Accident victim literally hangs on for dear life

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A teenager was catapulted at least 25 feet in the air during an auto accident but grabbed onto overhead utility wires like an action hero and dangled for about 20 minutes before a rescue crew brought him down by ladder.

Joe Thompson III, 18, was treated for bruises and scratches at a hospital and was released.

"God was definitely in control," he said.

Thompson lost control of his Jeep on Monday evening after another car suddenly turned in front of him.

Thompson's Jeep clipped the other car and rolled over and over, possibly five times, witnesses said.

The Jeep's fiberglass top was ripped off, and Thompson, who was not wearing a seat belt, flew through the air, bouncing off three power lines and falling onto what he believes was a telephone wire and grounding wire. His leg caught in one wire, and he grabbed for the other.

"I just kept saying a prayer over and over," he said yesterday from his home in Blue Springs, Mo.

Sgt. Ray Myers of the Blue Springs police said Thompson was "bear-hugging" the wires when help arrived.

The wires were insulated, but the power lines above him had to be turned off before the rescue ladder could be raised.

The driver of the other car, Justin Elam, of Olathe, Kan., came immediately to check on Thompson.

"I just started saying, 'Dude, turn off my car.' He looked around at first, he couldn't find me. Then he looked up and saw me," Thompson said.

Meanwhile, Thompson's father had rushed to the scene.

"I was told he was hanging on for dear life," Joe Thompson II said. "I didn't know they meant he literally was hanging on for dear life."

The father said his son was talking the entire time.

"We asked him how long he could hold on, and he said, 'I can hold on as long as it takes.' His arms were turning blue because it was cold, but otherwise he was fine," the elder Thompson said.