Super fit boyhood friend run over and killed while jogging

[dmcowen674]

Jim was one of the kids from my neighborhood. We were the same age.

He had a Facebook Group promoting fitness and he was in great shape and ran just about everyday.

RIP Jim

Nice video tribute to him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N05DPfCU_CU&feature=youtube_gdata


Update: It was a foggy morning, he was hit by one car and then was lying in the road and run over by a second car.

http://riverheadlocal.com/breaking-news/pedestrian-killed-on-rt-25-in-pre-dawn-crash-in-laurel


Police considering possible hit-and-run in Main Road crash that killed jogger, 49


Police have identified the jogger who was struck and killed this morning on Main Road in Laurel as James Callaghan, 49, of Jamesport.

Police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it appears Callaghan was lying in the roadway when he was struck by two westbound vehicles. Investigators are considering the possibility that



Callaghan was first struck by a vehicle that left the scene or that some type of medical condition or emergency caused him to be on the roadway.

The pre-dawn accident took place at about 5:46 a.m. in heavy fog conditions, a detective at the scene said earlier today.

Callaghan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call Southold Town Police detectives at 631-765-2600.


Callaghan was an avid runner who participated in area footraces such as the Jamesport Sound to Bay 10K.

 

[Gibsons]

In before self reply

Sorry about your friend. RIP

 

[Krazy4Real]

Ugh... that's terrible. RIP.

 

[MixMasterTang]

A sad reminder to enjoy life because you'll never know how much time you have left.

 

[lxskllr]

Sorry for your loss. At least he died doing what he liked. Hope so anyway. It would suck to hate running, and only be doing it to live forever.

 

[smackababy]

Any more details or suspected COD? It seems rather strange for someone who is in shape to just drop dead. Perhaps an underlying health condition nobody knew about?

 

[dmcowen674]

Any more details or suspected COD? It seems rather strange for someone who is in shape to just drop dead. Perhaps an underlying health condition nobody knew about?

His wife made the post on Facebook. I'm sure there will be an autopsy.

I suspect something like the widow maker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow_maker

 

[SlitheryDee]

Another Jim famously did the same thing.

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/obituaries/james-f-fixx-dies-jogging-author-on-running-was-52.html

Genetic predisposition seems to trump everything else in some people's cases. I'm sorry for your loss. Take it as a reminder for everyone to get regular checkups to catch all the things that simply being fit may not rectify though.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Eeesh, sorry to hear that.

 

[BeeBoop]

I'm just guessing here but the problem with some people who are fit is that they push themselves to the limit, not knowing when to stop. This happened to me before when I was younger. I was one of the type of guys who would have to run 4 miles a day, pushing through any and all pain. My first experience was pushing myself through knee pain which wasn't so bad because I stopped due to unbearable pain. However, the next experience, I almost died of a tachycardia during my 4 mile jog because I refused to stop.

.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

My condolences on the loss of your friend.

 

[smackababy]

His wife made the post on Facebook. I'm sure there will be an autopsy.

I suspect something like the widow maker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow_maker

Why would you guess someone who is healthy would have a massive heart attack? Seems like a strange conclusion to come up with right off the bat. Unless there was a history of heart disease in the family, I'd think something else would be the cause most likely.

 

[Gibsons]

Why would you guess someone who is healthy would have a massive heart attack? Seems like a strange conclusion to come up with right off the bat. Unless there was a history of heart disease in the family, I'd think something else would be the cause most likely.

Suddenness points toward a circulatory issue, either heart or brain. But you're right, it could be many things.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sorry to hear that.

Crazy how fast death can come sometimes, and it can really hit anyone.

 

[destrekor]

Sorry for your loss. At least he died doing what he liked. Hope so anyway. It would suck to hate running, and only be doing it to live forever.

I'm not sure whether I would "like" dying while running, or find it to be the most cruel event nature could throw at my feet.

I despise running, for the most part. I've gotten more into it in recent years - but I do cardio for two reasons: I have an interest in my health and fitness, and I have to at least be fit enough to pass fitness tests from time to time.

Dying while running would be cruel in that I dislike it and am doing it mostly to live longer - but dying while stressing your body (in a good way.. though that could be up for debate based on the outcome ) would at least me satisfying. Better than dying at the hands of someone else, or dying suddenly due to unhealthy life factors.
To say, to your dead self, "I pushed so hard it killed me" would be something I could smirk about.


That said - for everyone not the runner, it's obviously a sad and unexpected time.
Just like all the high school and college athletes who just keel over during practice. Typically there are blood vessels or a part of the heart that has a microscopic flaw, something routine screening 99% of the time cannot catch (thorough specific screens can find these, but those are incredibly expensive in comparison). They've had it forever, usually since birth, and one time, either after repeated stress on that spot, or one time where they finally broke a barrier and pushed themselves harder than ever, the dam bursts.

 

[Drako]

Another Jim famously did the sames thing.

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/obituaries/james-f-fixx-dies-jogging-author-on-running-was-52.html

Genetic predisposition seems to trump everything else in some people's cases. I'm sorry for your loss. Take it as a reminder for everyone to get regular checkups to catch all the things that simply being fit may not rectify though.

I still have a copy of "The Complete Book of Running" in my library somewhere. I remember when he died.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Maybe it's the name. One of my high school friends was a cross-country runner, great shape, almost no body fat, ate smart, no health problems. He dropped dead of a heart attack in his dorm room freshman year in college. His name was Jim.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

Pheidippides (Greek: Φειδιππίδης, sometimes given as Phidippides, by Herodotus and Plutarch,[1] or as Philippides), hero of Ancient Greece, is the central figure in a story that was the inspiration for a modern sporting event, the marathon.

The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530 BC–490 BC), an Athenian herald or hemerodrome[2] (translated as "day-runner" (Kyle 2007),[5] "courier" (Larcher 1806),[6][7] "professional-running courier" (Sears 2003)[2] or "day-long runner" (Miller 2006)[8]), was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece.

... Philippides, the one who acted as courier, is said to have used it first in our sense when he brought the news of victory from Marathon and addressed the magistrates in session when they were anxious how the battle had ended ; "Joy to you, we've won" he said, and there and then he died, breathing his last breath with the words "Joy to you". – Lucian translated by K.Kilburn.[3]
​

... The modern use of the word dates back to Philippides the dispatch-runner. Bringing the news of Marathon, he found the archons seated, in suspense regarding the issue of the battle. 'Joy, we win!' he said, and died upon his message, breathing his last in the word Joy ... – Lucian Pro lapsu inter salutandum (translated by F.G. and H.W. Fowler, 1905)[4]
​

He ran about 240 km (150 mi) in two days. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word νικῶμεν (nikomen[9] "We have won"), as stated by Lucian chairete, nikomen ("hail, we are the winners")[10] to then collapse and die.

 

[brianmanahan]

RIP James

this is one thing that keeps me from exercising, i am afriad it might kill me

 

[Fritzo]

People always throw things like this in my face when they ask why I keep so fit. In nearly every "sudden death while exercising" case, there is an undiscovered body defect that's the cause. Once a year physicals are a must and most insurance companies give you one for free every year. Please take advantage of it.

Sudden losses like this are the most devastating to families and friends. My condolences to everyone involved.

 

[Tommy2000GT]

because he is all roided up

 

[SP33Demon]

because he is all roided up

Runners don't even look like they're on roids unless they're sprinters. /facepalm

 

[dmcowen674]

Update: It was a foggy morning, he was hit by one car and then was lying in the road and run over by a second car.

http://riverheadlocal.com/breaking-news/pedestrian-killed-on-rt-25-in-pre-dawn-crash-in-laurel


Police considering possible hit-and-run in Main Road crash that killed jogger, 49


Police have identified the jogger who was struck and killed this morning on Main Road in Laurel as James Callaghan, 49, of Jamesport.

Police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it appears Callaghan was lying in the roadway when he was struck by two westbound vehicles. Investigators are considering the possibility that



Callaghan was first struck by a vehicle that left the scene or that some type of medical condition or emergency caused him to be on the roadway.

The pre-dawn accident took place at about 5:46 a.m. in heavy fog conditions, a detective at the scene said earlier today.

Callaghan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call Southold Town Police detectives at 631-765-2600.


Callaghan was an avid runner who participated in area footraces such as the Jamesport Sound to Bay 10K.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Wow. That makes the picture look a bit different. I guess they won't really know whether it was another car that hit him or something health related until the autopsy. Pretty tragic either way.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

RIP. I hope it wasn't a HnR.

It would suck for his family to find out it was a HnR. They will wonder if he would have lived if paramedics were called.