Please can ColtCabana share his/her eyewitness testimony

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qed

qed

Senior Member
We at this forum are in a privileged position in that we have an eyewitness to the Boston bombings as a member.

> Hey, guys. Lurker turned poster here. I actually live in Cambridge, MA and was present at the Marathon this past year. A > scene I wish to never revisit ever again.
...
> That was fake blood! No, it wasn't.
> They said over a loud speaker that it was a drill! No, they didn't.
> There was a city-wide lockdown! No, there wasn't.

Given that we have only the images, and ColtCabana was close enough to see the blood, it would be extremely useful if ColtCabana be permitted to detail his/her experience for us.
 
What would you like to know? Specifics at all or just my general experience while at the Marathon? I've been going for years and 2013 wasn't any different until the bombs went off.
 
ColtCabana said:
What would you like to know? Specifics at all or just my general experience while at the Marathon? I've been going for years and 2013 wasn't any different until the bombs went off.
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How close were you to whichever blast you were nearest? (And was it the first or second blast you were closer to)
 
Hitheycallmejosh said:
How close were you to whichever blast you were nearest? (And was it the first or second blast you were closer to)
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I was basically one street away. I had been watching the Marathon for a good while but one of my main reasons for being there was to visit my buddy who was volunteering during the event. He had been helping all morning and got a break from 2-3 PM. Around 2, we met up and just chilled in Copley Square and even walked to the Public Garden and back - it was such a beautiful day. Knowing that it would be damn near impossible for him to get back to work walking from the Public Garden on Boylston towards the Marathon, we went around some back streets and come up on the finish line, where we was needed, from Exeter Street. As we were a few steps to Boylston, the first bomb went off. We wanted to go towards where the bombing was just to see what happened (we obviously didn't know what was going on) when a huge mob swept us up and we were going west down Boylston. Then, we saw the second one go off. When the second one went off, we knew this wasn't something planned. The mob we were caught it basically split up into a million different directions. That's when we went back to the finish line (probably 25-30 seconds after the second explosion) and saw the result. The blood and people with missing limbs was just disturbing to see.
 
ColtCabana said:
I was basically one street away. I had been watching the Marathon for a good while but one of my main reasons for being there was to visit my buddy who was volunteering during the event. He had been helping all morning and got a break from 2-3 PM. Around 2, we met up and just chilled in Copley Square and even walked to the Public Garden and back - it was such a beautiful day. Knowing that it would be damn near impossible for him to get back to work walking from the Public Garden on Boylston towards the Marathon, we went around some back streets and come up on the finish line, where we was needed, from Exeter Street. As we were a few steps to Boylston, the first bomb went off. We wanted to go towards where the bombing was just to see what happened (we obviously didn't know what was going on) when a huge mob swept us up and we were going west down Boylston. Then, we saw the second one go off. When the second one went off, we knew this wasn't something planned. The mob we were caught it basically split up into a million different directions. That's when we went back to the finish line (probably 25-30 seconds after the second explosion) and saw the result. The blood and people with missing limbs was just disturbing to see.
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Disturbing indeed.
Did you happen to capture any footage or pictures of the scene? I know it's not the first thing on someone's mind (besides cameramen who have their cameras already rolling).
You may have seen one of the two brothers and didn't even realize it. Kind of creepy to think about.


How long before you were forced from the area?
 
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Hitheycallmejosh said:
Disturbing indeed.
Did you happen to capture any footage or pictures of the scene? I know it's not the first thing on someone's mind (besides cameramen who have their cameras already rolling).
You may have seen one of the two brothers and didn't even realize it. Kind of creepy to think about.


How long before you were forced from the area?
Click to expand...

I didn't take any pictures that day. When it comes to big events (sporting events, concerts, etc.) I rarely take pictures; I just like to enjoy whatever I'm watching through my eye and keep the memories in my head, not on my phone.

As far as being ushered out, I'd say we were there for about 10 minutes before we just let the professionals take over. Obviously "how can I help?" really doesn't help in that scenario - there were a million different people running around with a million different things on their minds.
 
qed said:
How many people with missing limbs did you see? Where were these victims when you saw them?
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A couple were missing limbs. One, we saw from a distance but could still make out, was indeed Jeff Bauman after looking at pictures. His position, as well as the fact that he lost his legs, were giveaways that we saw him.
 
Wow. You arrived at the first crime seen about 30-40 seconds after the first bomb and stayed for about 10 minutes?

Was there still smoke?
How close did you manage to get?
Did you see the other limb victim closer up?
How many injured people do you think you saw?
How close were you to the blood?

And, by the way, thanks for sharing you firsthand experience for us, I know it must be difficult for you.
 
qed said:
Wow. You arrived at the first crime seen about 30-40 seconds after the first bomb and stayed for about 10 minutes?

Was there still smoke?
How close did you manage to get?
Did you see the other limb victim closer up?
How many injured people do you think you saw?
How close were you to the blood?

And, by the way, thanks for sharing you firsthand experience for us, I know it must be difficult for you.
Click to expand...

I'll try to answer these point by point.

Was there still smoke?
Click to expand...

Understandably, some things I don't remember. The amount of smoke is one of those things.

How close did you manage to get?
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I got about to the barricade where the blast went off but didn't really end up on the sidewalk.

Did you see the other limb victim closer up?
Click to expand...

Not close up, but enough to know that they were missing a limb or at least that's what it appeared like to me.

How many injured people do you think you saw?
Click to expand...

A lot. Many were bleeding. Many were hurt.

How close were you to the blood?
Click to expand...

I'll put it this way; I had to clean my sneakers a little bit when I got back to my place.
 
qed said:
100? 200?
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qed, I'm wondering what you are getting at here. There's plenty of photos and video of the first bomb location in the seconds after the explosion. Are you thinking that Colt's recollections might invalidate some of that? What are you looking for here exactly?
 
qed said:
Too few victims.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you talking about?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings#Casualties_and_initial_response

External Quote:

Casualties and initial response


Police and other emergency workers on the scene
Rescue workers and medical personnel, on hand to assist runners and bystanders, rushed available aid to wounded victims in the bombings' immediate aftermath.[28][29] Each explosion caused injuries and death totaling 3 spectators killed and 264 casualties whose injuries were treated in 27 local hospitals. At least 14 people required amputations with some suffering traumatic amputations as a direct result of the blasts.[3]
 
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I was hoping not to start this yet. That was why I was hoping just to get Colt to tell us what he saw? I was only hoping to as much of what he/she saw...

Landru said:
What are you having problem with?
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Too few victims. That is, I am seeing too few victims in the pictures. I estimate below 40. There should be 200. I find 2 people with missing limbs. The should be many more.
 
qed said:
I was hoping not to start this yet. That was why I was hoping just to get Colt to tell us what he saw? I was only hoping to as much of what he/she saw...



Too few victims. That is, I am seeing too few victims in the pictures. I estimate below 40. There should be 200. I find 2 people with missing limbs. The should be many more.
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A lot of people were injured. Many were moved away from the area though quite quickly. There were medics right at the finish line, like there always are every year, that tended to people pretty quickly. Some were injured but were still able to get away from the area. Even though some were injured, they still had the means to get away from the area and many did.

Your last sentence is quite pompous, too. "The[re] should be many more." Why? Because you think that's what would happen?
 
qed said:
I was hoping not to start this yet. That was why I was hoping just to get Colt to tell us what he saw? I was only hoping to as much of what he/she saw...



Too few victims. That is, I am seeing too few victims in the pictures. I estimate below 40. There should be 200. I find 2 people with missing limbs. The should be many more.
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So you think that anyone with a cut or abrasion should stay still rather than move out of the way?
 
There's a spectrum of injuries from shrapnel. Not everyone had their legs blown off. Some were simply cut, and quite some distance from the bombs.

Then there's those with eardrum perforations, hearing loss and no visible injury.
 
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qed said:
Do you have a reference for that?
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Think about what happens when a shrapnel bomb goes off. Shrapnel flies in every direction.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterli...he-kinds-of-injuries-that-occurred-in-boston/
External Quote:

Injuries in an attack like this fall into a few major categories. People close to the explosion likely suffered from "primary blast injury". This can ranger from something as "minor" as a ruptured eardrum to death from the effect of rapidly changing air pressure on the lungs. Amputations caused by the blast are often fatal, and first responders likely focused on stopping bleeding as quickly as possible. Hospitals will be using a lot of blood products and some have already announced emergency blood drives.

Secondary blast injuries are caused by flying objects such as shrapnel. Bombs can be designed to maximize damage with shrapnel, but there is no news yet on whether these bombs were so designed. The dangerous pressure wave that causes primary blast injuries drops off quickly with distance, but shrapnel can cause injury far from the attack. Chest wounds caused by shrapnel are particularly dangerous.
 
qed said:
Thats the kind of info I am hoping to get from Colt. Correlate his recollection with the pictures and then see outside the frame with his eyes.
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I'll put it to you like this; every conspiracy theory that I've heard on the matter doesn't hold a candle to the actual truth. What happened there was as reported in the media, whether people want to believe that or not.
 
I was cutting a piece of amber with a metal blade on my Flex Shaft and the blade 'kicked' and it almost cut the tip of my middle finger off. I wrapped it and waited till my hubby got home in about an hour to go to the ER. Another time I spilled boiling water down my leg and I had an extensive 2nd degree burn, the front of my leg from just below the knee to my shoe. That happened on Thurs night, New Year's Eve and I didn't go to the doctor until Mon. My silly doctor sent me to the ER and since he told me that they would need debrid it, I ended up driving 25 mile to pick my hubby up at work, so he could drive me home.

The point that I am making is that all serious injuries do not require immediate medical treatment. Hours and even days can pass before treatment is sought or needed.
 
Mick West said:
but shrapnel can cause injury far from the attack
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Do you have any reference that, in this case, it did.

There's a spectrum of injuries from shrapnel. Not everyone had their legs blown off. Some were simply cut, and quite some distance from the bombs.
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Did you mean that "were" or was it a slip of the tongue?
 
I've reviewed every piece of video and photo available at the first bomb site, way more than I should have. (ColtCabana, don't mean to be a creeper but that means I've seen you, since you were there.)
The thing is, after the smoke clears and people start to rush over to help, there are fewer than 15 people left injured on the ground (maybe closer to 10). The rest who were injured must have been minor injuries and they all scattered.

The total victim counts later in the day:

5:20 PM - 'upwards of 80 people'
Mass. Gen. hospital - 22 total, 6 critical, 5 serious
Boston Medical Center - 20 total, including 2 children. 'Most have lower leg injuries'
Tufts medical center - 9
Beth Israel Deaconess medic center - 9
Brigham's & women's - 18-20, 2 in critical.


6:34 PM - 'at least 98 taken to hospitals'
Mass. Gen. hospital - 22 total, 6 critical, 5 serious (same amount)
Boston Medical Center - 20 total, including 2 children. 'Most have lower leg injuries' (same amount)
Tufts medical center - 9 (same amount)
Beth Israel Deaconess medic center - 21 total, 18 major injuries, 3 minor, 7 life threatening (in the OR at that time) (more patients here)
Brigham's & women's - 26 total, 8-10 seriously injured, ages teen to mid 60s.
Children's hospital - unknown #, youngest 3 years old.

We can see even hours after the attack people were finding their way into the hospital. As mentioned, some people went days after.

There was quite a bit of chaos, and multiple hospitals were locked down.
4:06 PM Brigham and Women's in 'phase 2 lockdown', later reported as Code Amber (might be same thing, I didn't check)
External Quote:
Code Amber Disaster. Any community event causing an in-flux of patients or an internal event which interrupts normal operating procedures. Report to Supervisor for instructions. Refer to external and internal disaster plans contained in the BWH Disaster Manual
5:04 PM Beth Israel in lockdown.
5:25 PM 'As precaution Boston PD has temporarily evacuated the Emergency Depart at Tufts Medical Center; patients have been safely moved; rest of hospital open as normal. At 5:51, Boston PD 'investigating suspicious package but it turned out there was no actual threat.'
(Side note: at 6:00 PM - Boston Police have been dispatched to all hospitals as part of procedure of investigation, and say "Don't read into it." Wouldn't have been fishy if they didn't say that part...I understand it's part of procedure, but c'mon, don't say it in such a fishy way.)
7:35 PM - Mass. Gen. hospital on lockdown. Suspicious device found in parking garage. (Cleared at 8:00 PM)

So at least 3 of the 5 hospitals confirmed to go on lockdown, for obvious reasons. But, I think procedures were altered in all hospitals due to the attacks.

A majority of the info was taken from http://www.livewire.wcvb.com/Event/117th_Running_of_Boston_Marathon?Page=0
I would definitely read through their posts, a lot of interesting stuff happened that day (JFK 'bomb' confirmed as being related, then not related, then turns out to be fire...also two more devices found near finish line. 2 more suspects???? Story never unfolded) etc etc

Also, for some good info on how chaotic the hospital scene was, go to http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/hea...rs-can-leave/Wl3cpxqoJOcpWZZr4VFT0N/blog.html
 
qed said:
Do you have any reference that, in this case, it did.

Did you mean that "were" or was it a slip of the tongue?
Click to expand...

Perhaps you you try to explain what you feel the compelling case is to dispute the number of casualties. You seem to be doing very minor nit-picking, which is not going anywhere.
 
What exactly are you talking about? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings#Casualties_and_initial_response
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Landru said:
What exactly are you talking about?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings#Casualties_and_initial_response

External Quote:

Casualties and initial response


Police and other emergency workers on the scene
Rescue workers and medical personnel, on hand to assist runners and bystanders, rushed available aid to wounded victims in the bombings' immediate aftermath.[28][29] Each explosion caused injuries and death totaling 3 spectators killed and 264 casualties whose injuries were treated in 27 local hospitals. At least 14 people required amputations with some suffering traumatic amputations as a direct result of the blasts.[3]
Click to expand...

It would have been more honest to have posted the first image at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings

upload.wikimedia.org_wikipedia_commons_thumb_9_90_1st_Boston_M0f5f1de31ddd0015705f6444c8633d6e.jpg

Area of the first blast shortly after explosion
 
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qed said:
It would have been more honest to have posted the first image at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings

upload.wikimedia.org_wikipedia_commons_thumb_9_90_1st_Boston_M0f5f1de31ddd0015705f6444c8633d6e.jpg

Area of the first blast shortly after explosion
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"shortly after explosion?"

Are you serious? Look at the context of the picture! No police are around (when they were there seconds after the explosion happened) and no one is near the barricade. Are you insinuating that only those pictures are the ones who were watching the race from that location? You clearly understand nothing about that day so I advise you stop talking about it.
 
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Landru said:
Why are you saying this? What I posted came from the Wikipedia article. The article is more important than the picture. What exactly is your agenda here?
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My agenda has been made perfectly clear in my Welcome post. Please read it if you have not.
 
ColtCabana said:
"shortly after explosion?"

Are you serious? Look at the context of the picture! No police are around (when they were there seconds after the explosion happened) and no one is near the barricade. Are you insinuating that only those pictures are the ones who were watching the race from that location? You clearly understand nothing about that day so I advise you stop talking about it.
Click to expand...

Err... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings
 
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