Divine Intervention?

[Craig]

I've got a news story from around here that I would like to share with you. Yesterday, while crossing at a crosswalk with his mother in the Greater Vancouver area, a two year old kid decided to have a temper tantrum. He stopped crossing part way along, and simply laid down on the street. For reasons unclear to me, his mother did not notice (or did not care?) what he had done. The boy was run over by a van making a right hand turn into a lane. The driver of the van claimed that she looked away and when she looked back, she could see that the mother had made it onto the crosswalk but she couldn't see the little boy, so she assumed he made it over too.

The RCMP officer who was interviewed on the news said the boy had tire tracks heavily imprinted upon his back near his shoulder blades. The boy also had tire tracks imprinted diagonally running over his forehead. Amazingly, the boy was completely uninjured, despite having his upper back and head run over by a van.

So, my question: is this divine intervention or not? Explain.

[mataj]

If the van was making his turn fast enough, and if boy was run over by the inner wheels, it might have been the centrifugal force.

[steveksux]

If God was going to intervene, seems to me he wouldn't do it for a whiny brat who decided to lie down in the middle of an intersection.

Unless he was punishing the mother for something by keeping the brat around.... :thinking: Maybe it was after all... :D

The head is pretty structurally sound, I've heard of other people having their heads run over. The rib cage is relatively strong, but that would surprise me there were no cracked ribs...

Still, one wheel at a time only has about 1/4 of the weight. Less on the back wheels of an empty van, so maybe he was only run over by the front wheel on the head, and the rear wheel on the ribs?

Randy

[KatsuhikoJinnai]

I've got a news story from around here that I would like to share with you. Yesterday, while crossing at a crosswalk with his mother in the Greater Vancouver area, a two year old kid decided to have a temper tantrum. He stopped crossing part way along, and simply laid down on the street. For reasons unclear to me, his mother did not notice (or did not care?) what he had done. The boy was run over by a van making a right hand turn into a lane. The driver of the van claimed that she looked away and when she looked back, she could see that the mother had made it onto the crosswalk but she couldn't see the little boy, so she assumed he made it over too.

The RCMP officer who was interviewed on the news said the boy had tire tracks heavily imprinted upon his back near his shoulder blades. The boy also had tire tracks imprinted diagonally running over his forehead. Amazingly, the boy was completely uninjured, despite having his upper back and head run over by a van.

So, my question: is this divine intervention or not? Explain.

Was the boy lying down on his back, or on his stomache, when he was ran over by the van? If it was his back, I have a theory. If it was his stomache, well... it does seem miraculious, either literally or figuratively, to me.

I believe in God, but I also do believe that less supernaturalistic explanations for events like this are usually the right ones.

[Craig]

Was the boy lying down on his back, or on his stomache, when he was ran over by the van? If it was his back, I have a theory. If it was his stomache, well... it does seem miraculious, either literally or figuratively, to me.

I believe in God, but I also do believe that less supernaturalistic explanations for events like this are usually the right ones.

I can't tell you for sure; they didn't specify in the news report. How do two year olds typically lie down? That might be our best guess.

[neo of the mind]

I can't tell you for sure; they didn't specify in the news report. How do two year olds typically lie down? That might be our best guess.

"tire tracks heavily imprinted upon his back near his shoulder blades. The boy also had tire tracks imprinted diagonally running over his forehead."

I don't know if he started on his back or belly, but this would indicate he was on one or the other from the front tire and then rolled over for the hit from the back tire.

[brainpan]

In the past, I worked as a heavy duty diesel mechanic. From the experience I gained in that carrer, I learned that an improperly secured load is almost guaranteed to shift during a tight turn. This type of shifting can possibly transfer all the loading to one side of a trailer in a turn, I have personally witnessed such a phenomenon.

An eighteen-wheeler pulled into the shop where I was working one night, and it was carrying a load of metal ingots that has shifted to the right side of the trailer. Whenever the truck would turn to the left, all four tires on that side of the trailer would float off of the ground. Since the shifted load of ingots still had a relatively low center of gravity, the trailer wasn't in extreme danger of tipping over.

Perhaps a variation on the dynamic I described could account for the miracle of the unharmed toddler. Then again, maybe something much more complicated than simple load shifts and inertia are responsible for this miracle, and a miracle it was.

Divine intervention is out for me, since I'm an atheist, but I won't deny this is a miracle. If Christians want to give credit to God, I wouldn't agree with them, but I wouldn't challenge them either.

[Riddley]

You'd have to hope that if we were to witness divine intervention that there night be more pressing matters to attend to. Unless this child is going to grow up and work out nuclear fusion, peace in the Middle East and Faster Than Light space travel.

[Meek Heir]

You'd have to hope that if we were to witness divine intervention that there night be more pressing matters to attend to. Unless this child is going to grow up and work out nuclear fusion, peace in the Middle East and Faster Than Light space travel.

I kind of think that slower than light travel that still involves colonization is better for us as a species. Less chance of conflicts between the stars.

[Riddley]

I kind of think that slower than light travel that still involves colonization is better for us as a species. Less chance of conflicts between the stars.
Good point. It might be better for any other life we find if we can't get there right away, as well.

[Sauniere]

I've got a news story from around here that I would like to share with you. Yesterday, while crossing at a crosswalk with his mother in the Greater Vancouver area, a two year old kid decided to have a temper tantrum. He stopped crossing part way along, and simply laid down on the street. For reasons unclear to me, his mother did not notice (or did not care?) what he had done. The boy was run over by a van making a right hand turn into a lane. The driver of the van claimed that she looked away and when she looked back, she could see that the mother had made it onto the crosswalk but she couldn't see the little boy, so she assumed he made it over too.

The RCMP officer who was interviewed on the news said the boy had tire tracks heavily imprinted upon his back near his shoulder blades. The boy also had tire tracks imprinted diagonally running over his forehead. Amazingly, the boy was completely uninjured, despite having his upper back and head run over by a van.

So, my question: is this divine intervention or not? Explain.

Divine?!?! You do not believe that any more than me. My guess it that the youngters young age and flexible bones allowed for their flatening without crushing and internal damage.

[heel31ok]

You'd have to hope that if we were to witness divine intervention that there night be more pressing matters to attend to. Unless this child is going to grow up and work out nuclear fusion, peace in the Middle East and Faster Than Light space travel.
I think in the context of divine intervention it is not limited by time and space and can multi-task nicely.