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2008 August Slush
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A Night On the Road
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Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Prairie City man injured in Des Moi

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

One man was seriously injured in an explosion apparently caused by gasoline fumes in Des Moines on Monday afternoon.

Carrol Laverne Uitermarkt, 56, of Prairie City, was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. A condition report was not immediately available this morning.

Police said Ralph Touch and Uitermarkt were using gasoline to clean the basement floor at 5805 New York Avenue. Touch told officers they would put a small amount of gasoline on the floor and then suck it up with a Shop-Vac.

Touch told officers they were almost finished with the floor and the Shop-Vac was nearly full of gas when the explosion occurred shortly before 2 p.m.

Touch was standing outside on the east side of the house at the time of the explosion, police said. A man riding by on his bike at the time heard the blast and called 911. He then helped Touch get Uitermarkt out of the basement.

Officers said in a report: "Uitermarkt was conscious and breathing, with severe burns to the majority of his body." Officials said the force of the explosion blew out the windows and bowed the walls and foundation. A property to the east also was damaged.

Uitermarkt later was transferred from Mercy Medical Çenter to University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080826/NEWS/80826002

Submitted on 08/28/2008

Submitted by: Darwin Campbell
Reference: Des Moines Register -- 8/28/2008

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
This has more details on this story. Shopvac + gas = dumb, but THESE guys...pouring a little gas on the floor, vacuuming it up, and keeping at it, knowing the vac's filling up !?! Talk about raising the bar! Thanks Darwin (Campbell)!


James said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Whereas we don't know if the victim died yet, all I can do is give this an HM. DO PLEASE let us know if there are any updates on this gent's condition! Whatever the final outcome, it sure was stupid! Thanks!


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