Survivor of ‘Unsurvivable’ Beats the Odds

As Sheriff’s Lt. George Kneeshaw walked Monday toward the wrecked van of Encinitas resident James Kuhns, who had been missing for three days, he could “smell death.”

Kneeshaw and his helicopter pilot had noticed the wreckage--covered with 120-octane fuel from drums Kuhns had been carrying--half an hour earlier, below Interstate 8 in the desert near Ocotillo. The last thing Kneeshaw expected to find in the wreckage, he said Wednesday, was a lucid survivor.

But, as he peered into the passenger window of the van--the only part visible because the rest of the van was wedged between massive boulders--Kneeshaw heard a faint, “Help me, help me.”

The “smell of death” came from one of Kuhns’ dogs, which lay dead in the van less than 4 feet from him. His other dog had escaped injury and was waiting patiently in the shade by the boulders.

Long Rescue Process

Help was on the way but, after spending nearly three waterless days trapped in isolation, the 47-year-old Kuhns would not be cut free for more than 10 hours after he was found. The highly volatile racing fuel that had leaked from drums on his trailer prevented workers from rapidly cutting him out with saws.

Saws could have caused sparks and “sent us all to hell,” one rescuer said.

Kuhns was finally freed with the help of a 60-foot crane belonging to the Imperial Valley Irrigation District. The crane was used to remove the fuel drums and lift the 1979 Chevrolet van about 10 inches off the ground, enabling rescuers to use the “jaws of life” to pull the van apart.

Workers sprayed the fuel-soaked area with a non-flammable foam before they began cutting the steel that had trapped Kuhns, of the 1700 block of Old Mills Road, for more than 74 hours.

Despite the happy ending, California Highway Patrol investigators plan to cite Kuhns for not having a license to transport hazardous materials and for not displaying the required warning placards on his vehicle, a CHP spokesman said Wednesday. Kuhns was carrying eight 55-gallon drums of high-octane racing fuel on a trailer.

When he was found Monday, Kuhns, whose van plummeted nearly 60 feet from the highway Friday night, was dehydrated but in good spirits. His first request: a drink of water and “to get the hell out of here,” Kneeshaw said. Kuhns remained at Mercy Hospital on Wednesday night in stable condition after being treated for cuts and chemical burns. He and his family declined comment Wednesday.

A Good Quip

Kneeshaw said he knew Kuhns was in control of his wits when, as he first drank from a canteen that Kneeshaw had provided, Kuhns asked, “How old is this water?”

“It was our estimation that (the tumble from the highway) was unsurvivable,” Kneeshaw said.

Kuhns told authorities that he was on his way Friday night from Spring Valley to an amateur auto race, at the former site of the Holtville airport in Imperial County, when a gust of wind caught the side of his van about 8 p.m. and swept it off the highway, about 4 miles west of Ocotillo.

The the van came to rest about 20 feet above a dry creek bed, where officials believe off-road vehicles probably roared throughout the weekend without noticing the van. Kuhns’ left foot was pinned between the emergency-break pedal and the fire wall and his right foot was pinned between the steering column and the engine.

A CHP investigation into the cause of the accident continued Wednesday.