Newsgasm: Asshole Stingray Edition

33 Comments

1. 1
   tenny
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 4:21 am

   this is so sad. RIP.

2. 2
   Lizardqueen
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 5:16 am

   Crikey! That sucks.

3. 3
   mistichristi
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 5:57 am

   Really sad.

4. 4
   HoneyBunny
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 6:35 am

   “I put my life on the line to save animals.”
   Steve Irwin

   Today all animals are sad ~

   hb

5. 5
   chick110
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 6:56 am

   Very sad that someone who loved animals so much was taken down by one. My thoughts are with his family as well. :*(

6. 6
   LagunaBeached
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 7:29 am

   Wow I always thought that couild happen but I never imagined it actually would! Crazy guy, but hey he had a good heart.

7. 7
   conrad5
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 9:08 am

   I scuba dive with those things all the time, and they seem pretty docile. Either this was a bizzaro freak accident, or he was just pushing things way too far. What a terrible situation for his wife and young child.

8. 8
   pupkick
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 9:22 am

   RIP homie, RIP.

9. 9
   brilliantmistake
   Posted September 4, 2006 at 9:34 am

   This is sad, especially since he had small kids.

   It sounds like a freak accident from the accounts. Like conrad5 said these guys are pretty mellow & don’t usually sting unless you step on them. It’s not generally fatal for healthy individuals. Irwin’s sting penetrated his chest cavity, so he got a big dose of toxin to the lungs and heart.

10. 10
    thatswhack
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 10:22 am

    i was telling my friend that him getting killed by a stringray is not only sudden, but also random.

    i mean, you’d think, if anything, he’d get killed by a tiger or crocodile or something big and vicious, but no…..its a stingray.

    it is a jerk! booooo stingray!

11. 11
    Happy Homemaker
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 10:24 am

    When I came online and saw this I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a TVGasm snark at first and you guys were pulling my leg. Then I saw it was a sad reality. RIP! I always thought if he went out it would be because of a crock or a cobra or some other fierce creature, not some bizarre way. At least he went out doing what he loved best. I can’t even imagine what his wife and small children must be feeling right now. Geez. So sad. I’m bummed right now.

12. 12
    boomersmommy
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 10:54 am

    I liked Steve and all, even at his irritating most; however, the one thought that keeps running through my head is “Better him than one of his children, whom he never thought twice of putting in harm’s way.”

    Crikey, Steve! Who’s gonna feed them crocs raw chickens, now?

13. 13
    sloppyseconds
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 10:58 am

    Crikey!

14. 14
    sutton925
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 12:06 pm

    This could be an unfounded rumor, but my aunt told me that his wife is in the Outback somewhere and cannot be reached until she gets back. From what my aunt says, his wife doesn’t even know yet. Well, she may by now…somebody may have tracked her down, but at the time that I heard this, she still did not know. If that is true, I find it horrible that this news was released to the public without her knowledge. I can’t even imagine how I would feel had I been out of touch with television, radio, or internet only to return and find out that the world knew of my husband’s death before I had received word.

15. 15
    Bobbie
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 12:50 pm

    Yeah, sutton925–I heard the same thing on the TODAY show this morning, and feel exactly as you do.
    Sad day. Cheers, mate.

16. 16
    zevonia
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 1:49 pm

    Thanks for all the fun, Steve and I hope the afterlife is ready for a guy like you. My condolences to his family.

17. 17
    Lizardqueen
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 2:53 pm

    “With baby-dub’s first Halloween coming up in less than 2 months I need to know… too soon?”

    Yes, it’s too soon. But this Haloween is a great time to dress him as a Saudi Arabian terrorist wearing an airplane floatie. You and the Mrs. Dub can dress as the Twin Towers. It’s a can’t miss prize winner.

    But if you want to be a big hit at parties, everybody loves a little Hitler.

18. 18
    g3
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 7:16 pm

    RIP, you will be missed

19. 19
    happy_gal
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 8:26 pm

    I gasped out loud when I saw the news on CNN today. What a sad, sad day. Reality tv is sometimes way too real.

    sg-dub . . . yes, too soon. I don’t see how that will ever be funny.

20. 20
    The Svan
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 9:50 pm

    Fuck.

21. 21
    pearlblackdragon
    Posted September 4, 2006 at 10:22 pm

    At first I thought, Ha!Ha! and then I thought ow! this time bizarre funny hurts. Not good.

22. 22
    georgiababe
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 1:03 am

    oops…sorry for the double post

    ~Georgia~

23. 23
    georgiababe
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 1:17 am

    Okay, just been reading another article…apparently, they have his last moments on tape. They have the footage of him being stung, him ripping the barb out and then losing consciousness…how terrible. Ironically, he was filming a documentary called “World’s Most Dangerous Creatures” (or something along that line) at the time. But apparently, he should have left the stinger in. He may have died anyway, but since the barb is serrated, ripping it out only caused further damage to the heart. Even though the barb was poisonous, the tearing of the heart by the rough edges is actually what killed him. Terrible to think that he may have actually had a hand in his own demise. (Even though I cannot say for sure that he would not have died, had he left it in.) It was instinct I guess..but police say that judging from the tape (which they and his best friend have watched) he was doing nothing to aggravate the stingray, so it is still unclear why it attacked. Some news broadcasters have been speculating that it was caught between the cameraman and Steve, but from what I gathered, police say that was not the case. This is just a tragic, devastating accident and I am sure that the whole world will be reeling for quite a while.

    ~Georgia~

    RIP mate

24. 24
    Ubiquitous
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 5:52 am

    Crikey!

    Sad as it is, I figured it was a matter of time before something liike this happened…

25. 25
    fulfill_the_dream_78
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 6:43 am

    R.I.P. Steve, you were a true hero and one of the best surfers I’ve ever seen.

    God Bless your children.

26. 26
    tater
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 8:06 am

    Boo muderous sting rays…hooray man eating crocodiles!

27. 27
    zoobabe
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 9:08 am

    He did so much for animals, and to help people be aware of their plight and how to help them. I hope that his heaven includes all the animals he’s cared for and have gone before him. It’s a lovely legacy for his children to be proud of him for.

28. 28
    HicksPub
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 9:20 am

    Is it me, or is Steve’s death tragically poetic? For him to literally be stabbed in the heart by one of the ocean’s most fascinating creatures only adds to the mighty legend that is the Crocodile Hunter. I don’t know if he could have chosen a more appropriate way to go.

    Terri can take great comfort that her husband died doing what he loved.

29. 29
    JasonR
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 1:40 pm

    Wow, I think we have the makings of the saddest clipgasm ever. Crikey!

30. 30
    JasonR
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 1:45 pm

    HicksPub, I don’t know in the annals of humanity if getting stung in the heart by a Stingray will ever be considered an “appropriate way to go.”

31. 31
    TaxGirl
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 2:01 pm

    So sad. He was trying to save animals. RIP Steve.

    I have purposely gone into the water with stingrays (with chum) in my hand. It was a cruise ship “activity” in the Grand Cayman Islands. It was scary exciting. Big, graceful creatures gliding around – obviously expecting to be fed at the same spot every day. The underside is very soft, like satin. We were encouraged to touch them but to avoid the tail. I will never do that again.

32. 32
    4ced2cRealTV
    Posted September 5, 2006 at 8:53 pm

    Very sad indeed.

    He made the world a better place for people and animals alike.

33. 33
    TinkerbellAPixie
    Posted September 7, 2006 at 6:11 pm

    Aww Sg-Dub…. I can’t believe you WENT there and took your innocent baby with you. Tsk tsk.

    You could take of the stingray and show Baby-dub in his khaki’s as a nice tribute to the Croc Hunter.