Storm Chasing Fatalities - A Look Back

[rebelrage]

I don't know if we want count this there was a guy in Ohio killed accidentally when a cop thought his tripod was a gun 2017

 

[Jesse Risley]

I don't know if we want count this there was a guy in Ohio killed accidentally when a cop thought his tripod was a gun 2017

The news photographer was not fatally shot. It also doesn't appear that he was an active storm chaser. He was purportedly going out to shoot (photograph) some local lightning when he heard a traffic stop on the police scanner, and he decided to go take photos of it instead, presumably as part of a possible news story.

Photographer Sues Cop Who Shot Him After Mistaking Camera for Gun

 

[rebelrage]

My bad or at least I hope so and it's not two separate incidents

 

[Kristian K]

There was a fifth chaser fatality on El Reno. It was not reported in the media as such and he was unknown among most chaser circles as far I can tell. But through our own work with the El Reno Survey, it became apparent he was indeed driving out to the storm with the intent of documenting/witnessing the tornado, and this was not his first chase either. Not sure what criteria we're using for the above list, or if there are privacy concerns, so I'll leave the name off for now. But happy to share what I know if you contact me, and maybe we can add that if there are no pending issues.

This makes me think that there are probably a number of additional fatalities, injuries, and incidents we don't know about because the chaser is not known to the community or it simply went unreported.

Wait, really, who, what? I didn’t there was a fifth, what was the story of it? I’m only finding this out just now

 

[Warren Faidley]

There have been far more storm-chasing deaths and injuries than the public ever hears about. Many cases slip under the radar because the victims weren’t known in the chasing community, or no one connected the crash to chasing. In other situations, survivors or families quietly changed the story about why someone was “out” on the road to avoid insurance or liability complications. Several LEOs and EMS personnel I’ve spoken with have said the same thing. During the Tuscaloosa, AL tornado in 2011, two suspected "chasers" were either killed or injured in a traffic accident that was noted in EMS discussions.