TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma trooper said he is grateful for a second chance, recounting the terrifying incident that changed his life forever.
It has been more than two decades since Oklahoma Highway Patrol Cpt. Jack Choate was in an accident that nearly cost him his life. Sunday he shared his miraculous story of survival from the very place where it all happened.
Choate said he remembers Oct. 17, 2001 very well.
“It was a typical day off for me that day," Choate said. "Trooper McMillan and I were going to come work a construction shift."
Choate said he arrived a little early to visit with the Catoosa fire chief. The fire chief told him about a stolen truck that had been dumped in the pit, near I-44 and Pine, so he went to the area to try and find it.
“Walked off there to the edge and realized that the bank was undercut really bad so I needed to lean over a little further," Choate said.
He said he saw a tree about 15 yards and was planning to walk over and hold on to it and lean over the edge of the cliff, but when he took three steps, the cliff caved in underneath. He fell 78 feet, landing on his back and bouncing into the water.
“I remember pulling my leg up and leg turning a direction it’s not supposed to and then blood running out of my boots and the other leg was the exact same way," Choate said.
He tried swimming, but couldn't after suffering compound fractures in both heels, breaking several bones in his right leg and two vertebrae in his back. Then, he tried getting the attention of a construction crew who was pumping water out of the pit into a tanker truck.
“I yelled and yelled and then I fired off a couple of rounds into the water trying to see if I could get their attention and nobody seemed to hear it," Choate said.
"It was cold, I was wet, didn’t know if I was able to do that or not before it got dark. So the reality of that kind of setting in kind of makes you feel helpless."
He said he never lost hope. That's when his partner McMillan pulled up to check in on him because the fire chief told him where he could find him.
“I had three rounds left, and he heard the last two that I fired," Choate said.
He said multiple agencies responded and he was airlifted to the hospital. He had hypothermia because the water was so cold and he had been in it for more than an hour.
Since then, he said the road to recovery has been a long one, but he's grateful to those who helped him.
He said the biggest lesson he's learned is "Don't get near the edge of a cliff."
Choate said since this incident, he has pushed for troopers to carry radios with them to use in case of an emergency. Former Gov. Frank Keating declared Dec. 20 as Trooper Jack Choate Day.
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