From the Memphis Commercial appeal:
Memphis hunter crawls six hours to safety after tree-stand fall
By Bryan Brasher
Posted November 13, 2012 at 5:28 p.m., updated November 14, 2012 at midnight
Bob Thurman recovers at The Med Tuesday afternoon from injuries suffered when he fell out of a tree stand he was setting up for deer season in Fayette County. Thurman was forced to crawl for hours up a hill to his 4-wheeler after breaking his femur in three places.
Tennessee deer season
Tennessee�s modern firearms deer season will open at sunrise Saturday with thousands of people entering the woods for the first time in eight months. The season, which always opens the Saturday before Thanksgiving, will remain open until Jan. 6, 2013.
For a complete list of hunting regulations and tree stand safety precautions, visit tnwildlife.org.
Search our databases
After a terrifying 14-foot fall from a tree stand and an excruciating four-hour crawl back to the all-terrain vehicle he used to enter the woods, Memphis resident Bob Thurman won't be hunting as he'd planned on Saturday's opening day of the modern firearms deer season in Tennessee.
Instead, he'll be in a hospital bed with a broken left femur, urging others to always practice safety precautions while hunting from elevated tree stands.
Thurman, 47, suffered the fall Friday afternoon as he tried to attach a ladder stand to a tree on a friend's hunting property off Jernigan Road in Fayette County. He was still hospitalized at The Med awaiting transfer to a rehab facility Tuesday evening.
"I was out there trying to attach a 14-foot ladder stand to a tree by myself, and I knew better than that," Thurman said. "When you're hanging a ladder stand, you always need two people � one up in the stand and one on the ground making sure it doesn't fall. I didn't follow that rule, and it almost killed me."
A "ladder stand" is a vertical ladder with a flat seat at the top that attaches easily to large rounded trees with a ratchet kit. Hunters often choose a good area for their stands before opening day and leave them in the same spot for an entire season.
The simple process of hanging a ladder stand takes only a few minutes, and that simplicity may have worked against Thurman on Friday. Instead of taking someone along to help, he elected to hang the stand by himself and fell victim to gravity.
That was his first mistake. His second was leaving his cellphone behind in his truck instead of keeping it with him as most tree stand-safety manuals recommend.
As a result, he was forced to crawl back to his ATV in agony and drive to his truck to call for help.
Though he was covering what he described as a "relatively short distance," it took him more than four hours to crawl from the site of the accident to the ATV and another two hours to climb on and drive back to his truck.
Ty Inmon, the Tennessee conservation officer who filed the report on Thurman's accident, said the story should serve as a warning to hunters to keep their cellphones within reach at all times.
"A few years ago, a guy fell backwards out of a tree stand at Ames Plantation and was able to call for help hanging there upside down because his cellphone was in his shirt pocket," Inmon said. "That's one of the first things Mr. Thurman said to me, is that he should have had his cellphone with him in the stand.
"Hunters should keep it with them � and just put it on vibrate."
Tree-stand falls are the leading cause of hunting-related accidents in Tennessee. There were eight tree-stand accidents during the 2011-12 hunting season � an increase from five accidents the previous season � including one fatality.
Thurman said he hopes his story will serve as a warning as thousands prepare to enter the Tennessee woods for Saturday's opening day.
"I probably won't ever go into another tree stand unless it's a permanent stand that I know is completely safe," Thurman said. "But I know a lot of people will � and I sure hope they'll think about me and be smart when they do."
� 2012 Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Memphis hunter crawls six hours to safety after tree-stand fall
By Bryan Brasher
Posted November 13, 2012 at 5:28 p.m., updated November 14, 2012 at midnight
Bob Thurman recovers at The Med Tuesday afternoon from injuries suffered when he fell out of a tree stand he was setting up for deer season in Fayette County. Thurman was forced to crawl for hours up a hill to his 4-wheeler after breaking his femur in three places.
Tennessee deer season
Tennessee�s modern firearms deer season will open at sunrise Saturday with thousands of people entering the woods for the first time in eight months. The season, which always opens the Saturday before Thanksgiving, will remain open until Jan. 6, 2013.
For a complete list of hunting regulations and tree stand safety precautions, visit tnwildlife.org.
Search our databases
After a terrifying 14-foot fall from a tree stand and an excruciating four-hour crawl back to the all-terrain vehicle he used to enter the woods, Memphis resident Bob Thurman won't be hunting as he'd planned on Saturday's opening day of the modern firearms deer season in Tennessee.
Instead, he'll be in a hospital bed with a broken left femur, urging others to always practice safety precautions while hunting from elevated tree stands.
Thurman, 47, suffered the fall Friday afternoon as he tried to attach a ladder stand to a tree on a friend's hunting property off Jernigan Road in Fayette County. He was still hospitalized at The Med awaiting transfer to a rehab facility Tuesday evening.
"I was out there trying to attach a 14-foot ladder stand to a tree by myself, and I knew better than that," Thurman said. "When you're hanging a ladder stand, you always need two people � one up in the stand and one on the ground making sure it doesn't fall. I didn't follow that rule, and it almost killed me."
A "ladder stand" is a vertical ladder with a flat seat at the top that attaches easily to large rounded trees with a ratchet kit. Hunters often choose a good area for their stands before opening day and leave them in the same spot for an entire season.
The simple process of hanging a ladder stand takes only a few minutes, and that simplicity may have worked against Thurman on Friday. Instead of taking someone along to help, he elected to hang the stand by himself and fell victim to gravity.
That was his first mistake. His second was leaving his cellphone behind in his truck instead of keeping it with him as most tree stand-safety manuals recommend.
As a result, he was forced to crawl back to his ATV in agony and drive to his truck to call for help.
Though he was covering what he described as a "relatively short distance," it took him more than four hours to crawl from the site of the accident to the ATV and another two hours to climb on and drive back to his truck.
Ty Inmon, the Tennessee conservation officer who filed the report on Thurman's accident, said the story should serve as a warning to hunters to keep their cellphones within reach at all times.
"A few years ago, a guy fell backwards out of a tree stand at Ames Plantation and was able to call for help hanging there upside down because his cellphone was in his shirt pocket," Inmon said. "That's one of the first things Mr. Thurman said to me, is that he should have had his cellphone with him in the stand.
"Hunters should keep it with them � and just put it on vibrate."
Tree-stand falls are the leading cause of hunting-related accidents in Tennessee. There were eight tree-stand accidents during the 2011-12 hunting season � an increase from five accidents the previous season � including one fatality.
Thurman said he hopes his story will serve as a warning as thousands prepare to enter the Tennessee woods for Saturday's opening day.
"I probably won't ever go into another tree stand unless it's a permanent stand that I know is completely safe," Thurman said. "But I know a lot of people will � and I sure hope they'll think about me and be smart when they do."
� 2012 Memphis Commercial Appeal.
