Shain Gandee Asphyxiated: Mud, Booze and Stupidity a Lethal Cocktail

Buckwild, beer-guzzling reality star Shain Gandee has experienced a reality check himself this week. Unfortunately it's not a lesson the young man can put to any good use now, as it also cost him his life.

Sadly, two companions perished alongside the notoriously reckless 21-year-old, in one final act of drunken stupidity that can only be viewed as the fulfillment of a full-blown death wish or Darwinian destiny.

Gandee, his uncle and a friend are said to have all slowly asphyxiated when a truck they were ramming across off-road terrain sunk to its doors in a mud pit, inadvertently blocking the tailpipe and filling the vehicle's passenger space with deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

The doomed trio had been seen pounding down alcohol in a local bar until three in the morning before heading off to the backcountry for what would prove to be their last joyride together.

Obviously, their judgment and reaction time in such a catastrophic event was gravely impaired through intoxication.

Told you so

Critics have routinely slammed the popular MTV show 'Buckwild' which launched the now-dead youth to fame by capitalizing on the hipster hick's drinking and dangerous exploits.

Many have been concerned that the show not only encouraged Gandee and his friends to engage in a risky lifestyle that included drugs and lawlessness, but also negatively portrayed citizens of rural West Virginia in general.

The state's democratic senator, Joe Manchin, in fact was so offended by the series he demanded it be terminated, calling it "repulsive" and a "travesty" which "plays to ugly, inaccurate stereotypes."

Buckwild's promoters and fans alike shrugged off that criticism though, and the show's producers were in the process of filming a second season this year when the totally predictable predictably occurred.

In a sudden and self-conscious move, production and the show itself was then promptly canceled yesterday on the news that its star cast member had finally done himself in.

For the record then: mud, booze, carbon monoxide and sheer lunacy is not entertainment. It's a highly toxic mix.

Don't try this at home

Reporters have been pressing West Virginian authorities for details of the Gandee crime scene, particularly for descriptions of what condition the bodies were found in that would so quickly convince investigators no foul play was involved and that the deaths were indeed due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

But since the coroner just confirmed that's how the men met their demise, then it wouldn't have posed too big a mystery for first responders either: Swollen tongues, bloodshot eyes, blue lips, pink frothing, bright red cheeks—asphyxiation by this method is fairly easy to gauge, even without autopsies.

It would also be relatively fast considering the small enclosure the three were confined in, and, even sober, they likely wouldn't have been aware that the truck's cabin was filling up with the killer gas because it has no odor or taste.

Of course, if they hadn't been so blasted, then they would've realized the potential hazard existed and merely rolled the windows down to prevent it.

As to which of the deceased men was actually found in the driver's seat. It was Shain Gandee who commandeered their coffin on wheels.

 

 

Eponymous Rox