Man Tries To Amputate Own Arm

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) - Police say a man tried to cut off his own
arm at a restaurant in Modesto, Calif., because he thought he had
injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would
die unless he took drastic action.
Authorities say 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into the
Denny's restaurant late Friday and started stabbing himself in one
arm with a butter knife he grabbed from a table.
They say that when that knife didn't work Lasiter took a butcher
knife from the kitchen and dug it into his arm.
Police Sgt. Brian Findlen says Lasiter told officers he thought
he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the
cocaine injection.
Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts.
The Denny's closed for the night.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)