The Human Toll of the Oil Spill

(CBS)  For 25 years Charter fishing captain Allen Kruse made a living doing what he loved. But as he explained in an interview six weeks ago, the oil spill took it all away, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella.

"The day that oil entered the Gulf, my phone quit ringing," said Kruse on May 13. "We don't know what's going on, we can't plan, we don't' know what to tell our customers."

Kruse went to work for BP two weeks ago. Wednesday morning he reported in, boarded his boat, then shot and killed himself in the captain's bridge.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Apparent Suicide May Add to Oil Spill's Toll


This is a man who was known to be very independent, self sufficient and proud.

Frank Kruse is Allen's twin brother. He says Allen was stressed and depressed, tangled in BP bureaucracy over claims and the cleanup.

"Tracy, his wife, estimated he'd lost 30 pounds since this started, he'd not been sleeping, he was constantly worried about his livelihood and what was happening to his Gulf," Frank Kruse said.

In the past two weeks calls to crisis hotlines in Louisiana have jumped from 400 on June 7 to more than 2,400 today - they are anxious, depressed, afraid.

People here pride themselves on being tough. In six years they've survived a recession and two hurricanes. The spill is worse than any storm.

"It comes, it passes, we start to rebuild, there's hope for the future, but this continually drags on," said Ben Fairey, a friend of Allen Kruse. "There's a shot of oil on the beach, it gets cleaned up and then there's another one."

And the fear keeps spreading. Tarballs washed up in Destin, Fla., as well as Pensacola, where cleanup crews replaced the tourists the local economy relies on.

Fellow fishermen want the death of Allen Kruse to have meaning. to show the rest of the world how much they're losing and hurting. Kruse left behind a wife, two grown daughters, two young sons and a town full of broken hearts.

BP has promised to pay for the funeral of Allen Kruse, and also for the continued use of his boat. But like so many people here, the family is skeptical of BP promises.

More on the Disaster in the Gulf:
Gov't Says It's Complying with Moratorium Ruling
BP's Dudley Takes over as Point Man in Gulf
Tough Questions Confront Gulf Spill Claims Czar
White House Seeks New Oil Drilling Ban
Salazar Seeks to Re-impose Drilling Moratorium
Sources: Gov't Report Says Subsea Oil a Problem
Judge Who Tossed Drilling Ban an Oil Investor
Judge Blocks Offshore Drilling Moratorium
BP CEO's Stand-In Heckled at Oil Meeting
Sea Turtles Swimming Into Big Trouble
What Stops Oil Spills on Other Rigs?

[wkeupneo]

A lot of prescription medications have "suicidal thoughts" as a side effect. Seriously - his family should check this out.

[BertGriffin]

Katie Couric,
Mr. Kruse's story is the first of many that will come because BP has destroyed their way of life and they are lost, with no hope, and no sense of control over these insumountable outside forces. These proud, independent, hard working Americans have been rendered helpless. Their souls have been crushed and they've become the living dead. I write songs. I've posted 112 original songs at my You Tube site (BertGriffin88). Please listen to 'They Took His Life Away (66Days)'. It's my meager attempt to get my head around the hell that Americans, like Mr Kruse, trapped in the Gulf of Mexico are dealing with. Condolences to Mr Kruse's family & friends.

[NowBeWithThat]

Clean up in aisle nine is a 'spill.' Millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf for two months, destroying the environment and the livelihoods of countless Americans is a complete DISASTER.

This poor man is the voice of all the frustrated Americans who lost their futures because of corporate greed and sluggish government intervention.

If Pres. Obama had moved as quickly to face down BP CEO Hayward and the other guilty execs as he did to perp walk McChrystal, perhaps this man wouldn't have taken his life.

[USMC-Mom]

While I do not agree with suicide I can not get over some of these harsh comments. If you have ever lost everything then maybe you would understand being at the bottom of darkness and not seeing any daylight. For this man ( and again it is wrong to take any life including your own) there was no tomorrow will bring a new day or things may be better. No, not as long as that oil keeps rising. Fishing and charters are working for those who don?t think it is. Just like any other job its that persons livelihood.. Show some compassion for all the folks in the Gulf.

I pray this mess gets fixed soon so clean up can be done with a end in sight.

[rondivoo]

Money! People do desperate things when they see their $$$ fly away. Same as when Wall Street casino players flip out over their losses.

[stn_sage]

BP murdered this man just as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow!

And Obama and the U.S.Congress assisted them by acting as 'enablers'!

It's easy to say that he was 'weak', but the rest of us will never know what he endured, what mechanisms he possessed to deal with constant adversity, and how long he may have been stressed out over his life!

Maybe Obama & Congress will be a teeny bit more motivated to MAKE BP start acting responsibly before too many more people kill themselves over this!!!!

[wyodutch]

There is still a lot of oil out there in the world. Problem is, all the easy-to-find-and-extract petroleum is long gone. There ain't no more Spindletops.
.
We're engaged in rescource wars (disguised as wars of liberation... wars against terrorism, etc..) in diverse places and now must go to the deep and dangerous places of the earth to find the black gold.
.

[cleric60]

Suicide is NOT A CHOICE!! It's a response of being deceived into thinking that death is better than life. Suicide is a deception in one's own thinking that the crisis event is the whole journey of life.
Suicide is viewing the crisis/pain as it will never be over.
I would encourage you to go to this website and learn about the act of being deceived: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/index.html

[formrusmcsgt]

This is a man who was known to be very independent, self sufficient and proud.
----
As long as things went in his favor, apparently.....

Facing adversity is when one finds what they are really made of.

[rondivoo]

Good point, formrusmcsgt!

[magnumdr]

What a totally stupid thing to do. Life is not over just because you can't fish anymore.

[spaceatoms]

Always a way to spin it and make it look good, whats next get a job...

[goirish1974]

What a totally stupid comment. Have you forgotten this oil spill is not the only devastation that area has been through? Show some compassion.