Saturday, December 05, 2009

One more Darwin Award nominee

Darrell Dunafon gets this nomination. He and two idiot friends began the night by committing a felony when they broke into a cell phone tower site in Arizona. They apparently thought that it would be fun to climb the tower and skydive from it--something known as BASE jumping. BASE stands for Building Antenna, Spans, Earth. It's a form of skydiving where the adventurous types try to jump from things and places--usually things and places that do not belong to them and which are not set up for jumping from. It usually entails a criminal act like trespassing, and it involves significant risk even if done right. Well Dunafon didn't do it right.
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say a Tucson man has died after parachuting from a cell phone tower at night and hitting high-voltage power lines.

Pinal County sheriff's Lt. Tamatha Villar says 23-year-old Darrell Dunafon and two friends broke into a cell tower site about 30 miles south of Phoenix on Friday night and were parachuting off the approximately 400-foot-tall antennae.

Dunafon's parachute became tangled in nearby 12,000-volt power lines and he was shocked with a live wire.

Villar says the two friends called for help, and rescue crews turned off the power and cut Dunafon down. He had a slight pulse but was pronounced dead at a hospital in the nearby town of Casa Grande.

Dunafon was a Tucson resident who recently moved to the southeast Phoenix suburb of Queen Creek.
Shocking.

Way to go, moron. All you had to do was respect the signs that said "Danger--Keep Out." and you'd likely still be alive today. But no...you had to go out doing a human bug-zapper act.

Here's hoping that at least a few people will think before doing something dopey. You only have one life; don't end it just for kicks.

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:31 PM

    Attention writer of this article, aka "me". Do us all a favor and hurry up and die so we can all talk shit about you and see how your friends and family like it. You are a waste of life. RIP Dunafon.

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  2. If I die stupidly and totally unnecessarily while committing a crime, you'll be entitled to do just that. But don't hold your breath waiting.

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  3. The very same one that will denigrate someone for dying doing something politically incorrect will defend to the Nth degree some idiot criminal.. Oh, and they always post as "Anonymous" like you can't find exactly from what computer they are posting! :):)

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  4. Zachariah11:50 PM

    why would you talk bad about a person that died not doing anything wrong?

    the "waste of life" was the one that wasted his life. why should the writer of this blog not be entitled to poke fun at retards doing retarded things?

    my wrestling coach always said life is all about choices, and it is what you choose for it to be.

    looks like that guy made a bad choice.

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  5. Anonymous5:43 PM

    Did you ever think that maybe he has family that loves him and misses him? Why don't you watch the rude things you say about people. That is a member of my family that are talking about.

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  6. That's unfortunate. You have my sympathies. However if he had not BROKEN INTO that facility and trespassed on their tower, he would not have zapped himself into the next world and put numerous rescuers and power company employees at risk in the process. You do realize that other people had to go in and try to save him and clean up the mess, right? What if one of them had been hurt or killed?

    Actions have consequences. Stupid ones deserve discussion, if only as an object lesson.

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  7. Anonymous8:41 PM

    I agree that it's cras to be so cruel in your comments. Just amkes you like like a miserable, hateful person- not brilliant observations!

    You didn't know this man- or what he was about. I'm sure that any mistakes made or lapses in judgement are obvious to those who care about him & he paid the ultimate price. He was a grown mn & I doubt that MOST people at that age get the opinion or permission from 'their families' before doing whatever they do.

    I don't know much about BASE jumping- so can't comment on that. It's not my thing- but I don't begrudge someone else theirs. I don' know what drives a man to do what he does- in his case it's not that this man was stupid. He wasn't, and he bravely served and defended our rights to have some freedom of choice. Definately fa from a waste of life. While that doesn't negate breaking rules- perhaps living so close to the edge (ie fighting in Iraq), being wounded & recovering make a guy live for the day- wish to feel something or whatever the case may be. We can't make someone live their life like we want- I sure wouldn't want someone else in charge of living mine.

    While frusration for survivers may be a normal response- just give it a rest for awhile. A little compassion for WHO he was (not all about how he died) and the good people who love him would go a LONG way.

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  8. Oh, yes....I just have always wanted to go diving off a cellphone tower surrounded by powerful electric lines....*snort* What the hell was he thinking?!?

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  9. And what is up with stupid Anonymous who has to hide their identity? Douche-bag.

    ME: You are very right. Actions have consequences. Sucks if a person dies because of their stupidity but that is the choice they made. Life's a bitch. And consequences can bite a person in the ass. Just like it did for this guy who was stupid enough to jump off a cellphone tower.

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  10. Kitty O'Brien1:24 PM

    Front Porch Society..."stupid Anonymous" ... "douche-bag" ?? So now you are demeaning a relative of the deceased? Wow, and I love how you invoke the Lord on your blog. Ah, the hypocrisy...

    Seriously, where did you all come from?? Did you all crawl out of the same sick hole? It makes me sad that there are so many hateful people in the world.

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  11. Kitty O'Brien1:26 PM

    And as for you, "Me", I'm sure deep down you feel bad for what you've done. Just put yourself in this family's shoes. What if your sister/brother/mother/father/child was killed in a similar fashion? I doubt you'd be blogging about what an idiot the person was. And if you would, then God help you.

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  12. While we all are grateful for his service, in my opinion, his time in a war zone should have taught him to be cautious, make good decisions, and appreciate life. While I appreciate the rights we all (try to) enjoy to live without governmental interference, some rules are made for a reason - like to try and protect immature and/or completely stupid individuals from themselves. At some point - like while climbing over a tall, reinforced fence surrounding property he does not own, which is marked "STAY OUT - DANGER - DO NOT ENTER", located close to high voltage wires - this guy should have stopped and thought to himself "This is a bad idea." He didn't. Now his friends and family are suffering for his colossal stupidity, and strangers on the internet are mocking him.

    Lesson learned the hard way.

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  13. Again, if you die dumb--or while doing something dangerous, stupid, illegal or a combination of these things--then you give up the luxury of not being help up as an example.

    Don't like it? Then don't die dumb. It's really just that simple.

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  14. Mister BASE jumper apparently wasn't too bright...

    At least until he hit the 12KV powerline...

    And then he was only bright for a split second...

    Way to go there Sparky.

    And if I had a relative who was such an idiot that he thought it a good idea to jump from a cell tower surrounded by power lines, YES, I'd talk shit about him or her too. I don't need someone that stupid in my end of the gene pool.

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  15. Anonymous and Kitty... as someone in an industry that routinely employs such DANGER - HIGH VOLTAGE signs (as well as fencing, locked gates and the like) to keep unauthorized people away from the dangerous stuff, let me point out a couple of things...
    First....the cell phone tower is PRIVATE PROPERTY! It is owned by a company. Breaking into private property for whatever reason is a crime; thus this fellow was a criminal.
    Second, the physical barriers and signage are in place not only to keep the dangerous adult stuff inside out of the reach of those too stupid, or too "free-spirited" to bother paying attention to the warnings; they also serve as proof that said company performed it's duties in regards to safegaurding the hazards on their property. SO if you're hoping for some quick cash from the cell phone company...or the power company...so sorry for you! Since the MIQ (Moron in Question)violated the law, and disregarded the safegaurds established to prevent JUST SUCH AN OCCURRENCE, this moronitutde just cost you your payday!
    Oh and Kitty....before you go get all sanctimonious about someone who "invokes the Lord" on their blog, ya might want to read Proverbs....pay really close attention any time you see the word "Fool". Seems to me God's just fine with calling an idiot just that.
    Oh and Jesus himself was known to call certain people suggestively vulgar names...."Brood of Vipers"? The implication there is that the group being addressed had mommies who perfromed sexual acts with snakes!
    Sorry, but your alleged "family member" was an IDIOT!

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