thebattalion â—? thursday,
november 18, 2010
Revisiting the
â—? serving
texas a&m since 1893
� first paper free – additional copies $1 � Š 2010 student media
stack Luz Moreno-Lozano | The Battalion
J
ohn Andrew Comstock, then 19, a freshman from Richardson, Texas, residing at Moses Hall, was enjoying his first Bonfire experience on the clear night, then tragedy struck. He was on top of the third tier when Bonfire collapsed at 2:42 a.m. Nov. 18, 1999. The stack swayed first throwing him off balance. When the center pole snapped it was a huge thump. So loud people could hear it miles away.
He was dazed at his 40 foot fall from the tall stack. As he began to fall he wrapped his right arm around the log and his pot fell off his head. He bit through his lip and was unable to talk; the log that fell on his jaw had made it difficult. “I wouldn’t say there was immediate pain,� Comstock said. “I was kind of in a state of shock. But after seven hours it hurts. It was cold and aching.� After falling he realized his left arm was free. He raised it up to wave it and within the first 30 seconds someone grabbed his hand. “It really stopped me from freaking out,� Comstock said. “It let me know that they knew where I was.� Twelve students died and 27 injured on the fateful night, 11 years ago today. Comstock is known as the 13th man and has the distinction tattooed on his shoulder. He remained conscious throughout
the process. With his left arm, he signaled his mom’s number to firefighter, Darrin Allen, who stayed with him all night, so they could contact her immediately. “I knew it was going to be a long time before we got him out. I knew he was in pretty bad shape and a lot of things had to happen before he could be removed,� Allen said. “He couldn’t really talk that much and communicated via hand signals. He gave us his mom’s telephone number and I can remember talking to her on the phone. She said she was up and awake and was watching it happen on TV.� The position of Comstock was of such risk that they told him he would be that last one to be pulled out because many pieces of debris needed to be removed before extracting him. Every five to 10 minutes Allen would ask how he was doSee 13th Man on page 7
J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION
TIME FOR THREE
Tickets to
IJ
Only $15! *$15 ticket not valid with any oer
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Tonight! Thursday, November 18 ŊĨżŢ Š—††‡” Š‡ƒ–”‡
ÄŤ Students are invited to hang out with Time for Three
right after the concert. Enjoy the complimentary coee bar while chatting up the guys. You must present your concert ticket to access the coee bar.
Series sponsored by Ashford Square Realty, Sterling Auto Group and St. Joseph Express
GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE! MSC Box OďŹƒce Ĺ 979-845-1234 Ĺ www.MSCOPAS.org
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11/17/10 8:29 PM