3 storm chasers killed in 2-vehicle accident near Spur, Texas

[Warren Faidley]

I honestly believe the future of up close spotting will be conducted by news or NWS drones. Sooner or later companies will have to drop physical chasers due to legal issues. This will not end all the lunacy, but greatly reduce it. I am SO glad I chase mostly for safety promotion now days and enjoyment. The time I spend with my chase friends is priceless -- and the frosting on the cake of 30-years of tornado chasing in just a few weeks. Photography is a dead and dying art so no need to bust my ass getting into the right spot anymore. Chasing to provide self-glory, ego stroking, and social media video is old hat. No one really cares anymore. Hopefully there will never be another Storm Chasers type show to corrupt a new generation of chasers. Enjoy the journey.

 

[Manuel Salgado]

While I don't necessarily disagree with much of that, I think it underscores the point that many consider something like disregarding traffic control devices or driving the wrong way on a public right-of-way as being more serious than other traffic law violations that could be argued to carry an equivalent level of risk. Unless you diligently follow ALL of the traffic laws, something like this could happen, even if you're not running stop signs, for example. Sure, someone is going to argue apples to oranges, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Many law enforcement officers will vehemently argue that speeding (even if it's only 5-10 mph over the posted limit), improper lane usage, driving too fast for conditions (water or hail on the roadway), improper lane usage, distracted driving (laptops and cell phones especially), or improper stopping or standing on the roadway, for example, are equally as dangerous. While I think most of us are good about observing traffic control devices and not driving the wrong way on public right-of-ways, for example, we're probably just about all guilty of some other risk taking behaviors on the road. These put others and ourselves at a heightened risk for a traffic collision. I know I've been guilty of speeding and distracted driving while trying to keep pace with storms, so perhaps it is cause for reflection going forward if nothing else.

Jesse, I think your post is fair. None of us are perfect drivers, and I've definitely driven faster than the speed limit at times. Through in Texas and OK, where I do the lionshare of my chasing, you usually don't need to speed. Most of those roads, such as the ones yesterday, are 70 mph speed limits. I do however, as you said, consider that an apples to oranges comparison, but you are right to point out that there is an inherent danger associated with that as well.

I do think there is a far greater risk when repeatedly blowing through stop signs, however. I generally don't care if people want to put themselves at risk. Thats a personal choice. But by blowing through a stop sign, you are definitely endangering other drivers which is completely unfair.

I think we should all drive as safely as possible not for our own sakes, but the sakes of our fellow drivers whom are also impacted by our decisions. I don't want to get myself hurt, but I certainly don't want to be the cause of someone else losing their life.

 

[Seth Price]

Yes, it could happen to any one of us. Any one of us could accidentally miss a stop sign, or commit some other normally minor, yet potentially life-threatening act. Any one of us could be driving along perfectly well and get hit by someone else who made a simple mistake.

To pretend it can't be me, or to pretend I have always driven perfectly, all the time, under all circumstances is foolish.

Anyone who claims to have never done one of these things is either a) a liar or b) 15 years old on a learner's permit with less than 5 hours of actual driving experience.

If this had been a case of yahoo chasing, I think we could be angry. In this case, I think it was an unfortunate mistake.

Perhaps we should grieve instead of looking for pitchforks.

 

[Jeff Duda]

There are so many issues wrapped up in the topic of media chasers that it's hard to begin. My anecdotal experience -- over quite a few years of chasing, much of it in the media circus of OK -- says the average media chaser is far more reckless than the average private chaser. I think there's often an inflated sense of purpose and importance that borders on delusion, especially for those who provide live TV coverage, where money and ratings are serious business. In the OKC market, I've even witnessed LEOs providing cover for reckless TV chasers, which must greatly amplify their sense that any and all risks on the road are justified in the name of "keeping the viewers safe."

I don't know what the answer is here, but I really hope this is a wake-up call for that class of chasers, in particular. If legal action is threatened or brought against the media company that was contracting streaming services yesterday, it probably will be, for real.

While I haven't witnessed this to the same degree as you, Brett, I still feel generally the same about media chasers. I hardly see lightbars or flashing lights anymore, but the majority of the time I do see them they're on vehicles plastered with media insignia, thus clearly labeling them as such. I even see flashing blues and reds on media chaser vehicles, which I'm pretty sure is against the law.

I also frequently see local media chasers chasing well outside their station's DMA. For example, I'm pretty sure the OKC media's DMA does not include Wichita Falls or parts of northwest Texas or the eastern Texas panhandle. However yesterday I saw at least one or two names that I recognize as being affiliated with an OKC media outlet chasing well into west-central Texas. While I can understand an argument about sending a local media chaser out of the DMA to capture upstream storms that may enter the DMA later (although still I would think they should back off and let other markets have their space), I have seen media chasers downstream of their DMAs as well, so that argument loses some of its value.

Finally, with the plethora of chasers out there nowadays, I question the value of media chasers as spotters. Chances are they are not the only person on a given storm, and thus their purpose of "keeping us alert" is probably null and void. It really just feels to me like these are people that somehow talked a station manager into paying them to chase, including buying them thousands of dollars in vehicles and equipment. Station managers are certainly welcome to do this, but if their rationale is to get spotters out there, I think there's a less ostentatious way of doing it. We don't need to see their empty streams showing them doing nothing but driving in calm conditions or just showing rain with no remarkable weather.

This is more true than not. Although, I do think El Reno made a small lasting impact on plenty of serious chasers, from what I've seen. It's not going to completely reconstruct how most of us chase, but it might make us thi[quotenk twice when we knowingly enter particularly risky situations with similarities to past tragedies. I'm hardly an optimist, but I actually think both El Reno and yesterday might make some meaningful difference with a decent share of chasers, even if not nearly as much as you'd hope.

I agree with your earlier point that this wasn't really the same kind of incident as the 2013 deaths of Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young. They were killed directly by an element of severe weather, whereas in the current case we had another example of one of the 15 most common causes of death in the United States (and nearly #1 among people Corbin's age). Sources (not that it's hard to believe):
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/lcwk9_2014.pdf (page 1)
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_02.pdf (page 19)

I highly doubt this incident will change the policies of many chasers or of law enforcement. It was certainly a dark reminder of what can happen when you neglect proper driving practices. I'm also aware that even if YOU personally drive safely/perfectly and are rarely, if ever, distracted, that doesn't mean everyone else does, and I'd be willing to bet your chances of being killed by someone else who is driving improperly is higher than your chance of dying in an accident of your own accord.

Finally, I'll address a comment that seems to be bringing me a little heat for my earlier post. Just because an accident occurred doesn't mean no one is at fault. It's hard for me to feel the same degree of sorrow for the person who caused a fatality (again, assuming at this point, as it seems pretty likely, that one of Williamson or Yarnell indeed caused the accident) than for the person who was killed, as there was clearly a separation of action and responsibility in a case like this. And while I certainly agree that all lives are equally valid - someone who dies at 26 didn't get to live half the life of someone who died at age 55 or older. That's just not equal, and I am not as moved by the deaths of the older folks, especially given they appear to have caused it. Had the younger person caused the accident, I would feel differently.

 

[Steve Holmes]

I honestly believe the future of up close spotting will be conducted by news or NWS drones. Sooner or later companies will have to drop physical chasers due to legal issues. This will not end all the lunacy, but greatly reduce it.

How many of the daredevils actually believe they have a shot at selling their clips? A hundred likes on Facebook might be enough to keep them going.

Photography is a dead and dying art so no need to bust my ass getting into the right spot anymore.

With all due respect to you and to your fantastic career, I do not understand this statement. If anything, photography is growing in popularity. If you mean the art is more and more outnumbered by the crap due to the ability to shoot and post mass quantities of nonsense, I agree. If you mean the ability to make money from the art is decreasing, I expect you're right. But the medium itself dead or dying? Not from what I see.

 

[joel ewing]

Ugh. This is so terrible. Terrible terrible terrible news. I don't personally know any of the parties involved, but feel sick to my stomach over this. I'm angry for the 25 year olds parents that are now going to have to bury their son after what could be perceived as wreckless behavior on someone else's part. I'm angry at the TWC for tirelessly promoting Kelley Williamson's footage during ANY storm, then writing a press release and mentioning he was "contracted" by TWC. I feel terrible for Kelley's wife who is a tornado survivor, and who now doesn't have a husband. Thinking about her grief, is so saddening. I'm frustrated knowing the "statistics" would show that there were likely at least half a dozen other motorists that were killed yesterday in traffic accidents throughout the US, none of which we seem to give any thought to re: their families or loved ones.

All of this is just too much. And for what? 3 People lost their lives chasing a goddamn funnel. How idiotic when you really think about it.

I don't think it's all that "idiotic"....."chasing a goddamn funnel". I think it's a noble endeavor. If you think storm chasing is idiotic, then.....what are you doing in S.Track, anyway? Hey, you could slip on the wet floor in front of your fridge while reaching for a beer and crack you skull. I guess that'd be idiotic too. Look man.....it's a damned accident. Some of you guys who want to crap on Kelley Williamson right now.....that's just beautiful. He hasn't even been gone 24 hours. I pray his widow isn't reading some of these posts. Every single person who has ever driven an automobile has done the same damn thing in their lifetime, too....or something just as egregious. People in this society today sure want to point fingers and blame somebody. I wasn't raised in that atmosphere. A lot of you want to assess "victimhood" in this scenario too. Hey....why not? Every-damn-body in this society is a frickkin' victim of something or somebody, right? I wasn't raised in that era or atmosphere, either. And thank the Good Lord I wasn't.
Some of you guys ought to get on your knees and pray that you're never ever "at fault" for anything....anymore...ever again. It's a sure bet you'll get turned out by your peers, and made an instant pariah.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I'm not interested in beating this to death, but I can't help but think that there's a big difference in chasing for yourself and chasing for another entity like the Weather Channel. When you chase for someone else like TWC, there has to be SOME pressure to get the shots for them. If you don't provide the amount and kind of footage viewership responds to, someone else will. There's also pride and the "I will not fail" attitude that may push you into going the extra distance and taking chances you normally wouldn't. The truth is, if Kelly chose not to contract with TWC, someone else sure as hell would. I don't see that changing any time soon. There will other cases like this.

On another point, if you run a stop sign or do something that causes the death or serious injury to someone else, you very well may liable beyond what your insurance provides besides criminal liability. Even EMS, fire and LEO's have personal liability for doing things such as blowing through stop signs. Having the lights and sirens on help, but it doesn't stop them from being held liable in a civil suit. You are only protected for the amount you are insured for (including umbrella coverage) if you have $5,000,000 in coverage and lose a $10,000,000 case, you just went $5,000,000 in the hole.

 

[Travis Davis]

A similar situation happened last year to me down by Lawton. A well known chaser ran a stop sign and hit the front of my truck. His first words were " there's a tornado right over there. Didn't you see me?"

At least he admitted fault to the rental insurance he was in.

I've seen several people run signs and lights during tornadoes. Last year I had a truck, that I believe was actually trying to get away from it, fly past me doing at least 80 in north Tulsa area. He blew right through a red light.

I try to be much more cautious now...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Steve Holmes]

Every single person who has ever driven an automobile has done the same damn thing in their lifetime, too....or something just as egregious.

Reports are that he blew through more than one stop sign yesterday. If so, that's not a single offense, but a multiple offense.

People in this society today sure want to point fingers and blame somebody.

Had Kelley lived, should he have been prosecuted for the deaths of the other two, or should he have been let off the hook since everybody has done something they shouldn't?

You can love the man and hate the sin, grieve the loss and still realize he shouldn't have been doing what he did.

 

[Greg Flint]

Reports are that he blew through more than one stop sign yesterday. If so, that's not a single offense, but a multiple offense.



Had Kelley lived, should he have been prosecuted for the deaths of the other two, or should he have been let off the hook since everybody has done something they shouldn't?

You can love the man and hate the sin, grieve the loss and still realize he shouldn't have been doing what he did.

Not everyone apparently

 

[Greg Flint]

I don't think it's all that "idiotic"....."chasing a goddamn funnel". I think it's a noble endeavor. If you think storm chasing is idiotic, then.....what are you doing in S.Track, anyway? Hey, you could slip on the wet floor in front of your fridge while reaching for a beer and crack you skull. I guess that'd be idiotic too. Look man.....it's a damned accident. Some of you guys who want to crap on Kelley Williamson right now.....that's just beautiful. He hasn't even been gone 24 hours. I pray his widow isn't reading some of these posts. Every single person who has ever driven an automobile has done the same damn thing in their lifetime, too....or something just as egregious. People in this society today sure want to point fingers and blame somebody. I wasn't raised in that atmosphere. A lot of you want to assess "victimhood" in this scenario too. Hey....why not? Every-damn-body in this society is a frickkin' victim of something or somebody, right? I wasn't raised in that era or atmosphere, either. And thank the Good Lord I wasn't.
Some of you guys ought to get on your knees and pray that you're never ever "at fault" for anything....anymore...ever again. It's a sure bet you'll get turned out by your peers, and made an instant pariah.

Joel - please read my entire comment and try not to misrepresent what I wrote. Maybe my grammar and punctuation isn't perfect, but I was implying it's "idiotic to see lives lost as a result of chasing a funnel". I never once said storm chasing is idiotic. I poured all of my emotions out on that original post, which is evident in typing "I feel" over and over. Just because you were a passenger in a car being operated by an equally wreckless driver, try not to let that cloud sound logic and reasoning of the situation here. I know that's hard, because it's hard to look in the mirror sometimes. You seem to be looking at this situation as if you were Kelley, based on your previous experiences. I get it, we've all been there. But yes; it does matter that an innocent young mans life was lost as the result of another Persons wrecklessness.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

Notes on a tragic day:


3) TV has to stop buying the clips taken from too close (my opinion: if you can make out a disintegrating building, the photog was too close) or from known “offenders.” Maybe establish an industry wide blacklist (“These are the guys we don’t do business with because they take too many risks”).

This wont happen. Just like sex, death and disaster sells. Casual viewers which is basically the people targeted by news, TWC etc want to see the destructive power of a tornado up close. Heck most of us might not give a second look at a tornado filmed miles away, but a video of a guy with a EF4 approaching and tearing up his neighborhood, yeah we will wait through the commercial break to see it. When it comes down to see, money is the reason it wont stop.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

I don't believe this video will be up much longer. The attorneys and professional investigators will be fully involved by later today. I should also point out that they read Stormtrack.

I am sure they are already issuing subpoenas for the full unedited video. They are going to try to find out how much contact they had with producers at TWC. That in of itself could be massively damaging for TWC if producers were telling them to run stop signs to meet a live shot deadline etc. I am not saying this is the case but saying they are contractors means nothing. If contractors screw something up where I work, the company is at fault.

 

[Michael Snyder]

Hopefully everyone can learn from this event if nothing else.

-If you run a red light, you aren't paying attention and you should let someone else drive or call it a day, PERIOD.
-If you are forced to run red lights because you see a tornado and you think you might get hit, you are chasing TOO CLOSE.
-If you are tired, not well rested or have been chasing for extended periods of time you need to evaluate if you should not be chasing that day.
-You know when you are tired, and you know when your driver isn't driving well. It's time to end the chase at that point, or pay attention to the road and make a concerted effort to do so. There can be no exceptions with this. Even doing so you are still at risk driving many long dark miles during a chase and yes anyone can still make a mistake.
-But there is no reason to increase the risk by doing stupid things listed above.

The above situations should be calculated BEFORE you get into a position where you can harm yourself and others. Remember.... A storm looks really nice from a distance much of the time too.
I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, and most of the time I am not driving. But I still monitor each and every single intersection, town or convergence we encounter when I'm not driving.
I feel that Kelly Williamson and his partner were probably well overdoing the amount of chasing they were doing, and it showed in completely missing that stop sign, and missing at least one other stop sign from what I have heard. I liked watching his feeds and him on the weather channel but the mount of time on the road he was spending was not safe in my opinion.

So let's learn from it, if nothing else.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

Reports are that he blew through more than one stop sign yesterday. If so, that's not a single offense, but a multiple offense.

He blew a stop sign at 2:03 and 45 seconds. He slowed down but still rolled right through it. This video is going to be damning if it ever reaches a court. TWC should be worried.