not go down unless the pressure was equalized. As for opening the door, he was able to open it with the water as high as his waist - barely. The key to waiting until the car fills with water is NOT panicking. In the first run, Adam struggled to open the door before it filled, and was not able to hold his breathe long enough for the car to fill - he had to resort to scuba equipment. Second time around he waited calmly for the car to fill and was able to hold his breathe long enough for the pressure to equalize and open the door after. Took 1:37

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2007/01/episode_72...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%282...

[Ohmigosh]

sock wrote:

<quoted text>
Mythbusters tackled this one a little while back. Adam was able to operate a power window with the car submerged AND filled with water, although it would not go down unless the pressure was equalized. As for opening the door, he was able to open it with the water as high as his waist - barely. The key to waiting until the car fills with water is NOT panicking. In the first run, Adam struggled to open the door before it filled, and was not able to hold his breathe long enough for the car to fill - he had to resort to scuba equipment. Second time around he waited calmly for the car to fill and was able to hold his breathe long enough for the pressure to equalize and open the door after. Took 1:37
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2007/01/episode_72...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%282...

This is a great idea, if you have the patience and level-headedness to remain calm. How many of us would be able to allow our submerged car to fill with water before trying to open the door - for over a minute?!!? Not very likely unless you had seen it demonstrated or practiced it yourself. Water is a scary thing for most of us, even if we know how to swim.

P.S. Adam and Jamie rock!

[Kate]

Wow this story got so much sadder after learning their was a dog in the car. poor puppy.

[Bob]

Kate wrote:

Wow this story got so much sadder after learning their was a dog in the car. poor puppy.

I disagree. It doesn't get any sadder than the loss of human life. Dogs are animals not humans by the way.

[suitUP]

i'm originally from dickinson and i recall meeting one of the girls before. they were found just a mile or two from the house i grew up in. having driven many times at night through the area which is far from townlights, i know that it is especially difticult to see at night. i'm also willing to bet that they were driving with out the headlights on because they were driving through someone's property and probably wanted to avoid being seen. none the less, this is a tragic loss for family, friends, and the community. sending thoughts their way.

[The American Lesion]

This reminds me of a fairly recent incident in MN. A woman was driving her car and the accelerator got stuck (it was later determined to be a pebble in the throttle linkage). She starts riding the brakes but not hard enough to stop it. OK... this goes on for MILES... many minutes, many miles. She gets on the phone to 911, where she ends up panicing to an equally worthless female dispatcher. Between the two of them they can't come up with the ideas of turning the key off or putting the car in neutral. Panicing driver then blows through a red light, T-boning a husband and wife on their motorcycle, killing him and putting her in the hospital for a long, long, painful time. The third worthless female in this case, the judge, lets PanicDriver off, pretty much saying poor women are at the mercy of their vehicles, not the other way around.

What I'm getting at is, WHO EVEN THINKS about grabbing the stupid cell phone in cases like that?!? YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS FIRST.

Just imagine if that pilot that landed the airliner in the Hudson River had a big freakout and whipped out his cell phone INSTEAD OF TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS.

I swear to God common sense is dead.

[Dale]

geez, when in a vehicle filling with water, either get doors and/or windows open quickly - or wait till pressure equalizes - AND THEN GET OUT!

[Hardhead]

Kate wrote:

Wow this story got so much sadder after learning their was a dog in the car. poor puppy.

Anyone thinking that the death of a dog is sadder than the death of three young women needs to examine their priorities.

[bodie]

poor ignorant americans. teach your kids some basic common sense before you teach them about jesus and god! idiots.

[suitUP]

oh shove it bodie. one of the girls was canadian anyways.

[notanostrich]

Bob wrote:

<quoted text>
I disagree. It doesn't get any sadder than the loss of human life. Dogs are animals not humans by the way.

She probably believes a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's too. Another myth.