Breaking down the Arizona Fatal offroad recovery 

I'm guilty of using my tow hitch to recover trucks and trailers. I think for me it's a case of you don't know what you don't know, and when you find out, it's too late. I'm glad I found this video and really appreciate Ryan's wife for allowing you to use their story to educate others on the dangers. I am very sorry for her loss, but incredible that she see's the possibility to help others despite her grief. Quite a woman! I'm ordering the right tools ASAP.

Holy crap. I've been dancing with death for years and I didn't even know it. Thank you so much for this video. Lives are going to be saved.

I've pulled and been pulled out dozens, if not hundreds of times with a ball hitch. NO MORE! Thanks for this wake up call

I don't do recoveries, I don't even have a truck nor do I know how this ended up in my youtube queue, but I learned something valuable and will pass it on to others, thank you sir.

This is a great video. Years ago I was almost killed in the same way. Wasn't into offroading, knew nothing about recovery. Someone stopped to pull us out (I was riding with friends), he seemed confident in what he was doing, so we let him proceed. I stood off to the side and away from the vehicles where I felt would be safe. He tied a 2'' strap with metal hook on the end, around his hitch somehow I think, not sure. He hammered on the gas, I heard a loud bang and for some reason I moved my head about 6" left as a reaction. The hook and rope shot straight at me, passed by right where my head was, continued another 10', came back, wrapped around my head and pulled tight across my eyes, faster than I could fall to the ground. Other than rope burns across my eyelids I ended up ok. But if the hook hit my head I would have been dead. This video should be part of standard driver's education to get a driver's license.

This is great info! One thing I would add, from my days of rescue training as a firefighter. ALWAYS put a jacket, blanket, or other soft, heavy fabric over the chain or strap. This should be placed a third of the distance behind the tow vehicle. If the strap or chain breaks, it will wrap around the jacket, which acts as a brake, quickly stopping it from sailing through the air. I've broken a few chains, and this works wonders to stop the chain. We used to use our bunker gear coats, but even a sleeping bag or big tarp folded up will work.

Ryans father Chris is a friend of mine. Thank you for making this video, hopefully it can save lives in the future. R.I.P. Ryan and my sincere condolences to all in the Woods family.

My daughter’s boyfriend goes off roading. Gifted him a kinetic recovery rope with soft shackles. Peace of mind. Thank you for this video. A lot of safety and awareness has come from his sacrifice. I wish the family comfort.

As a retired wrecker driver who specialized in class 8 recoveries I think this is one of the best video's I seen on this subject. Only one thing I can think to add is the drop ball mount will increase torque load on the hitch (like a cheater bar on a ratchet) which is why they have gusset plates I have seen people twist and break a hitch just by slamming on the brakes with a drop mount and moderate load on trailer.

My coworker was his sister, she came in when it happened because she didn’t know where to go. So sorry for her family, this was posted all over Facebook and our towns groups, and a lot of people were so horrible in the comments. I hope they heal well, and please be nice everyone, he can’t read your comments but his family still can

I'm 61 and have been pulling stuck vehicles out this way all of my life, never again! My condolences to Ryan's family, may god be with you in your healing process and thank you for allowing this story to be told 🙏.

I taught wheeled (and some track) recovery for the U.S. Army for 7 years. Thank you for putting this out. This info should prevent some serious injuries or worse. Thank you for the great info!

After watching this I’m definitely going to upgrade my shackles and receiver mount. The gentleman that unfortunately passed as a result of this is probably saving more lives than he would’ve ever imagined by using this as an educational example.

This is the content RU-vid needs! No music, not overly dramatized, just straight to the point with the facts to back it up. Thank you for the informative video, I’ll be forwarding this to my friends and encouraging them to upgrade their recovery gear. RIP Ryan, if there is a way we can help the family by either donation to them or a charity in Ryan’s name please let us know.

Sir, your PSA is a must-watch for anyone venturing offroad or having the awareness to prevent an accident. You are savings lives.

I didn’t read the title properly and when you said “it was fatal” it caught me off guard. How incredibly sad, I bet the guy helping was devastated too even though he was trying to help.

I really needed to see this video. I have been recovering stuck vehicles in an unsafe manner for probably 34 years. I have seen chains, tow ropes, and bumpers fail. Still, I wouldn't have thought about the receiver failure. Sobering video, to say the least. Thank you for the video. Prayers to the family and friends.

I’ve been in the automotive towing and recovery business for 30 years, I’m saving this video for all my guys to watch, especially my greenhorns!! Thank you for making this you undoubtedly are saving lives!

Good info. As a Union Ironworkers of over 30 years and a Certified Rigger, I was happy to see you point out the 5-1 safety rating on the shackle. I don't know how many times I've seen guys claim the soft shackles are "stronger" because they don't understand steel shackles are rated that way. Well educated video

I just bought my first truck, which is off-road ready. I would have never guessed recovering with a tow-ball was unsafe. Glad to have watched this. Deepest condolences to the family and friends.

Great video and I would like to thank Mrs. Woods for allowing the story to be told so others can learn from this tragedy. My goes out the the family.

This happened to me in a Dodge Dart, my friend was towing me to a garage for it to be fixed, when he pulled into the garage parking lot he stretched the cable, my front tires were having trouble rolling over the curb. His hook let go and came flying through the windshield into the passenger seat, I was covered in glass, it was a lesson I will never forget. May his family find peace, and may he Rest In Peace.

I am one of those people who didn't not realize how dangerous this could have been over the years, Thank you Sooooo much for taking the time to educate those of us who didn't know.. God bless you 🙏

Wow. I’m not a truck person but still. I’ve seen people pull on those ball hitches like that without giving it a second thought. I’m definitely more aware now regarding things like this, so thank you for this valuable information!

Great video but nobody has talked about what the actual load ratings for the receiver hitch (vehicle side) are. You could have the best recovery gear available and not have anything strong enough to mount it to.

I don’t do recovery, but at least now I know what not to do, it was worth my 19 minutes. Thanks to you and the woman who requested you share this.

I just want you to know these kind of videos actually make a difference. My recovery methods have evolved from using chains and tow straps on the cheap tow ball to having the right equipment for the job. I'm in Colorado and usually have to "self rescue" in deep snow. I now have a winch, snatch block and tree savers along with chains for all 4 wheels. In town, It's easy to pull out other vehicles stuck in the snow using simple traction forces. I've mainly learned that yanking on a tow strap is reckless.

From the UK I have used this method pulling people out and being pulled out, at the time and when your in a rush or having fun things like this literally don’t cross your mind, this man’s death won’t be in vain as him and your video will probably save lives. My condolences to his family. 🙏

This particularly horrific accident has gone around the world. Many many RU-vidrs have discussed it and what went wrong. Unfortunately there are still people out there that just won’t listen good advice such as yours. Nevertheless you may have saved a life. Australia.

Think almost every one of us that watched this video is guilty of pulling something out with a receiver hitch. This is a wake-up call for me on what I need to use next time. Thank you for putting out this content and thank you to the family for allowing you to tell this story. Sadly, this happened but I feel this information will save someone else.

A 1 foot drop hitch....the crow bar leverage the pull had on the 2"x2" square tubing was "over-whelming" .............of course it broke and shot at the other truck.

Thanks, you've probably saved someone's life. I've been watching one of the more popular RU-vid recovery companies for a few years, but this is the first time I've seen someone address this subject. Much appreciated.

I’m going to play this video at work for a safety meeting, I work for the county road department here in southeast Utah, we are always pulling something out of washes and mud when it rains here, thank you for making this video to inform folks of the danger involved in pulling things out of these situations, RIP to the gentleman who was involved in this and I hope the family is ok 😢

I work on a farm and have to pull equipment out all the time. I admittedly had no idea i was putting myself in so much danger. Definitley changing my pulling gear. Thank you!!

Probably 35 years ago I pulled out a stuck K30 with my FJ60.. the guy looked at me like I was nuts when I asked him to open his hood, but he did it.. An open hood might have saved Ryan from that hitch. I drove for a recovery company in the Northeast for quite some time.. I have seen cables snap, tow hitches ripped out of the rear of a 4 year old Dodge because of rust and numerous people that try to just drop a recovery strap on a hitch ball.. People are embarrassed and panicking, rushing and ignorant of how the physics can change exponentially.. Take away this one thing..SLOW DOWN! Get a good winch with a fiber rope..and please don’t trust that a Samaritan is going to know the best way.. be strong and carefully consider things. Please.

As viewer number 526,033 I can honestly say I learned something extremely important today. I would have never questioned the improper method. Your demonstration and explanation were outstanding, and a major wake up. Condolences to the family, and especially to Ryan. Ryan could have been any one of us. The kindness of the Woods family, and the effort by Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery in this video will undoubtedly save lives by shining a light on an incredibly common and dangerous practice.

I had this happen to a friend in Florida about 40 years ago, he survived but was never the same, prayers for the man's family and friends 🙏

Back in 2001 I was using a skid loader and 1/2" logging chain to pull an old residential TV antenna tower out of the ground. Well the chain snapped and came flying back and hit me in the left upper chest. It somehow knocked me out with me still pulling back on the drive sticks. My helper had to run and jump into the machine and kill the ignition. I came to a few seconds later. It didn't break the skin and hit right below the collar bone so no broken bones or internal injuries. I had a guardian angel with me that day.

There is no doubt that your video will save many lives. I grew up on a farm and have done this many times. I never thought of all that information you shared with us. You may have even saved my life. Thanks so much

Condolences to his family and thank you for posting. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've just dropped the loop of the strap over a 2-5/16 ball to pull

You're the first person I've met in 25 years that used the term "design margin" and knew what it meant. Thanks for the video, this was great.

Growing up on a a ranch in Arizona we always hooked two straps to the frame. We use bolt type shackles. This is a sad story. Thank you for the information

I was pulling a vehicle that had broke down and the strap broke from its hook and flew threw the back windshield breaking it. Sounded like a shotgun going off scared me to death. This is very similar God was with me that day. I'll never forget the velocity that hook had when it came flying back in thru the back window.

I had zero recovery equipment knowledge. Now I know a bit more. Thanks for the video and my condolences to the Woods family.

I knew Ryan and his wife. I lived in Kingman and the Woods family was in my church. Ryan worked on my Jeep for me. I moved to Tennessee shortly before Ryan’s accident. It was tragic. Thank you for giving people this important life-saving information.

Excellent video and your presentation was very down to earth and easy to understand for the average offloaded. When I was in a Search and Rescue group in Southern Arizona back in the late seventies and early eighties we regularly trained utilizing all of the info in this video. I commend you for putting this video out but I'm sorry that someone had to lose their life for this info to come to light.

Sad story and good education. I haven't had to do recovery, but have studied the hell out of it to avoid something like this including proper recovery points and soft shackles. One of the first things I learned - Never use a tow hitch ball.

Thank you , I'm sixty years old and have always been helpful pulling friend and strangers out of ditches which happens alot in Minnesota winters with icy roads. I have heard of ropes and chains snapping but never experienced a failure myself. From now on I'm am going to recover with proper equipment even tho it will cost me extra just for that occasional pull but will be worth every penny to have the piece of mind that I will be doing more good then harm. Your never to old to learn and I appreciate the education your video has provided me. To the woods family my condolences but find comfort in knowing their husband son father or whatever Ryan was to them should find comfort knowing Ryan's tragic accident will save life's thanks to you allowing his story to be shared and for the right young gentleman making the video to tell it. Lots of people die everyday but not all leave a positive ripple in the fabric of time but your loved one has. God bless you and ease your pain.

As an ER nurse I have seen this exact tragedy several times. Beware of the giant forces hidden in a stretched rope or chain! Expect that it can snap and kill you and never get yourself in the danger zone on either side. 😢

Would have thought before I started watching all the recovery video's a hitch would take anything that a truck could deliver. I know now its not true wonderful video

This has been incredibly educational. Thank you for sharing and condolences to the family of the gentleman that was killed.

I watch a lot of Matt’s off road recovery, way back since he had 15k subscribers, wish he didn’t wing it with his setups, I remember a tri-ball hitch, then a pintle hitch. Not sure if he still uses the tri ball. He’s skilled for sure but the amount of views he gets I wish he would take the time to show people the safest way.

Wow, I had NO idea but glad you made this video to share and keep us safe . My condolences to the mama wife and family ❤️

Thank you for posting this...... this has definately changed my thinking, and thank you to Jen Woods for being willing to have her personal story shared, I hope it brings some comfort to her knowing that a lot of people are being safer than they would have been without this knowledge.

I want to point out that while the Hitchlink has a high load rating, it is only one "link in the chain." A system will always fail at its weakest link, and unfortunately there are other factors that you may not be aware of - cotter pin that fell out of the hitch pin, manufacturing defects in products, undetected corrosion, etc. Also, think about the fact that, by using the Hitchlink, you are adding a 15 lb missile to the end of your recovery strap. The safest way to recover with a pull line is to have positive control over the line when it fails. Simply using a stronger main line, or other components, adds marginal safety. One of the safest methods requires 3 lines; your heavy main line, and two lighter safety lines: 1. The main pull line 2. A line on the stuck vehicle, attached to a secure point on the vehicle, and a loop on the main pull line. This line should have enough slack to allow the recovery vehicle some forward movement when the main line fails. 3. The same as #2, but on the recovery vehicle. This is how I perform recoveries. I also use this method when helping people do things like attempt to pull tree stumps out. I have witnessed main line failures and the secondary lines perform their function. This is in no way meant to insult Mr. King, nor the products he sells. Those products look well made, and would be part of a good recovery setup. But having the right parts only gets you half way to safety; make sure you think things through and keep people out of the "line of fire," and always consider what happens if you have a failure.

I have used my hitch hundreds of times and somehow never thought about about this but I will definitely be upgrading my gear - Thank You

Very sad situation for the family....condolences to them. This Super Duty was NOT a candidate for a kinetic energy recovery regardless of the quality of equipment used or recovery points chosen. Because it was sunk in as low as it was, there is suction involved AND the front and rear axles are now plowing against wet soil. Even if the truck weighs 9000 lbs curb weight, the amount of energy involved to pull the truck as it is bulldozing tens of thousands of pound of wet dirt in front of it is huge. Wet sand or mud is over 3000 lbs per cubic yard. There are multiple cubic yards of dirt in front of both axles that you would be pulling against. At a bare minimum, shovels and excavation to move soil away from the front of the truck and from under the truck to break suction should have been considered. Yes, obviously use the best quality equipment available and learn how to connect recovery equipment to the correct recovery points....but it all starts by evaluating the vehicle that is stuck and understanding what forces you are up against. When in doubt call a pro and stand way back because even they don't do everything perfectly.

I did not know this. I'll never do it again. Mostly I've pulled a lot of light stuff that is just barely stuck and a little more skilled driver could have gotten it out but we are amateurs having fun and the rule we follow is just don't go alone. Definitely saved us from potentially deadly situations by going in two jeeps/ 4runners but it makes me think of how many other things we might have done that we didn't know could have hurt us. Thank you for the video. RIP and prayers for his family.

I knew not to do it but now i have an video to show the friends that argue about it

Thank you Woods family. Your generosity during a this time will save others a similar fate. Wyoming girl here. I've been stuck more times than I can possibly recall. I've sent this to all family members. We are grateful and send healing light . Ryan will be remembered 🌈

I was riding my bike the other day. It was blissful and peaceful on a trail in the middle of the woods. Suddenly I slip off the side of trail and slam on concrete. It happened so fast. I ended up breaking my elbow. I drove ten miles back with one arm.. The whole ride back made me contemplate how fast things can go wrong. I'm still in shock about it. This story is so sad and a grave reminder how fast things can change. I like to drive unpaved mountain roads in my Xterra so I'm glad I came across this. Deepest condolences to this family. This is so heartbreaking

One thing you mentioned, but I feel never gets emphasized enough is taking your time with a recovery. Unless the vehicle is in a precarious position on the edge of a cliff or something, there is absolutely no reason to be rushing. If you are going to attempt a kinetic recovery you should do some slow speed test hits just to see how all the equipment and the two vehicles are responding. You may notice something was not set up properly, or the stuck vehicle wants to move in a way you did not expect or something. That's the kind of information you want to learn on a 2,000 lb hit, not 20,000 lbs.

Great information and presentation. Thirty years ago, chains were about all we had and we had to be cared about how we did things. I swapped chain for a logging skidder cable. One thing we did back then that I think is still applicable: open the hood. It may not totally stop this scenario but it can slow it down enough, and use weights on the strap to dampen that momentum too: the old winch cable tricks. I’ve seen cable break and take a tree down. I remember a few guys who got cut in half by a broken cable. These levels of weight and force are nothing to play with. Everyone be safe out there!! It’s supposed to be fun.

Wow I had no idea. That's beyond terrifying. Thank you so much for making this video. Countless lives saved by one (relatively) short video. Plus all the people watching and sharing with friends like myself.

Was at the site of the same type thing happening almost 40 years ago when a 4 inch snatch strap was used with a clevis attached to the hole of a step bumper. Clevis pulled through the metal of the bumper and went into the windshield hitting the driver in the head. He lost vision in one eye and had brain damage but survived.

Great video. A couple of things to point out. Drop hitches like the one you previewed, even with a straight pulling angle, have a boat load of leverage that's created. Referring to the pic of the hitch that failed, it came apart at the bottom. Lots of leverage, that's the primary reason it failed. Second, Chinese steel. That stuff is crap. When the importers started bringing China steel over in the mid and late 90's you almost had to relearn how to weld. There's pockets in it, it's not uniform, it's complete crap. Quarter inch wall tube steel should not have sheered like that. Bend yes, sheer no. The stress cracks are the dead give away.

I am actually going to send this to a friend that loves helping people. I know he has some of this gear but this was such a great informational video even though it had to stem from a tragic accident. I know I am smarter because of it and will remember this if I am ever in this kind of situation. That being said, I worked with a female friend at a toy store and we were storing our swing sets as we were strapping them in with the bungee cords she suddenly fell to the ground in extreme pain and we didn't understand because nothing happened to her as far as we had seen. The reason I am telling this is to show how fast something can go wrong when the tension gets to great. What we didn't see was the bungee cord breaking and catching her right across the nipple. It was so fast there was no time to react. Stay safe in all you do and thank you for sharing this.

Great video - wish there was some way to spread this info wider and further. As someone who worked in heavy duty recovery and have seen my share of bad things happen - I cringe everytime I see someone trying to pull someone out like this. You have to ask what will happen when something snaps or breaks no matter what equipment you're using. This happens too often.

When i first got into off roading a few years ago I remember looking for recovery gear, im extremely thankful that i decided not to cheap out and i have the exact same gear you mentioned, i have the factor 55 hitchlink, bubba soft shackles, and a bubba kinetic rope, some of the friends i off road with still use their tow hitch and static tow rope for snatch recoveries and has failed a couple times luckily with no damage to anyone or any vehicle, but they have been extremely lucky, im going to send them this video to hopefully make them see how important proper recovery gear is

Awesome!! The normal bubba, like me and obviously a large majority of other men had and have no clue about this danger. For us, “that iron hitch will never break”, that thinking is definitely fatal. My condolences to Mrs. Wood, for the loss of her husband. Thank you to her and you sir, for this enlightenment. It is a gift of life for us all.

Thank you. I have always considered myself safer than your average guy with a truck & simple but effective tow gear, but I had not considered this crucial factor. It's entirely possible that at least massive unexpected damage has been prevented in my future. Thanks again.

HOLY S#:¥! I have used a hitch draw bar to extract in the past. NEVER AGAIN. I’ve shared this video with my family and friends as well. Thank you. Condolences to Mrs. Woods.

Excellent video! This is a great educational video! Condolences to the Woods family.

Even though the rating on your dropped hitch's ball was one of the highest, the receiver itself may have been one of the weakest. Because that drop acts as a lever, the pull at the ball is converted to a rotating motion where that vertical 'lever' is welded to the receiver tube. And that motion puts almost all the forces on the very bottom edge of the weld, certainly not on the entire weld. So it concentrates the forces there, when that fails the force continues to be concentrated at the bottom of the remaining attachment by the twist, until it unzips all the way up. Never had to get the whole weld to fail, just a small portion of it at a time. The smaller receiver you showed before that might actually be stronger (not counting the ball itself) because it doesn't have the drop to act as a lever, it's doing more of a straight pull. And the tongue(?) portion that the ball bolts to is welded to the receiver tube at an angle, so it's spreading the pull out more into the whole weld. NOT saying you'd be better off using that receiver ball vs. the dropped one, just that the dropped one was probably the worst one of all the ones you showed. Despite the higher rating on the ball itself.

Great video, many folks dont know/understand the difference between a static line I.E. winching and a dynamic line (yanking). Also the review of attach point failure is very relevant. Shame that a life was lost over this.

A very informative video. I’m so sorry this man or anyone lost their lives doing recovery. I just never realized how catastrophic this could be. Rest in Peace to this man that died, I hope it never happens again to anyone else. Please be careful folks.

I, really, just want to say thanks for the insight and for taking the time to do the research. It's a tragic loss, there are no words, condolences to the family.

Something happened years ago in the area where I live. The ball passed completely through the skull of a 15 year old girl riding passenger in the stuck truck. When I do a recovery I always have the stuck vehicle to raise their hood.

Thank you for taking the time to share this information and for being respectful to this gentleman and his family ❤️💔❤️

What a tragedy. My dad taught me to pull from the frame if I get stuck. And if I can't get to the frame call a professional.

Thank you for posting this. Condolences to the Woods family. Rest In Peace Ryan from a fellow off-roader.

Good video. Back before the days of RU-vid and the internet, off-road magazines were constantly educating the community about the dangers of improper recovery gear, especially tow hitches and unsafe practices. Another thing we need to be aware of is danger zones. Where not to be in case of equipment failure. In the name of safety, not criticism, as a trained crane operator, I’d like to point out that it’s not safe to stand under a hanging load. Thank you for your efforts to prevent any future tragedies. It’s good to have fun on the trail and during recoveries. But we cannot afford to become complacent. This video is a needed reminder of that for us all

you definitely taught me something, thank you for making this video. My condolences to the Woods family.

Makes me think of Snap Back from mooring lines at Naval Stations/Bases. We went through lots of training to know the signs of a mooring line under intense stress. We have what's called a tattle tail (short thinner length of nylon cord usually 6Ft or 2 meters attached to the central part of the mooring line between the pier and the moored vessel). Drooping tattle tale all is good taught tattle tale GTFA (GET THE FECK AWAY AND WARN OTHERS TO DO THE SAME). Also smoking mooring line (mooring line under intense stress will have the appearance of "smoking" as all absorbed moisture will be released in a vapor) when you see this a catastrophic mooring line failure is imminent. I did witness a handful of these at Norfolk Naval Station Va. fortunately training and vigilant situational awareness prevented injury and loss of life in all cases I witnessed. There was significant to severe damage to equipment on the pier. I wouldn't believe a 3 inch mooring line could cause so much damage to a large diesel generator to the point that it was hauled off in pieces. We were still finding small pieces up to 2 years after that particular event on and around the pier.

Great advice and video thank you. Just one thing to add. In any mud or running water recovery where the vehicle has been stuck for a while, first try and free the axles from the mud by lifting the vehicle. Axles and wheels become ankers in mud and even sand with running water, like in a riverbed. This multiplies the stuck force by a significant margin.

Great video and thanks for sharing. You might want to take a second look at the pintle hook specs though. You mentioned that the bolts would be the weak point leading to failure when actually 1/2 grade 8 bolts can take about 37,500 pounds each so that times 4 is around the 150,000 range.

This, unfortunately, happens too often. Not fatal every time, but the lack of basic recovery technique still shocks me. I wheeled a jeep for 20+ years and been part of many recoveries. Rule #1 - use a recovery strap, NOT a tow strap. Rule #2 - never be in line of fire if/when that strap or hitch fail, this is hard to achieve for the driver of the recovery vehicle. Rule #3 - if in doubt, call a pro.

These are the videos people need. I'll admit I've learned a lot from this myself, even knowing all the ratings and misconceptions about hitch and drawbar capabilities. I'll be buying all new gear before assisting anyone else from here on out

Thank you very much for the info. So sorry for this families loss. I am a rope rescue tech among other things. Have been a trail guide for an off road park for several years. I was getting ready to mention the receiver pin but you covered it too. 👍🏼 Thank you for your service.

Thank you for doing this bro!!! I live in Costa Rica. The roads are bad and people get stuck all the time. I pull with a winch I will definitely get those ropes and products you speak of. If you could post more how to tow videos I would be hyped. Thank you again!!

I know this is serious video but I can't be the only one who noticed that he said "probably over 15min at this point" the moment the video hit 15min. Thanks for your PSA, I'm not into offroading myself, more just into safety of different hobbies/fields. And never know, I might end up stuck in a snowbank.

Hi Justin, Firstly, my deepest condolences to the Woods family for their loss of their loved one and a fellow off road enthusiast. This is a tragic accident and thank you to Mrs. Woods for sharing this painful story with us to help educate, remind, and prevent others from experiencing a similar tragedy. Secondly, thank you for making this video. I found it very informative, educational and helpful.

Very good information, but shackles and crane lifting equipment is never safe to be under the load when lifting no matter what the load is or rating capacity of equipment. Because there’s always a chance of failure, in a employment situation I am pretty sure that it’s a OSHA violation to be under a load of any lifting device. Plus it’s just not safe.

Thanks man, I will not use a trailer ball again to recover or to pull objects ! Appreciate this info 👊👍!! Our Deepest Condolences to all that were impacted by this tragedy. 🙏🙏

To break suction with another car in a dirt is Impossible.. heavy equipment for that. Sad very sad situation 😢

Really grateful for this video, I just recently bought a Tacoma, and I've been kicking around the idea of getting some recovery gear. Now I know what to get, and what not to get. I knew pulling off a ball hitch is bad, but I didn't realize you shouldn't use a pintle hitch, either. The rest was known to me, kintetic rope and static straps were on my list, as well as soft shackles, but I think I'll grab a Factor 55 Gear recovery point for my truck before anything else.

Thank you for posting this. I have always been awear of staying out of the line of fire if you snap a strap or chain, but never thought of a hitch ripping straight off. We snatch strap off the tow ball all the time... Time to change that.

That happened to a farmer here in DE a few years ago. They were trying to get a 40 foot loaded grain truck unstuck. Oh and never stand under a suspended load.

1000 fps? That would be nearly 682 mph... That doesn't sound right... The biggest problem that I see is that the other vehicle had a drop hitch and he attached the rope/strap at the lowest point, so there quite a bit of lever action to make it even easier to fail... I've been stuck deeper than that truck was in my Jeep XJ many years ago and it was a simple matter of hooking my winch cable up to the nearest bush near the ground (no decent sized trees around) and letting my hydraulic winch slowly pull me out... The great things about hydraulic winches is that you have 100% duty cycle...

I’m really glad you are covering this. I saw a video about tow ball issues last year and honestly had I not seen that I would have never known about it. This is just so tragic that it happened and I can see a lot of people not knowing making the same mistake. Honestly this needs to be a recurring thing - like maybe even all the recovery channels doing an annual anniversary thing so it get back in front of people. This could have easily been me has I gotten stuck.