Any info about diver falling on his own knife?

[Firediver]

There are places people can go for counseling.. there is Critical Incident stress debriefing.. friends, family, physcologists...

"Standing around watching never saved anyone's life" --Red Cross

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Man who died in accident gets wish
Scuba diver David Millasich's family will have El Segundo man's ashes scattered in the ocean Friday.
By Larry Altman
Daily Breeze

David Scott Millasich knew where he wanted to be every day of his life, and where he wanted to be after death.

"He would say, 'If something ever happens to me, make sure you cremate me and scatter my ashes at sea. Let me go out to the water, let me go to the ocean,' " said his former wife, Debra Flores.



Family members will honor the avid beachgoer's request Friday.

In a bizarre, tragic end on his 44th birthday, the El Segundo father of three died Sunday at the beach in Palos Verdes Estates, a spot where he went spear fishing four or five days a week. The scuba diver slipped and fell, landing on his 7-inch knife.

"That was his spot down there," Flores said. "He would do it just to unwind and relax. He just loved to be in the water."

A man walking his dog saw Millasich lying on the rocks below the 2800 block of Paseo del Mar about 3:15 p.m. He rolled him over and saw that Millasich was bleeding from the right side of his chest.

Millasich told him he had fallen onto his knife. He apparently pulled it out and died from the wound.

Police investigated the incident and determined Millasich's death to be an accident.

"We are just in shock," Flores said. "It's just so weird and it's so stupid. All I can say is he died doing what he loved doing the most, which was going in the water."

Born in El Paso, Texas, Millasich came to California with his father at 15 years old. A house painter, he started ABLE Painting and Decorating, working in homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for 20 years. He fathered two children in two marriages, daughter Tiffany, 17, of Redondo Beach; and son Storm, 8, of Oklahoma. He became father to his second wife's daughter, Brittany Lerner, 15, who also lives in Oklahoma. He leaves behind two ex-wives.

The night before he died, Tiffany brought her prom date to meet her father. She arrived in a limousine to show her father her dress and her date.

"The next day when we went over to get all his things, we found this thing he had downloaded off the Internet," Flores said. "It was his application for permission" to date his daughter.

Family members routinely warned him to be careful with his scuba diving, along with his other beach activities, swimming and surfing. He apparently headed down to the beach on his birthday.

"It's kind of a place of solitude and relaxation to get away from the world," Flores said.

Millasich was cremated Friday. The family plans its service at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Redondo Beach.

 

[DEEPLOU]

I almost sat on my dive knife once....

Hmmmm I wonder if my DAN insurance would cover it ?

If a female diver did it, it could have DIS AST HER

 

[DEEPLOU]

After reading the rest of this thread, can't believe it was actually true.
Condolances to family etc.

Aside from shoulda, woulda, coulda, it shows you never know what can happen.

 

[clive francis]

I was deer hunting last fall and our local butcher stabbed himself to the bone gutting his deer. We enjoy explaining to him that hunters usually try to gut the deer, not themselves. Hope your diver survived to become the butt of jokes, it sure beats the alternative.

fatally normally means it was not a return trip, just one way

 

[DiveGolfSki]

A man walking his dog saw Millasich lying on the rocks below the 2800 block of Paseo del Mar about 3:15 p.m. He rolled him over and saw that Millasich was bleeding from the right side of his chest.

Millasich told him he had fallen onto his knife. He apparently pulled it out and died from the wound.

Am I reading this right? Dog walking man sees the victim, rolls victim over, dog walking man sees bleeding, victim tells man that he fell on his knife, dog walking man pulls knife out of victim, VICTIM dies.

If that's the case, what business did the dog walking man have in pulling the knife out? Correct me if I'm wrong but emergency personnel won't even do that until the patient is in the hospital.

 

[sapphire]

Am I reading this right? Dog walking man sees the victim, rolls victim over, dog walking man sees bleeding, victim tells man that he fell on his knife, dog walking man pulls knife out of victim, VICTIM dies.

If that's the case, what business did the dog walking man have in pulling the knife out? Correct me if I'm wrong but emergency personnel won't even do that until the patient is in the hospital.

In reading the report, I interpreted it to mean that the diver pulled the knife out of himself.

Quite a tragedy and my condolences to the family and friends of this man.

jennifer

 

[H2Andy]

very poor writing here, as there are two unclear pronouns:


"Millasich told him he had fallen onto his knife. He apparently pulled it out and died from the wound."

the first "he" can only mean Millasich, in context.

Likewise the second "he"

Subject: He

Predicate: apparently pulled it out and died from the wound


so whoever pulled out the knife also died from the wound (same subject).

In this case Millaschi.

It could have been a lot better written.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

very poor writing here, as there are two unclear pronouns:


"Millasich told him he had fallen onto his knife. He apparently pulled it out and died from the wound."

the first "he" can only mean Millasich, in context.

Likewise the second "he"

Subject: He

Predicate: apparently pulled it out and died from the wound


so whoever pulled out the knife also died from the wound (same subject).

In this case Millaschi.

It could have been a lot better written.

Well that's what got me confused in the first place. If the victim pulled the knife out, he died. How did he tell the dog walking man (DWM) that he pulled it out?

If the victim pulled the knife out before the DWM came by, the victim started bleeding, the DWM comes by just in time for the victim to tell him, the DWM, that he the victim, pulled the knife out before he, the victim, then dies?

I think it's the latter but you're right it's not well written. Either way, it's tragic and condolences to the family.

 

[Stirling]

Well that's what got me confused in the first place. If the victim pulled the knife out, he died. How did he tell the dog walking man (DWM) that he pulled it out?

If the victim pulled the knife out before the DWM came by, the victim started bleeding, the DWM comes by just in time for the victim to tell him, the DWM, that he the victim, pulled the knife out before he, the victim, then dies?

I think it's the latter but you're right it's not well written. Either way, it's tragic and condolences to the family.

That story is badly written, but an earlier story posted here (#32 in the thread) makes it clear that the victim was still alive when he was found, and told the person who found him that he had fallen on his own knife and pulled it out himself. He subsequently died. Here is the relevant piece of the earlier story:

"According to Palos Verdes Estates Police Capt. Jim Kronberger, when the witness saw Millasich, he was lying face down on the rocks in his wet suit. The witness, who is an emergency medical technician, turned Millasich's body over and discovered large amounts of blood and a wound near his right chest area.

"Millasich told him that he slipped and fell on his knife, and that he pulled the knife out himself."