http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=259013
In the very early hours of this morning, two intoxicated men in a truck lost control of their vehicle and ran into Jim Watson's house. The impact drove Jim's heating and air unit into his house. The gas lines were severed and the truck caught on fire. Jim's first floor was soon engulfed in flames. He awoke upstairs, grabbed a flashlight, and climbed out a second story window onto his roof.
The lowlife drunks had fled. Jim held on to the icy roof calling for help but before help arrived he lost his grasp and slid off the roof onto the pavement below. He was critically injured in the fall. Rapid responders arrived and Jim was taken to our local hospital and then later transferred to Huntsville Hospital.
A couple that are friends of ours and members of the local shooting club had traveled to New Mexico to shoot in competition and Jim was keeping their dog. The dog perished in the fire.
The drivers that caused all of this have been apprehended.
Jim's pelvis is separated from his spinal column but his spine is not severed and he still has feeling in his lower extremities. He was to undergo surgery today but the three surgeons that are going to perform the procedures have decided to wait until Tuesday to make sure Jim has no other internal injuries.
Some young policemen that have grown up in the shooting club with us salvaged Jim's guns from the extinguished house (a total loss) and took them to a local member owned business. They are water damaged to various extents (some very badly) but not burned. About a dozen of us divided them today for care and safekeeping. We talked to Jim on a speaker phone as we worked on his guns in a chilly shop building today and he sounded confident and strong. He thanked us for our efforts and we all shouted words of encouragement.
Jim has no living family but he has very good friends and we are concerned but confident that he will be back shooting side by side with us in the future. He has many challenges to face.
This is a complicated event and I may not have all the facts exactly right. I ask my friends that read this to correct any errors or omissions.
Danny
