TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma trooper stated he’s grateful for a second likelihood, recounting the terrifying incident that modified his life ceaselessly.
It has been greater than twenty years since Oklahoma Highway Patrol Cpt. Jack Choate was in an accident that just about value him his life. Sunday he shared his miraculous story of survival from the very place the place all of it occurred.
Choate stated he remembers Oct. 17, 2001 very effectively.
“It was a typical time off for me that day,” Choate said. “Trooper McMillan and I have been going to come back work a building shift.”
Choate said he arrived a little early to visit with the Catoosa fire chief. The fire chief told him about a stolen truck that had been dumped in the pit, near I-44 and Pine, so he went to the area to try and find it.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
“Walked off there to the sting and realized that the financial institution was undercut actually dangerous so I wanted to lean over a bit additional,” Choate said.
He said he saw a tree about 15 yards and was planning to walk over and hold on to it and lean over the edge of the cliff, but when he took three steps, the cliff caved in underneath. He fell 78 feet, landing on his back and bouncing into the water.
“I remember pulling my leg up and leg turning a direction it’s not supposed to and then blood running out of my boots and the other leg was the exact same way,” Choate stated.
He tried swimming, however could not after struggling compound fractures in each heels, breaking a number of bones in his proper leg and two vertebrae in his again. Then, he tried getting the eye of a building crew who was pumping water out of the pit right into a tanker truck.
“I yelled and yelled after which I fired off a few rounds into the water making an attempt to see if I may get their consideration and no person appeared to listen to it,” Choate said.
“It was chilly, I used to be moist, didn’t know if I used to be in a position to try this or not earlier than it received darkish. So the fact of that form of setting in form of makes you are feeling helpless.”
He said he never lost hope. That’s when his partner McMillan pulled up to check in on him because the fire chief told him where he could find him.
“I had three rounds left, and he heard the last two that I fired,” Choate stated.
He stated a number of businesses responded and he was airlifted to the hospital. He had hypothermia as a result of the water was so chilly and he had been in it for greater than an hour.
Since then, he stated the highway to restoration has been a protracted one, however he is grateful to those that helped him.
He stated the largest lesson he is realized is “Don’t get near the edge of a cliff.”
Choate stated since this incident, he has pushed for troopers to hold radios with them to make use of in case of an emergency. Former Gov. Frank Keating declared Dec. 20 as Trooper Jack Choate Day.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
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