Very sad, and very unnecessary. It goes to show how important it is, to understand basic safety. At 19 I suppose I didn't have the common sense and wisdom I might hope to have now at 43, but how did this kid get in that position? And on a Smith? I don't get it. Safety catches not there, and couldn't twist the bar back into the hook holes somehow? Makes as much sense as getting killed in a car accident in a Volvo with the best air bags possible, because you were driving from a chair ontop of the car and steering through the sunroof. When you think about it, if you're not go to use the Smith machine as it was intended, it's probably safer to bench the old way and dump off the plates if you get in trouble. A Smith machine without the stops set, is nothing but a 500-lb version of an old-style mouse trap; but for humans. I don't know... Sounds like I'm blaming the kid, and maybe I am, but God rest. Let it be a lesson to the rest of us, and maybe the story will save someone else at least. Maybe the experience goes in the same category as when you hear about a teen who kills himself on a motorcycle at 175mph. So preventable.
Charles