Category: General

Way earlier than last year.

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

Hat tip to Joshua Abraham Norton and Pope Stephen VI, a.k.a. the Llama Butchers.

It was a very wet weekend here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. Apparently, tragically, wet enough to kill more than just my scheduled engagement photo session.

A Dallas man died early Tuesday as rescuers tried to free him from a quagmire of mud that swallowed him to the waist after he ran from Dallas County deputies during a traffic stop.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesman noted that the frigid overnight temperatures, which had slipped into the mid-40s, could have caused Shawn Ellis Leflore, 33, to die of exposure.

“There’s a good strong wind out of the north,” Sgt. Don Peritz said. “Exposure out here would be tough on healthy folks.

“The guys are disappointed because they really wanted to get this guy out. You can see it in their faces.”

Leflore died about two hours into the struggle, which began around 1:15 a.m. in a muddy, freshly plowed field near Combine in southern Dallas County, Peritz said.

He said the Dallas County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

Deputies were perplexed about why the man ran after they stopped him because of “registration issues” related to the 2001 Chevrolet pickup that he was driving, Peritz said Tuesday morning.

As the day progressed, the man’s relatives and friends told deputies that Leflore believed he was a wanted man, but Peritz said he had no outstanding warrants issued against him in Dallas County.

He said Leflore had been convicted of aggravated assault, misdemeanor theft and felony theft in the 1980s and 1990s, but he already served penalties for those crimes.

“We don’t show anything for him here,” Peritz said. “There may be something in another county, and of course we’re checking on that.”

Leflore did not appear to be intoxicated, Peritz said, and deputies learned that the truck’s owner had probably loaned it to him.

The deputies couldn’t find him in the dark field, Peritz said, until they used an infrared device to find him struggling in waist-high mud about 200 yards from the road. The man lost his jacket and a shoe during the chase, Peritz said.

They tried lifting him out, “but the more they pulled, the more they started to sink,” Peritz said.

Peritz said they realized that some kind of special vehicle was needed, and fire departments from Wilmer, Hutchins and Seagoville sent crews to help. He estimated that about 24 people participated in the rescue attempt.

But no one had a rig that could roll into the mud without getting stuck, Peritz said. A helicopter rescue was ruled out because the stiff winds made flying dangerous.

“In the meantime,” Peritz said, “he expires.”

Finally, Kaufman County sent two all-terrain vehicles with huge tires that were used to tow the man’s body out of the mud on a backboard.

Peritz said he did not know why the ATVs weren’t brought in sooner. He said he didn’t know if the rescuers tried to keep him warm with blankets or coats.

“I’m assuming they did everything they could do,” Peritz said. “I think the preponderance of the evidence shows they really tried. They were really frustrated when I got out there.”

It seems there may be more to this story than the tidbit I caught on the radio on the way home. I’m curious as to why Leflore fled and whether everything was done in a reasonable manner and timeframe to save him. Obviously, an investigation will ensue.

It should be noted that this was not the only loss of life in DFW to this weekend’s weather.

Still, it’s worth noting these days a story that utilizes the phrase “quagmire” without mentioning Iraq.

Move along, nothing to see here. Have a good night, y’all.