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Author Topic: Rescued By A Bowling Ball  (Read 4539 times)

MI 2 AZ

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Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« on: August 04, 2021, 04:58:23 PM »




An off-duty border control agent rescued a man from a burning car in Farmington Hills on Saturday night, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.


At about 10 p.m. Saturday night, Border Patrol Agent John Leslie was traveling down Northwestern Highway south of 13 Mile Road when he noticed a burning vehicle on the side of the road. Leslie, a trained EMT, rushed to see whether anyone was injured, U.S. Customs said.


Two men told Leslie that the driver was trapped inside the vehicle, which caught fire after colliding with a tree. As the flames continued to grow, Leslie crawled inside the vehicle to attempt to remove the driver. Because of the damage to the vehicle, Leslie was unable to pull the driver out through the back seat.


As the flames and heat increased, U.S. Customs said Leslie noticed a bowling ball in the back seat, which he used to break the driver's window. After several strikes with the bowling ball, Leslie was able to reach inside, prying the door open and freeing the driver.


“If it weren’t for the bowling ball, I’m not sure how I would have gotten the window smashed to get the guy out," Leslie said. “That ball saved his life," he added.


A small explosion engulfed the car shortly after Border Patrol Agent John Leslie and a passerby pulled the driver from the burning vehicle.


After prying the door open, Leslie and another passerby pulled the driver from the vehicle. Shortly after, an explosion engulfed the vehicle, customs said.


Leslie assessed the driver's wounds, until Farmington Hills police and firefighters arrived on scene and took control of the situation.


https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/08/03/border-agent-bowling-ball-burning-car/5470069001/


« Last Edit: August 05, 2021, 10:56:18 AM by MI 2 AZ »
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MI 2 AZ

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2021, 05:01:13 PM »
But Staffers want to know, which brand was it?  :)




Be sure to include a bowling ball in your emergency kit.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2021, 05:03:10 PM by MI 2 AZ »
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Jesse James

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2021, 06:59:16 PM »
But Staffers want to know, which brand was it?  :)




Be sure to include a bowling ball in your emergency kit.

It was an old Brunswick Inferno!!
Some days you're the bug....some days you're the windshield...that's bowling!

TWOHAND834

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2021, 07:00:27 AM »
But Staffers want to know, which brand was it?  :)




Be sure to include a bowling ball in your emergency kit.

It was the Ebonite Smash of course. :)
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RedShirtBowler

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2021, 09:08:38 AM »
Wow! That’s Radical!!

Happy to hear ev1 is safe. That could have been tragic for sure

MaidenheadBandit

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2021, 02:40:02 AM »
Had to be a Hammer
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Bowler19525

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2021, 09:36:10 AM »
The more I read this story, the more confused I get:

1)  Burning vehicle
2)  Rescuer crawls in to the vehicle (so they are already inside)
3)  Tries to get driver out thru back seat, but can't
4)  Rescuer notices bowling ball in the back
5)  Uses the ball to break the driver's side window (after apparently exiting the vehicle and going around to the driver's door.)
6)  Breaks the window, reaches in, then pries the door open and removes the driver.
7)  Car explodes

Why was there an unsecured bowling ball in the back seat?  That alone makes no sense.

The rescuer was able to get in to the vehicle, but was unable to get the driver out.  OK, that's plausible I suppose.

There is enough time to grab the ball, hit the window several times with the ball, pry the door open, then get the driver out.  Then the car explodes just after they driver is extricated.  There may be some embellishment going on here with this story.

I am glad the driver was rescued, but the story is just weird.

milorafferty

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2021, 12:29:45 PM »
The more I read this story, the more confused I get:

1)  Burning vehicle
2)  Rescuer crawls in to the vehicle (so they are already inside)
3)  Tries to get driver out thru back seat, but can't
4)  Rescuer notices bowling ball in the back
5)  Uses the ball to break the driver's side window (after apparently exiting the vehicle and going around to the driver's door.)
6)  Breaks the window, reaches in, then pries the door open and removes the driver.
7)  Car explodes

Why was there an unsecured bowling ball in the back seat?  That alone makes no sense.

The rescuer was able to get in to the vehicle, but was unable to get the driver out.  OK, that's plausible I suppose.

There is enough time to grab the ball, hit the window several times with the ball, pry the door open, then get the driver out.  Then the car explodes just after they driver is extricated.  There may be some embellishment going on here with this story.

I am glad the driver was rescued, but the story is just weird.


Driver was probably a bowler. And we have all seen bowlers who would not fit through a car window. Not being mean, just saying...  ;D
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Bowler19525

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2021, 12:44:44 PM »
The more I read this story, the more confused I get:

1)  Burning vehicle
2)  Rescuer crawls in to the vehicle (so they are already inside)
3)  Tries to get driver out thru back seat, but can't
4)  Rescuer notices bowling ball in the back
5)  Uses the ball to break the driver's side window (after apparently exiting the vehicle and going around to the driver's door.)
6)  Breaks the window, reaches in, then pries the door open and removes the driver.
7)  Car explodes

Why was there an unsecured bowling ball in the back seat?  That alone makes no sense.

The rescuer was able to get in to the vehicle, but was unable to get the driver out.  OK, that's plausible I suppose.

There is enough time to grab the ball, hit the window several times with the ball, pry the door open, then get the driver out.  Then the car explodes just after they driver is extricated.  There may be some embellishment going on here with this story.

I am glad the driver was rescued, but the story is just weird.


Driver was probably a bowler. And we have all seen bowlers who would not fit through a car window. Not being mean, just saying...  ;D

Very true! 

Although just carrying a loose ball around in the back seat is a no-no. 

Would be interesting to eventually find out the ball is what actually caused the accident.

MI 2 AZ

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Re: Rescued By A Bowling Ball
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2021, 07:28:25 PM »
The more I read this story, the more confused I get:

1)  Burning vehicle
2)  Rescuer crawls in to the vehicle (so they are already inside)
3)  Tries to get driver out thru back seat, but can't
4)  Rescuer notices bowling ball in the back
5)  Uses the ball to break the driver's side window (after apparently exiting the vehicle and going around to the driver's door.)
6)  Breaks the window, reaches in, then pries the door open and removes the driver.
7)  Car explodes

Why was there an unsecured bowling ball in the back seat?  That alone makes no sense.

The rescuer was able to get in to the vehicle, but was unable to get the driver out.  OK, that's plausible I suppose.

There is enough time to grab the ball, hit the window several times with the ball, pry the door open, then get the driver out.  Then the car explodes just after they driver is extricated.  There may be some embellishment going on here with this story.

I am glad the driver was rescued, but the story is just weird.

I am assuming that due to either the crash itself or the heat of the fire, the driver's door was warped and jammed.  Trying to open it just with the handle was not possible, not enough leverage,  so the rescuer(s) attempted to pull the driver over the seat from the back.  After breaking out the driver side window, he/they were able to use more than one hand (more leverage) to pull/pry the door open.

Of course, I am probably 100% wrong in this assumption, thereby proving the old saying about 'assume'.  :)

.
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Six decades of league bowling and still learning.

ABC/USBC Lifetime Member since Aug 1995.