How Can Coincidences Save Lives and Defy Belief?

TL;DR

A remarkable coincidence saved two men when Captain Alan Falby and Alfred Smith rescued each other four years apart using the same necktie-and-stick tourniquet technique. Falby survived a 1934 motorcycle crash, then returned the favor after finding Smith injured on Route 80 in 1938; each was reportedly about 10 minutes from bleeding to death. Read on to see how their unexpected second encounter unfolded.

Transcript

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today I'm going to tell you three stories that demonstrate that. But before we get into those stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do and we upload once a week. So if that's of interest to y... Read More

Key Insights

• Captain Alan Falby's survival depended on immediate help after his motorcycle collision left him pinned beneath a roughly 500-pound bike with a severe leg wound. Two men who had witnessed the crash stopped, lifted the motorcycle, and responded before his blood loss became fatal.
• A makeshift tourniquet stopped Falby's bleeding by combining his police necktie with a sturdy stick. One rescuer tied the fabric above the wound, threaded the stick through it, and twisted the stick to tighten the material more effectively around the injured leg.
• Falby was reportedly about 10 minutes from death when the improvised tourniquet saved him. After hospital treatment, he recovered, retained some scar tissue on his leg, and returned to police work approximately six months after the June 29, 1934 accident.
• Falby's earlier injury taught him how to reproduce the emergency technique when he encountered another severely bleeding driver. On December 12, 1938, he used his own necktie and a roadside stick to control a crash victim's leg wound while waiting for paramedics.
• The driver Falby rescued was Alfred Smith, the same man who had helped save Falby four years earlier. Falby had never learned Smith's name after the first accident, and the two men had not remained in contact before their extraordinary second encounter.
• Alfred Smith also faced a narrow survival window after his car left Route 80 and struck a tree. According to the account, hospital personnel said he had been approximately 10 minutes from bleeding to death when Falby's improvised tourniquet stopped the blood loss.
• Falby summarized the reciprocal rescue by saying that one good tourniquet deserved another. He and Smith later discussed the coincidence in an interview with Ripley's Believe It or Not, emphasizing how the same emergency response saved each man's life four years apart.
• Therapy is presented as a source of nonjudgmental support, perspective, and coping methods for anger and sadness. The narrator says he initially resisted professional help after leaving the military in 2017, but therapy helped him address behavior that was damaging his relationships.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did a coincidence save Captain Alan Falby and Alfred Smith?

Alfred Smith helped save Captain Alan Falby after Falby's motorcycle crash in 1934 by assisting with a necktie-and-stick tourniquet. Four years later, Falby unexpectedly found Smith bleeding after another crash and used the same technique to save him.

Q: How did Captain Alan Falby survive his 1934 motorcycle crash?

Two witnesses lifted the roughly 500-pound motorcycle that had pinned Falby's legs and found a severe wound above his knee. They made a tourniquet from his police necktie and a sturdy stick, stopping the bleeding before he reached the hospital.

Q: How was the homemade tourniquet constructed?

One rescuer tied Falby's necktie around his leg above the wound. He threaded a sturdy roadside stick through the necktie and twisted it, mechanically tightening the fabric until the bleeding stopped.

Q: Why was immediate treatment critical after Falby's crash?

Falby's leg wound was pouring blood, and he was already becoming lightheaded from blood loss. A doctor reportedly told him that he had been about 10 minutes from death when the improvised tourniquet saved him.

Q: How did Falby's first accident prepare him to save another driver?

Falby saw how his rescuers used an ordinary necktie and stick to control his bleeding. When he encountered an unconscious driver with a severe leg wound four years later, he recreated the same tourniquet while waiting for paramedics.

Q: Who was the driver Captain Falby rescued in 1938?

The driver was Alfred Smith, one of the men who had rescued Falby in 1934. Falby had not learned Smith's name or stayed in contact with him, but recognized him during their unexpected second encounter.

Q: Why were the two rescues such an extraordinary coincidence?

Falby and Smith each saved the other's life from severe bleeding with a homemade tourniquet made from a necktie and stick. The incidents occurred four years apart, and both men were reportedly approximately 10 minutes from bleeding to death.

Q: What happened to Falby and Smith after their accidents?

Both men recovered from their injuries. Falby returned to police work approximately six months after his crash, although he retained scar tissue, and the pair later discussed their reciprocal rescues in an interview with Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• On June 29, 1934, Captain Alan Falby crashed his police motorcycle while pursuing a speeding pickup truck in El Paso, Texas. Trapped beneath the roughly 500-pound motorcycle and bleeding heavily from a gash above his knee, he faced a potentially fatal situation until two witnesses ran over to help him.

• The witnesses lifted the motorcycle and improvised a tourniquet from Falby's necktie and a sturdy stick. Twisting the stick tightened the fabric and stopped the bleeding. At the hospital, a doctor reportedly told Falby that he had been approximately 10 minutes from death. Falby recovered and eventually returned to police work.

• On December 12, 1938, Falby found an unconscious crash victim bleeding from a severe leg wound on Route 80. He recreated the necktie-and-stick tourniquet that had once saved him. The victim was Alfred Smith, the same stranger who had rescued Falby four years earlier, and Smith also fully recovered.