Technology

Australian Mom Killed By Flood After ‘Dozens’ Whip Out Smartphones Instead of Helping

Australian Mother Killed in Flood Saving Son While Onlookers Filmed Action on Phones

Backyard of New South Wales, Australia, resident's home. (Photo: Sallad Evans via AP)

Dangerous floods in Queensland, Australia, in the past week from heavy rains have resulted in significant damage to cities and towns. But, as if this damage weren’t devastating enough, the only fatality reported thus far could potentially have been prevented if onlookers had put down their smartphones to lend a helping hand.

Australian Mother Killed in Flood Saving Son While Onlookers Filmed Action on Phones

Jane Sheahan (Photo via Courier-Mail)

A mother from the town of Roma and her 7-year-old son were trapped on Friday as the strong current began pulling them apart. Australia’s Courier-Mail reports that some men rushed in to help Jane Sheahan as she passed her son, Darcy, to them. But it was too late for Sheahan to be pulled from the water herself. The Courier-Mail has more:

Blair Humphries ran to help five other locals as they saw Ms. Sheahan and her son Darcy trying to escape the fast-rising torrent that swept their car off the road in Roma on Friday.

[...]

Mr. Humphries said he had only done what he expected others would do in the same situation.

But he was critical of the onlookers who had not tried to help, especially those who reached for their mobile phones instead of the mum and child who needed their help.

The Courier-Mail reported Humphries as saying dozens of available men could have helped the mother, whose body was found Sunday. The Huffington Post goes on to report that some have said there were warnings that should have kept Sheahan off the road, but her brother has said that she would have not be irresponsible enough to put her child in danger if that were the case:

“It’s totally untrue … It gives the members of the public the impression that she was irresponsible,” Sheahan’s brother John Simon told the Brisbane Times. ”My sister would never have done anything like that, she would never ever risk her children in any way.”

One local official said he believes Sheahan could have been driving sandbags to areas with rising floodwaters.

“The lady was helping others out. That’s what people do out here,” Federal MP for Maranoa Bruce Scott told the Sunday Mail. ”She was actually in the process of carrying additional sandbags into the area where the floods were rising.”

Australian Mother Killed in Flood Saving Son While Onlookers Filmed Action on Phones

Carmen and Blair Humphries in their front yard. Blair was one of the men who helped pull Sheahan's son Darcy to safety while some others watched with smartphones in hand. (Photo: Rob Maccoll/Courier-Mail)

Here’s more from the Courier-Mail showing evidence of the damaging floods:

The flooding, which has resulted in the evacuation of many, has affected the towns of Roma, Mitchell, Charleville and St. George in Queensland as well as New South Wales. CNN reports that cleanup was set to begin today but more harsh weather is expected that could put a damper on the efforts.

Watch CNN’s report for more on the flooding:

[H/T Fark]

Comments (71)

1 2
  • gramma b
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 6:50pm

    This is what happens when Western men are repeatedly discouraged from acting like men.

    Report Post »  
    • ForTheRepublic
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 7:31pm

      Australia is about as far East as you can get

      Report Post » ForTheRepublic  
    • PoliticalType
      Posted on February 8, 2012 at 2:41am

      @FORTHEREPUBLIC

      That was a stupid reply. I don’t know if you meant to be ignorant to to Gramma B or not.

      Report Post »  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 8, 2012 at 3:27am

      Why was that response stupid? Australia is part of region identified as the far east.

      Report Post »  
    • 4xeverything
      Posted on February 8, 2012 at 8:22am

      Do you think that maybe she meant the western way of life? If that is the case, then Gramma B is exactly right. Men are not men anymore and it is a damn shame.

      Report Post » 4xeverything  
    • gramma b
      Posted on February 8, 2012 at 12:28pm

      I meant Western civilization and culture. Our men are being bludgeoned by political correctness and virulent feminism. This is what you get.

      Report Post »  
  • Dolfenn24
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 6:30pm

    Apparently life is just a movie and we are the audience. What a shame!

    Report Post »  
  • Bad Kitty
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 5:42pm

    “do people use smartphones to do dumb things?”

    -geico commercial ad

    Report Post » Bad Kitty  
    • 4XGrace
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 6:08pm

      Smart phones … like smart cars … are as dumb as their drivers.

      Report Post » 4XGrace  
  • Xris
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:39pm

    Funny how so many “smart”phones are owned by dumb users. Obviously people were more worried about getting the best Youtube clip than anything else. This is a good example how everyone is becoming very self absorbed, and only care about themselves. Some day they may find themselves in a situation where they are being ripped apart by lions and their friends do nothing but video tape. What goes around comes around.

    Report Post »  
  • LovinUSA
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 3:24pm

    All these new devices have people wacked out, can’t be with out them, the only thing I use my cell for is emergencies, I have blocked everything else, it is discusting to be in the company of people who are constantly using these devices, why don’t you just bring the people with you where ever you go? O-h-h-h no, that would be too much of a burden ! Just yack aimlessly about non sensical stupid assinine jerk off things, just because you have a devise that does this . The grownups complain about the kids with too much video games and they are soo expensive, well take a big damn look at your selves! You have them going while you are driving despite the laws and causing accidents, at least your kids are home and can’t kill somebody in a vehicle!!!!

    Report Post » LovinUSA  
    • 000degrees
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:24pm

      Take a deep breath Lovin….it’s ok

      Report Post »  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:25pm

      How many EMS meetings you ever attended? Fire Department? Police? Paramedics? Rescue? Flight crews? You ever listen to them? ALL, without reservation, ALL of them say to KEEP out. It’s their domain, they are trained. They are skilled. They are a team. Now, I’m all for a quick impromptu rescue effort. I’ve been in on a couple here and there myself. But without proper training and or skills a poor decision here could cost more people their lives than “IS” necessary. Monday morning quarterbacking “IS” a valid “what could’a…” every one uses it to improve skills. But as far as citizens coming together for a complicated combined skill effort in minutes, very difficult.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • goahead.makemyday
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:48pm

      Ruler
      The EMS weren’t there. this was an impromptu rescue. For Goodness sakes! She was holding onto her kid while a flood was washing here away how more impromptu can it get? The whole point is when those extra guys could have saved this woman’s life they did nothing, actually worse than nothing they tweeted and youtubed it! I agree with your first point but in that situation it isn’t valid. There were no EMS all it would have taken is some more guys holding onto each other and they could have easily reached her. In situations where there is EMS personnel on hand and the situation requires more skill than being able to think past simple math then yes leave it to professionals.

      Report Post » goahead.makemyday  
    • RRFlyer
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 7:31pm

      RULER4YOU are you kidding? what kind of human are you that you would watch someone die rather than try to help?
      Your attitude is the epitome of todays cowardly let someone else do it attitude, and it is the opposite of everything I was brought up to believe.
      let obama do it.

      Report Post »  
  • LovinUSA
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 3:15pm

    Sooner or later, it will come out of no where, for no reason, to places that this kind of thing never happens, and destroy your life, joke then, and lets see how much you laugh !

    Report Post » LovinUSA  
  • objectivetruth
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:37pm

    Freaking unbelievable.They would rather snap a pic than save a life.Suddenly I don’t feel bad about the plights of certain individuals including myself.At least we are alive to bit** about it.Humanity is turning more depraved every day.I’m not saying anything else about this.It would really be appropriate but his isn’t the venue.I have to be somewhat civil here.what I feel for these degenerates isn’t civil.

    Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:07pm

    Game Play… results in an Observer Reality!

    Report Post » lukerw  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:58pm

      A generation of “virtual” friends gives you “virtual” humanity. A generation told they’re “special” and should be celebrities will seek to fulfill the Youtube fantasy before addressing reality.

      Report Post »  
  • goahead.makemyday
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:02pm

    Put these guys in a red zone and they’ll wet themselves. What is happening to the men that acted first and thought of themselves last? Then men that would run into a burning building to save people because the fire department couldn’t get there in time? What happened to the men who would run down a dark alley to help a person who is getting mugged or robbed instead of pretending to not see it? Where are the men who would jump in front of a gunman because he was pointing a gun at a woman? Are there so few of us left that only one man out of a group of “mature kids” would not only risk himself for a woman but also for her kid? WHAT IS HAPPENING!

    Report Post » goahead.makemyday  
  • GoodStuff
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:01pm

    Smartphones are for morons. These people just sit and stare at their phones all day. This is their life. A basic, cheap cell phone for emergencies is all I need.

    Oh yeah, and Facebook is for narcissists. Twitter too. Get out and exercise!

    Report Post »  
    • Stu D. Baker-Hawk
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:31pm

      I’m with you. I have a cell phone in each of my cars and they’re only used for emergencies (i.e., they’re never used). I can only shake my head in disgust when I see today’s so-called ‘men’ so enraptured by their girly tele-toy cell phones. Isn’t there ANYONE with a time machine to permanently transport me back to 1940?

      Report Post »  
  • The Jewish Avenger
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:00pm

    Throw their smartphones in the water where the woman and child are, at least they can grab them when they swim back with their phones… what a cowardly bunch of jerks.

    Report Post » The Jewish Avenger  
  • One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:59pm

    Absolute proof that in the hands of the Average American today, a smart phone turns most of their “keypad peckers‘ into idiots facing the backs of their ’handheld brain devices’ towards the flood or what have you instead of dialing 911.

    It happens every day, I know, I’m a part time Chicago burb dispatcher. Morons you wouldn’t believe on these lines nowadays, and the ‘sanctuary city’ ones are freaking abominable. You’ve seen em…“my bugger be cold dogg” and the likes, daily……But for the REAL emergencies they stand knuckles dragging and mouth agape as cell pics being uploaded to youtube or twitpic or whatever the %^&*(…. :( Sad.

    Report Post » One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew  
    • BeckFan1964
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 5:56pm

      While I agree with your basic statement, this was the Average Australian, not American. ;)

      Report Post » BeckFan1964  
  • yiska8
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:39pm

    Tech and App zombies. They all wanted to be the first load the pics and film to YouTube or iReport CNN, instead of reaching out and helping this poor lady. Humanity is scraping the bottom of the barrel. This current generation would not stop to render aid to anyone unless they are going to know in advance if they’ll be recognized for it later.Weak,cowardly little iPhone snapping degenerates.

    Report Post » yiska8  
    • Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:58pm

      Kind of like Christians deciding who is worthy of help and who is a lay-about.

      Report Post » Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American  
    • ChiefGeorge
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:02pm

      We are so ready to sit down at a horror show and watch people get all kinds of banged up, but have you noticed how people react when you tell them about real actual bad news involving mans inhumanity to man? They wince and say nothing like they do not want to hear violence and real evil in the world exist. This blood lust from media to smart phone/cameras is an extension. People want to capture it so they then can post it like it was like something they saw in the movies. Instead of acting, they only know how to be spectators….the funny thing is its a universal thing that is going on. Hearts are growing very cold my friends, I hope someone actually gets involved to save my family if I cannot instead of snapping video of their plight. Part two of this is that we as the present race of humanity have no sense of human life, no sense of our own character in which to act on our world and place ourselves in harms way for others. One would ask themselves why should they when man kills even the innocent in the womb. Why save the living among us then….life has become so cheap in the world in general.

      Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:27pm

      @biblequotin…

      No, Christians don’t have to do that…

      Lazy layabouts do that all by themselves – by definition – if you lay around and do nothing, you have defined yourself. Christians are more charitable and more loving by FAR than any self-righteous liberal who uses his “superior intellect” to justify his lack of charity by DEMANDING that OTHERS fork over the MONEY for government-sponsored “charity”.

      Private charities must operate on low overhead to maintain their status.

      Government “charity” operates at 20% efficiency – AT BEST !
      (These are factual statistics – for every $1.00 put INTO government, we get $0.20 back OUT!!!)

      So, it is not the Christian who makes that decision. On the contrary, we have our hand extended to HELP those in need ! With money, food and clothes for short term needs, and, with jobs and mentoring for long-term needs. We simply do not think it is wise to continue to give handouts on a LONG TERM BASIS to those who have CHOSEN to “layabout” as you put it.

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:02pm

      LOL….nice one DAS KAPITAL QUOTIN’, CHRISTIAN FEARIN’, LEFTY. All those christian charities and hospitals are just figments of our imaginations right? I’d rather help a poor person by giving them the dignity of a job than seeing them squander their life “on the dole”. If you think this isn‘t happening then you’re a bigger idiot than you let on ro be here.

      Report Post »  
    • Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:25pm

      If you truly believe that you will one day stand in judgement before God, how do you reconcile that with standing in judgement of the “neediness” of others and worrying about what is yours and what you earned and who did what and who deserves what? If you believe a WORD of what you claim to believe then don’t you think that your record of giving and spreading goodwill would count for more to God than your selfish worship of money? There is no way to reconcile your love of money with your “love” of Jesus. You’re just paying lip-service to your religion. It’s insincere. If you believe that you’ll stand and be judged for your actions then why does money and deciding for yourselves who deserves it or not matter so much to you? It’s crap. That’s why your strong Christian faith is a joke.

      You’ve even convinced yourselves that Jesus would support these selfish decisions. Hey, whatever lets you continue living a load of crap, right?

      Report Post » Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American  
    • IONNES
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:56pm

      @BibleQuotin’

      Your issue is you see it as either help the poor via the government or don’t help them. That’s a logical fallacy known as a false dichotomy. Christians understand, in general, that the individuals locally and not the federal government are better suited to help the poor. That’s why, generally speaking, conservative Christians donate more to charities than say, your garden variety big city progressive.

      Report Post » IONNES  
    • Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 3:42pm

      Who said anything about the government? I mean in general. This place is a good litmus test for the duality of Christians. Praise Jesus out of one side of the mouth while hate flows out of the other side. Just reading the comments here should tell you how much people have to make that mental stretch to reconcile loving jesus with loving money and violence. You guys are so selective about when you employ your jesus loving. You’re happy to put it on hold and ignore his teachings when it works to your advantage.

      Both Dems and Repubs want to control people. Dems want to do it through social dependency and Repubs want to do it through financial dependency. They’re both garbage.

      Report Post » Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:21pm

      LOL…that’s it DAS KAPITAL QUOTIN, CHRISTIAN FEARIN’, LEFTY…keep imposing your falacies and attempting to manipulate the discussion. Here you are bleating about Christians putting money above “neediness” while reeking of your beloved Karl Marx and his “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need”. That’s right DAS KAPITAL LEFTY…ignore ALL those Christian charities, hospitals and institutions that help EVERYONE not just the poor because they don’t fit into your bitter interpretation of Christianity do they? Perhaps we should try it your way again? Perhaps we should allow all those secular/humanist regimes that promised to help “the people” to re-emerge? Only this time can we avoid killing and incarcerating hundreds of millions of people as your secular regimes did throughout the twentieth century? Boy that hunanist experiment worked out well didn’t it?

      Report Post »  
    • Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 5:19pm

      You keep wanting to make it about bigger institutions like government or charities. I’m talking about YOU and how YOU act on here. By “you” I mean any of you who praise Jesus while you judge everyone and worship money and power. You keep insisting that I’m a Marxist. I‘m just asking you why you don’t believe more in the teachings of Jesus instead of just holding him up as a meaningless figurehead. If you truly believe that you will stand before God and be judged by the teachings of Jesus well I hope for your sake that you’re not right.

      AVENGERK, you always just dodge the question. EVERY TIME. You go into your standard rant and never have an answer for anything.

      Report Post » Bible Quotin' Science Fearin' Conservative American  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 8, 2012 at 3:55am

      @BIBLE QUOTIN

      Since your monicker is about quoting the bible here’s an actual quote for you:

      “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (NIV, Matthew 6:1-2)

      The bible teaches that charity is supposed to be a private matter that you do on your own out of generosity, not a patheticly vain attempt at winning the adoration of your fellow man. Government agencies stealing money from people and reapropriating it to other people they deem needy doesn’t fit the definition of charity per the bible. Charity is also not just money. People donate their time and skills to others. People teach others how to do something. There are thousands of ways to give to your fellow man without handing him a check.

      The vast majority of people can’t afford to simply hand out money to anyone that says they need it. If warren buffet or bill gates wants to donate millions of dollars he can, he has that luxury. The bible teaches you to give to others what you have an abundance of, not to simply give away everything you have until you render yourself into poverty as well.

      Report Post »  
  • BOMUSTGO
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:31pm

    Maybe they were socialist and thought it was the government’s job to help???

    Report Post » BOMUSTGO  
  • BOMUSTGO
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:30pm

    What have we become????

    Report Post » BOMUSTGO  
  • Joe Schmuck
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:28pm

    Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

    Whatever happened to love for mankind?

    Good grief … what ever happened to basic instinct?

    Report Post » Joe Schmuck  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:22pm

    Very sad what humankind has devolved into. Sometimes it seems that wanting to be the one with the most hits on youtube takes precedence over saving a life.

    Report Post » KickinBack  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:36pm

      It doesn’t just seem like it, it is. You would think that technology would be a good thing for humanity (and much of it is) but instead, it is dehumanizing us. When the obituary for this country is written, I think they will pinpoint television as the beginning of the end.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:47pm

      Parents determine what kind of kids they raise and what kind of people they grow up to be. Blaming television or video games is no different than the liberals that blame guns for people killing people.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:06pm

      Pretty odd how the parenting skills have declined since the 50′s then Rowgue.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • The Jewish Avenger
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 1:24pm

      No matter how you look at it: The moment we started letting some stranger into our space to tell us right from wrong and slowly grow into their views of life, grandparents and great grandparents became old decprepid people instead people with knowledge that will prepare us for the outside world.

      Now the outside world influence was first “selective” through word of mouth, then pamphlets and newpapers and then radio followed by television, and now through multimedia. While one person is on one of these gadgets learning about God, the next is learning about liberal rights while the teens are texting to their adult boyfriends or watching vampire porn. 60 years ago it was the Honeymooners with the family on the couch. Thats long gone now. To throw away your TV’s and phones and computers will have you laughed at now. The village raising the child is gone… so where can you go?

      Just venting a few depressing thoughts…. Yes the knowledge you can gain almost instantly is amazing PROVIDED that what you are reading is accurate and not biased… ugh.

      Report Post » The Jewish Avenger  
    • Therightsofbilly
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 2:33pm

      I was just about to reply in agreement with GONZO,

      And then I saw The Jewish Avenger’s post.

      They have it pretty much covered.

      Report Post » Therightsofbilly  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 4:36pm

      GONZO…I’d really like to see a serious study done of modern society. My perception is that we’ve created a culture that believes that everyone is entitled to some degree of celebrity and any behaviour can pay off. Look at Casey Anthony, the first thing her lawyer did when that idiot jury let her off was to demand million dollar paychecks for interviews and book deals…while a child’s murder becomes negligible. Similarly….we have a culture where filming an event and putting it on the internet (and the potential pay off from it) is the prime consideration over considering helping someone in trouble.

      Report Post »  
  • Rowgue
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:18pm

    Not surprising.

    There’s a reason every single thing that happens now has a video of it happening uploaded to youtube.

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:16pm

    This shows the way our world is now being divided up:

    Those who rush in to help, putting their own lives ahead of presonal safety to save others, and those who want to be the next YouTube sensation by capturing a disaster as it happens when they could have made a better choice.

    The account is recorded in the heavenly books, and may God have mercy on them.

    That is one thing I can never get some of my own friends to understand; when an accident or an emergency comes up, the helping of others is priority to me, to whatever extent I am able to do so. THEY prefer to stay out of trouble and constantly berate me and others who try to make a difference in this world.

    I honestly have to feel pity for such people.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Silversmith
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:15pm

    Get a clip or save a life. Teach your children the difference.

    Silversmith

    Report Post » Silversmith  
  • moreteaplease
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:15pm

    Have people become fascinated with watching death, so much so that even have to record it? Or are they thinking about profiting from the vids by selling them to news outlets.

    I know these are probably stupid questions but I can‘t figure out what makes a person stand there and record someone else who’s life is in danger, rather than trying to save them. How cold and disconnected can can you be?

    Report Post » moreteaplease  
  • momrules
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:14pm

    Getting a video on Youtube beats out saving a life.

    Report Post »  
  • CatB
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:12pm

    People have become watchers instead of taking action themselves .. sad ..

    Report Post »  
    • copatriots
      Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:44pm

      It’s a not-so-brave, old, narcissistic, godless, facebook, soon-to-be one global socialist (er, satanic) world.

      Prayers go out to the son and this dear lady’s family.

      Report Post »  
  • RightThinking1
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:10pm

    Pulled out their cell phones? For WHAT? Even the Ozzies have been feminized. Presumably they were standing around wringing their hands, waiting for someone ‘from the government’ to help.

    Report Post »  
  • ozchambers
    Posted on February 7, 2012 at 12:00pm

    Are you preparing to be a problem maker or a problem solver when an emergency happens in YOUR town?

    Report Post » ozchambers  
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