Daughters Remove 3,000-Pound Tractor Off Dad's Chest


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Oregon farmer Jeff Smith has two reasons to live -- his teenage daughters, Hannah and Haylee.

And they're the reasons he's alive today. They managed to pull a 3,000-pound tractor off his chest and saved his life last Monday.

Smith, of Lebanon, was trying to pull a stump out of his garden with his tractor when his muddy boot slipped off the clutch, causing the tractor to flip. The steering wheel pinned his chest to the ground, NBCNews.com reported.

He screamed for help and, luckily, Hannah, 16, and 14-year-old Haylee heard his cries. Somehow the two lifted the machine up enough to give him breathing room.

?It?s amazing. You hear about this kind of stuff? this adrenaline rush, being able to pick cars up and slide people out. You never realize it?s really there until you actually witness it,? Jeff told KGW-TV. ?I was very amazed and very grateful they were able to do that.?

Hannah remains shocked by her sudden feat of strength.

?I just can?t believe it happened, honestly. We were supposed to go to a friend?s house. I don?t know why we didn?t," she told the Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper.

She really felt it the next day, she added.

?I felt like an 80-year-old getting out of bed,? she said.

A neighbor finished the job by using his own tractor and its shovel to lift the Smith's tractor and allow Smith to get his arm out.

Smith suffered a broken left wrist, cuts, and bruises, but came away with a deep love and respect for his daughters, KTVB-TV reported.

The tractor is also OK, but now has a new nickname: "Satan." :s

source & video

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No, the power of adrenaline.

No, the power of muscles. Muscles are capable of great things the only thing that stops us from hulking out is our tendons. They can't handle the power of muscles.

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No, the power of muscles. Muscles are capable of great things the only thing that stops us from hulking out is our tendons. They can't handle the power of muscles.

Uh, not necessarily. Tendons can be stronger than muscles, which can rupture. Been there. Adrenaline puts the fight-or-flight system into high gear, increasing the heart rate and therefore the blood flow that fuels the muscles.

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I'm fairly sure it's that we can't lift anything like that amount without risking fairly severe injury, and normally the physical pain involved forces us not to. But a person can override that and take the risk if there is a sufficiently good reason such as their dad being trapped under a tractor.

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Injury risk yes, but not as often as you'd think. The literature is full of examples. A classic one is former football player Herschel Walker who drove by an accident with trapped passengers and no rescue units had arrived. He bent open the car door so they could be removed. No biggie O_o

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I think it was the combination of the power of muscles, adrenaline, and fear of loosing her father.

That being said, these types of things are amazing to hear about.

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