The world of so called storm chasers, those daredevils equipped with extraordinary machines who spend their time chasing after tornadoes, was rocked back in May this year by news of the death of Matt Hughes, one of the guys chasing after storms in Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers show.
His death, or should we say the circumstances of it, were kept under a tight lid by the network until last week, when Discovery aired another episode of the show. It was revealed than that the storm chaser died after injuring himself during a suicide attempt.
The news, sad as it was, wouldn't have become a news hadn't Discovery chose to go the marketing way on the subject. In search of better audiences, the network announced on its website, for the better part of the last six months, that Hughes died due to “an injury unrelated to his chasing activities. “
Hughes was 30 at the time of his death, was married and had two children. The circumstances surrounding his passing are not clear, as no official details were provided by either Discovery or some state authority.
The last episode of Storm Chasers, which aired last Wednesday, was titled “Dedication” and featured Hughes last moments on the show. More details on the last episode can be found at the following link.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt’s family, and we ask fans to kindly respect their privacy,” Discovery Channel said in a statement. “A special memorial fund has been established to benefit Matt's two young sons.”
His death, or should we say the circumstances of it, were kept under a tight lid by the network until last week, when Discovery aired another episode of the show. It was revealed than that the storm chaser died after injuring himself during a suicide attempt.
The news, sad as it was, wouldn't have become a news hadn't Discovery chose to go the marketing way on the subject. In search of better audiences, the network announced on its website, for the better part of the last six months, that Hughes died due to “an injury unrelated to his chasing activities. “
Hughes was 30 at the time of his death, was married and had two children. The circumstances surrounding his passing are not clear, as no official details were provided by either Discovery or some state authority.
The last episode of Storm Chasers, which aired last Wednesday, was titled “Dedication” and featured Hughes last moments on the show. More details on the last episode can be found at the following link.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt’s family, and we ask fans to kindly respect their privacy,” Discovery Channel said in a statement. “A special memorial fund has been established to benefit Matt's two young sons.”