Unluckiest Luckiest Man Survives Both Marathon Bombing and Waco Blast

[PeaceNikki]

Joe Berti doesn't feel "unlucky" to have witnessed and survived both the bombing at the Boston Marathon and then the explosion at the fertilizer plant outside of Waco, Texas. He does want to "get away from all these explosions," however.

Joe Berti ran the Boston Marathon on Monday to support a charity that helps children who have rare or undiagnosed disorders. He crossed the finish line around 30 seconds before the first of the two bombs exploded, and his wife, who was taking pictures of him finishing, was hit by shrapnel (she was unhurt). They couldn't get in touch in the panic immediately following the bombing, but found each other at their hotel shortly afterwards.

On Tuesday, they went back home to Austin to be with their two young daughters. On Wednesday, Joe went back to work and as he was heading home, saw black smoke billowing from the fertilizer plant. Then it exploded. "You've got to be kidding!," he thought to himself. He pulled over and took the picture on the left.

"My next reaction was to get out of there because something fell on the top of my car - some debris or something fell from the sky," he told the Associated Press.

More: http://gawker.com/5995027/unluckiest-luckiest-man-survives-both-marathon-bombing-and-waco-blast

[virgogal]

1. Astonishing. He's one lucky guy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Tell me where he is going next

So I can get away...FAST!!!

[PeaceNikki]

3. Or stay very close.

wow...

[tammywammy]

4. He commutes from Austin to West?

That's a long commute.

[PeaceNikki]

5. lol, that's not the most interesting point in the story.

[tammywammy]

8. Obviously the rest of the story is great

I'm glad he survived.

But seriously, the commute stuck out too.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. No, it was a business meeting

From the AP story this links to:

After about an hour, the couple reunited at their hotel, both of them OK. They left Boston Tuesday morning and returned to Austin, with every hope of getting back to life as normal with their two girls, ages 8 and 11.

Joe Berti went back to work. On Wednesday, he had a daylong meeting in Dallas, followed by a museum tour. He was heading home on Interstate 35 and nearing Waco Wednesday night when he saw black smoke up ahead to his left. As he drove closer, he saw — and felt — his second explosion in two days.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/marathon-runner-witnesses-double-disasters

[tammywammy]

15. Oh, well that makes sense!

Thanks!

[reformist2]

6. If I were him, I'd be worried about a meteor hitting my house.

[Archae]

10. He should buy a lottery ticket!

[bluedigger]

13. I'm thinking he's used up all his luck.

[LadyHawkAZ]

7. Note to self: never, ever hang out with Joe Berti n/t

[Archae]

9. I read about one guy in Japan with a similar story...

He was in Hiroshima when the first A-bomb was dropped there, he was unhurt, and he traveled the next day to Nagasaki.

He was unhurt there too.

[winter is coming]

11. Dude, don't leave the house!

Assuming it's well-insured...

Worst. Week. Ever.

[Jennicut]

14. Wow. Poor guy needs a break.

Glad he is okay....what are the odds? I would wonder if explosions just follow me around.

[deutsey]

16. Wowsie wowsie woo woo

I had a similar Schleprock phase in my life.

Back in 2007 I was on a project that required traveling to various parts of the country in the span of the summer.

When I went to Phoenix, an Iraq war vet had a medical emergency during the flight and we had to do an emergency landing in Colorado.

I went to San Francisco and there was an earthquake in Oakland that shook the hotel I was in.

I went to Madison, WI and there were floods.

And the big finale:

I went to Minneapolis and my hotel was right beside the bridge that collapsed. I could see where the bridge was from my hotel room and all the emergency crews gathered near the site. News camera crews were filming right below my window.

[DanTex]

17. This guy's not impressed...

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