People aren’t always the most rational creature, and we certainly don’t think ahead to every conceivable outcome before we decide on something. Sometimes these impulsive decisions work out well; other times they end up like this following story.

In Saginaw, Michigan, a 20-year-old man who had two outstanding misdemeanor traffic warrants tried to get away from police by crawling under a moving train. One of his legs was cut clean off in the incident. The other was damaged so badly it will need to be amputated.

Traffic warrants typically result in no more than a day in jail before a person bonds themselves out on personal recognizance. To escape that fate, he ran from police (another charge) and ultimately lost both of his legs.

The story that make s you cringe, but one that illustrates a predictable quark in human psychology: we have a tendency to make rash decisions to try to avoid pain in the present, often with little regard for it’s possible harm in the future. It’s also an example of how intentions frequently don’t match outcomes — something we should all keep in mind when dealing with others. I’m sure this man never envisioned a double amputation when he made the decision to run. Just like other people seldom foresee the ripple effects of their own actions.

If only there was some device that could help us foresee the consequences of stupid decisions before we actually did them. But alas, that’s always been the downfall of humanity: our behavior is guided by our own extremely limited perspective.