Thread: Local lad killed by towball

Originally Posted by KarlB

Details are starting to emerge about this tragic and unnecessary death: Tow Rope That Killed Teenager Addison Yates Went 'Like Slingshot'

Cheers
KarlB

It seems the two bolts holding the tow hook sheared. I would bet they were bunnings specials and not class 8.8 or higher as they should have been...

Broken tow rope 'like slingshot', killing boy in back seat
Marissa Calligeros
December 14, 2010 - 1:24PM

Addison Yates.

Addison Yates.

Addison Yates was sitting in the back seat of a four-wheel-drive bogged in bushland mud when the hook of the tow rope being used to pull them free came loose, catapulting through the rear window like a slingshot at a speed of up to 160kmh.

The hook hit the 14-year-old boy in the head, killing him.

Details emerged today of the tragedy, which occurred outside Hervey Bay on Sunday evening.
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Addison Yates. <B><A href= Freak towing strap death devastates family > Fraser Coast Chronicle </a></b>

Addison Yates. Fraser Coast Chronicle

Addison had been 'bush bashing' with two mates when they became bogged on a sodden dirt track in the Vernon Conservation Park, in Walligan.

Four friends in two other 4WDs tried to haul the vehicle out of the mud.

Addison's friends, believed to be aged between 17 and 21, connected the three 4WDs together in a convoy with snatch straps.

The region had been soaked with rain earlier in the day, but the rain continued to fall as the group tried to reverse the bogged vehicle out of the mud on Dundowran Road.

Addison sat in the back seat, facing backwards to watch the action.

But the group had underestimated the tension two vehicles would place on the towing straps.

Detective Sergeant Bruce Hodgins said the force was so great on one strap the metal hook was sheared off the tow bar and catapulted back towards Addison.

"It acted like a slingshot," Sergeant Hodgins said.

"The two vehicles put an unbelievable pressure on the strap. There was also incredible pressure on the middle vehicle.

"The hook bolts couldn't take the pressure."

The tow strap used was designed to bear a load of five tonnes, but the two vehicles created a load of about seven tonnes, Sergeant Hodgins estimated.

He said Addison and his friends often went bush bashing and were not unfamiliar with the terrain in the reserve.

"Did his friends act irresponsibly? No," the police office said.

"Did they underestimate the force of the two vehicles? Yes."

Queensland University of Technology physicists Stephen Hughes and John Barry estimated the hook would have catapulted through the rear windscreen of the 4WD at between 100 and 160kmh.

However Dr Hughes, a medical physicist, said the force would not need to be great to cause fatal head injuries.

"Even the slightest bump on the head can be fatal," he said.

"The person in this case would have suffered severe brain damage if they had not died."

Emergency crews waded through chest-deep water in a flooded creek to reach the group after searching for them for hours.

"It took some time for police and ambulance crews to get to him," Sergeant Hodgins said.

"[Addison's friends] offered what assistance they could, but they realised there was little hope."

Addison was the son of Hervey Bay Pastor Darryn Yates, who operates the Church by the Bay and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. A widower, Pastor Yates runs the centre with his new wife, Jill, after Addison's mother Dianne died.

Friends and family expressed their grief and disbelief on social networking site Facebook yesterday.

"He was such a kind and giving person. Why did he have to die?" one friend wrote.

Anther said: "He was the nicest kid. Man you are goin' (sic) to be missed so much."

Sergeant Hodgins said the tragedy served as a warning to others planning to go four-wheel-driving in the holiday season.

"This could have happened to anyone, anywhere," he said.

"It could have been a mother, or a very young child sitting in that seat."

He recommended training courses in towing bogged vehicles to help prevent future accidents.

Still hard to work out as in this story they interchange tow rope and snatch strap as if they were the same. But three 4wd in a row will easily apply more than 5 tonne of force especialy if there is monemtum in the towing vehicals. Irresponsible maybe definatly untrained and not equiped correctly should have been a winch or chains before tow or snatch straps very sad definatly

sadly... from the newpaper report


"He said Addison and his friends often went bush bashing and were not unfamiliar with the terrain in the reserve.

"Did his friends act irresponsibly? No," the police office said.

"Did they underestimate the force of the two vehicles? Yes."

Queensland University of Technology physicists Stephen Hughes and John Barry estimated the hook would have catapulted through the rear windscreen of the 4WD at between 100 and 160kmh."




..................education is obviously necessary

All the reports I have read all talk about "tow hook" and "snatch or tow' rope.

So did they use a winch cable style hook on a snatch strap to attach to the car - winch hooks would be only rated to half what is required in a snatch.

Or - maybe they had a mix of snatch straps and a "tow" rope - the ones with the open wire hook on the end and of course this would not be up to scratch.

I suppose clear details will not come out for some time as they finally have in the sad Tas incident.

Garry

Originally Posted by Redback

A picture tells a thousand words


I have a feeling it may have helped, would have slowed it's momentum at the least.

Baz.

No No No No No No and a thousand times more NO!
Assuming the hook that came off weighed .5 of a Kilogram, at 180 KmPh it would have had around 1.8 Tonnes of kinetic energy.
How much drag would that poxy damper give?

Originally Posted by Hymie

No No No No No No and a thousand times more NO!
Assuming the hook that came off weighed .5 of a Kilogram, at 180 KmPh it would have had around 1.8 Tonnes of kinetic energy.
How much drag would that poxy damper give?

A lot - once the kinetic energy has been expended (when the snatch strap has returned to its normal length) the weight of the (friction on the ground) and air resistance of the "winch blanket" would come into play and certainly slow the projectile down - maybe not enough to prevent damage or injury but maybe enough.

Garry

Originally Posted by garrycol

A lot - once the kinetic energy has been expended (when the snatch strap has returned to its normal length) the weight of the (friction on the ground) and air resistance of the "winch blanket" would come into play and certainly slow the projectile down - maybe not enough to prevent damage or injury but maybe enough.

Garry

Yeah, but by the time it's broken free it's still going to travel on it's original trajectory and reach the target car around the same time the damper takes effect. Think about it.

Originally Posted by Hymie

Yeah, but by the time it's broken free it's still going to travel on it's original trajectory and reach the target car around the same time the damper takes effect. Think about it.

Your correct if the damper is in the middle - I use two, one at either end.

Garry