Kaci Koviak:THIS MONTH MARKS
20 YEARS SINCE A TERRIFYING
TRAGEDY ON THE CAMPUS OF TEXAS
A&M UNIVERSITY...AS STUDENTS
WERE BUILDING THE ANNUAL
BONFIRE... THE HUGE STACK OF
LOGS CAME CRASHING DOWN.12
STUDENTS DIED, INCLUDING A
YOUNG WOMAN FROM EAST TEXAS.
TONIGHT, HER FAMILY SHARES
THEIR MEMORIES WITH KETK TODAY
ANCHOR ISAAC RAMIREZ. IT'S
TONIGHT'S SPECIAL REPORT.
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TAKE: OPEN
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TAKE: PKGTO: 5:01DURATION:5:01
a 90 year aggie
tradition...bonfire was a
representation of the burning
passion to beat texas. ánatsá
current and former students
worked tirelessly stacking
thousands of logs...ánatsáBut
on november 18th,
1999...disaster struck...when
the structure collapsed
trapping many underneath.
"students were working on the
stack, then there was a sudden
movement. "ánatsá
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20 years later...on a quiet
sunny morning...you'll find
the hand family at a henderson
cemetery. ánatsá their
daughter jamie...was a victim
of the collapse. :43-:49Neva
Hand/Victim's Mother: "in some
ways it seems like a long
time, in others it seems like
it was just a few weeks ago.
The very fact that she was
taken from us at the age of
19, she will always be 19."
:56-1:04Isaac Ramirez:
"jamie's journey started right
here in Henderson. She
graduated a lion and was
excited to carry on the family
tradition of becoming an
aggie."Neva Hand: "One of the
things she loved about a&M is
how involved everyone is."
jamie was one of the students
working overnight on stack...
hand remembers the phone
call...with news no parent
wants to hear. "A friend of
Jamie's called us a little
after three that morning and
said there had been an
accident at bonfire site and
that Jamie had been hurt."the
family drove down to college
station that morning...but
were frustrated with the lack
of answers...They would feel
an undescribable pain..."when
they pulled jamies body out at
five in the afternoon, they
came to us and said she had
passed. We were asked if we
wanted to see her, and I told
the nurse,
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would you please go and look?
I don't want my family to
remember...I don't want this
to be the last thing that they
remember about her. "john
comstock remembers coming in
and out of consiousness as
crews looked for
victims...carefully removing
one log at a time...He was THE
LAST survivor pulled out...
2:21-2:28John Comstock: "I was
right on the edge. You could
see my left hand, that was
visible, but the rest of me
was covered. They had to get
me out last so I was trapped
for seven and a half hours."
john comstock is known as the
13th man...after nearly dying
multiple times during the
tragedy...this video shows him
arriving at a hospital for
treatment. Doctor: 'he came on
a stretcher. He was not able
to sit. He had numerous open
wounds. He had a feeding tube."
comstock's left leg was
amputated...his right hand
severely injured. "so I don't
have any intrinsics, all the
movement comes from the upper
arms here. So if I do that,
you can see where it all kinda
ended right there."comstock is
now able to drive his own
truck...ánatsátechnology
allows him to carry his
wheelchair anywhere he goes."i
think the hardest part of
therapy was the occupational
rehab. It was slow. i was
trying to get my sock on and
learn how to use my left hand.
It was a slow process."
recently, the memorial on
campus was renovated...comstock
says he is looking forward to
going back. "it's been
difficult for me to ever visit
the memorial on my own because
I couldn't get there will all
the thick rocks that they put.
So, it's kinda nice for them
to pave it or make it a little
bit more accesible so I can go
visit other than just the
anniversary."he is at the
center of a new
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documetary...'the 13th
man'...scheduled to be
released at several texas
theatres.The film by charlie
minn reflects on the ánatsá20
years later...comstock says he
feels blessed. "it's been a
difficult road but little by
little i've been able to
conquer every challenge that
has come across. "ánatsáback
in east texas
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neva hand says she stays in
touch with other families who
lost children in the tragedy...
"when you lose a child. You
become part of a club you did
not want to join."but should
bonfire come back to campus as
an official university event?
"I think the only way it could
possibly be on campus would be
for a&m be able to ensure the
safety of the students who
work on it and I don't think
that's a good possibility."
ultimately...she says jamie is
in a better place. "we know
she is not there. we know
that. We know where she is.
She is with god."isaac ramirez
ketk
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Neal Barton:COMSTOCK RECENTLY
MARRIED AND WORKS FOR TEXAS
A&M SYSTEMS. THE FILM..."THE
13TH MAN" WILL BE SCREENED
THIS FRIDAY AT THE STUDIO
MOVIE GRILL IN TYLER.IF YOU
WOULD LIKE TO WATCH THE
TRAILER OR PURCHASE TICKETS...
TAKE: OPENWE HAVE A LINK FOR
YOU ON OUR WEBSITE...EAST
TEXAS MATTERS
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Neal Barton:
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