Posted on 09/23/2006 10:51:28 PM PDT by naturalman1975
None of the news reports say that he stepped on the stingray. If it had been Mr. Irwin might be alive today.
From what I read after the accident, he didn't even see this one until it was too late. The story said that the one that killed him was in the sand UNDER the one he was looking at, and Irwin didn't see it until the barb came up and hit him. It's not like he was poking at it; it was just a horrid accident, but he put himself in positions that made accidents all the more possible, so he knew the risks.
Is there easily available such a thing as a "rayproof vest"? Most bullet proof vests can be easily pierced by a sharp knife or ice pick.
From what I undestand, if Dr. Seymour PLitz the renowned heart specialist from Johns Hopkins had been on the scene along with U of C's thorassic expert Dr. Vern Smoot and world famous surgeons Drs. Kyle Trent and Slip Mahoney, they wouldn't have been able to save Irwin, but they could have played bridge.
If the barb pierced a heart chamber he would have very little chance of survivng. Some reports said it hit his left ventricle, which would be the most dagerous spot to get hit at. The hole it self would be nearly fatal, along with possible damage to the left bundle branch, and as you said blood filling the pericardial sac.
There is much more about the mechanics of the injury and there are various other reports on our previous Steve Irwin threads.
Well worth skimming and reading a few of the earlier threads, with lots of knowledgeable (and some not so) commentary:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1707961/posts
He wasn't threatening it as you stated.
'Irwin didn't intimidate stingray'
Police have viewed video footage of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's final moments and ruled out that he was intimidating or threatening the stingray that killed him.
http://www.jerrylabella.com/stingray.html
Never underestimate the penetrating ability of a stingray’s barb, even on the smallest of stingrays. The stingray’s barb is designed to penetrate virtually all sorts of dense materials, including wood and leather. And as unbelievable as it may seem, it’s been documented that large stingrays are able to drive a barb through a boat’s wooden planks or completely through a persons arm or leg.
No. It's stingrays that are getting a "bad rap". Just as humans jump when startled, a stingrays tail whips. It's a reflex. Irwin had no reason to believe there was any danger. In the last 100 years, he's only the 3rd person in Australia to die from a stingray.
A Freeper posted that they were told there was a second stingray. I believe it was HighlyOpinionated. That would make sense. There is an interview with Terri Irwin on Wednesday. Maybe she will address the confusion. I hope that the interview is "cathartic" for her.
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