The 1995 winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it.

In 1996, the winner was an airforce sargent who attatched a JATO unit to his car and crashed into a cliff several hundred feet above the roadbed.

And now, the 1997 winner: Larry Walters of Los Angeles - one of te few Darwin winners to survive his award-winning accomplishment.

Larry's boyhood dream was to fly. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force in hopes of becoming a pilot. Unfortunately, poor eye sight disqualified him. When he was finally dilcharged, he had to satisfy himself with watching jets fly over his backyard.

One day, Larry had a bright idea. He decided to fly! He went to the local Army-Navy surplus store and purchased 45 weather balloons and several tanks of helium. The weather balloons, when fully inflated, would measure more than four feet across.

Back home, Larry securely strapped the balloons to his sturdy laws chair. He anchored the chair to the bumper of his jeep and inflated the balloons with the helium. He climbed on for a test while it was still only a few feet above the ground.

Satisfied that it would work, Larry packed several sandwiches and a six-pack of Miller Lite, his beer of choice, loaded his pellet gun - figuring that he could pop a few balloons when it was time to descend - and went back to his floating lawn chair. He tied himself in, along with his pellet gun and provisions. Larry's plan was to lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his back yord after severing the anchorline, and in a few hours come gently back down.

Things didn't quite work out that way...

When he cut the cord anchoring his lawn chair to his jeep, he didn't float lazily up to 30 or so feet as he had envisioned. Instead he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon!

He didn't level off at 30 feet, nor did he level off at 100 feet. After climbing and climbing, he levelled off at 11,000 feet. At that height he couldn't risk shooting any of his balloons, lest he unbalance the load and REALLY find himself in trouble. So he drifted around up there, cold and frightened, for more than 14 hours.

Then he really got into trouble...

He found himself drifting into the primary approach corridor of the LA International Airpart. One of the busiest airports in the world.

A United Airlines pilot first spotted Larry. He radioed the tower and described passing a guy in a lawn chair with a gun at 11,000 feet. After ascertaining that the pilot was not hallucinating, the controllers were indeed able to confirm the existence of an object floating 11,000 feet above the airport.

LAX emergency procedures swung into full alert, and a helicopter was dispatched to investigate.

LAX is right on the ocean. Night was falling and the offshore breezes began to blow. They carried Larry out to sea with the helicopter in hot pursuit.

Several miles out to sea, the helicopter caugght up with Larry. Once the crew determined that he was not dangerous, they attempted to close in for a rescuoe, but the draft from the blades would push Larry in his lawn chair away whenever they neared.

Finally, the helicopter ascended to a position several hundred feet above Larry and lowered a rescue line. Larry snagged the line and was hauled back to shore. The difficult manouver was flrawlessly executed by the helicopter crew.

As soon as Larry was hauled to earth, he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD for violating LAX airspace.

As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispached to cover the daring rescue asked why he had done it. Larry stopped, turned, and replyed nonchalantly, "A man can't just sit around."

Let's hear it for Larry Walters, the 1997 Darwin Award Winner.

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