Don't ignore an accident, you could save a life!

ender07 · Post by **ender07** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:12 am

I was doing some errands today on my RH and saw a car up on the side of the road and over the curb that had crashed into a light pole. As I was approaching it from behind I merely thought it was an abandoned vehicle, but as I passed I happened to glance and saw a person still in the car not moving. I immediately turned around and went back and saw an older woman who look like she had drifted out of consciousness and was upright in the drivers seat.

Luckily her window was open so I surveyed the scene and did not see anything leaking or hear and weird noises so I went over to her and called out to her. She came around a bit, but was very incoherent and I couldn't understand much of what she said...not to mention the fact that she was bleeding pretty heavily from her mouth. I had her turn off her car, I flipped on her hazard lights, and then called 911.

I am first aid and disaster response trained, as well as being an Eagle Scout, so I learned not to touch the person or move them unless its absolutely necessary and/or if you see any life threatening injuries. I was talking to the emergency dispatcher and she made sure I had done everything I could so far and then they dispatched police and EMS to the scene. I reassured her that help was on the way and stayed by her until the police and ambulance arrived.

I never found out who she was, but considering I don't know how long she had been sitting there bleeding as well as being an elderly woman, I really hope she is okay. I left the area a bit shaken, but confident I had done everything I had been trained for in the past and felt like I handled the situation well. I really hope that fellow MB'ers here would do the same as I and not ignore it like so many people do these days.

Oh and then an hour later the nuts fell off the connection from my exhaust to the head gasket...so today has been a fairly eventful day!

OldGuy · Post by **OldGuy** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:31 am

Great job, sounds like you were the right person to be there at the right time. And thank you for calling on us all to do our part if we have a chance.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:58 am

Good for you! You did the right thing, and were rewarded... with the anxiety of getting involved and the antikarma of problems with your bike. :/ But also with the knowledge that you made a difference today.

Drum Pro · Post by **Drum Pro** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:07 am

Well done! A while ago when I stayed with my family at a cabin we rented a kid on one of those round things for sliding down the mountain hit a tree. He had broke a rib and it punctured his lung. My brother and I did the same thing as you but we aren't trained. We just tried to keep him calm and awake and told him not to take deep breaths until the ambulance came. anyways, WELL DONE! You may have saved that lady's life.....

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:35 am

No good dead goes unpunished, right? (the exhaust nuts)

Seriously though, that is really awesome you did all that for her. I would like to think I would be able to stay calm and do the same in the same situation, but hope I will never have to find out.

Kudos to you!

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:59 pm

Back when I was in college, a friend and I were out for a ride in the countryside along some twisty county roads. We came upon an overturned school bus in the ditch. As near as we could figure, the accident must have just happened, as we were the first on the scene and there were only one or two kids crawling out of the bus. We saw fuel leaking down the sides/windows, so we helped the driver get everyone out of the bus and away from the fuel spill. Thank God nobody was seriously injured and all could walk, but there were some sprains and fractures. As we were getting the last couple of crying kids clear of the bus, a cop and an ambulance finally pull up (these were the pre-cell-phone days, and perhaps someone with a CB radio called it in).

As to no-good-deed-going-unpunished, the cop's first act was to scream, "Who owns these God-dxxxxx motorcycles? Get them the fxxx out of here right fxxxxxxx now!" You're welcome, officer.

michelle_7728 · Post by **michelle_7728** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 5:45 am

See?!!....See?!??

Ah, but it's still worth it if you can help someone.

BootScootin'FireFighter · Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:10 pm

good job! Great of you to stay with her and keep her company.

LunaP · Post by **LunaP** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:21 am

You are a wonderful person. There are people that wouldn't do that. And there are people that would be ninnies and get on the phone with EMS and just repeat 'OMG' over and over and be totally useless other than making the call.

When I got smashed, the only thing that kept me sane, grounded to reality even, was the first responding officer who waited with me and talked to me even though all I was doing was screaming on the ground. I got a grip of myself when I heard the sirens and there were paramedics in my periphery, and started thanking everybody profusely... but those few minutes where it was just me and Officer Rose were surreal. You were important to that lady, I guarantee it.

SN: where did you acquire your first aid and disaster response training? Red cross?

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:30 pm

Boy Scouts of America and summer lifeguard Red Cross training.

And in my current job, we can take advantage of free CPR, basic first aid, and defibrillator training.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:45 pm

That reminds me, been meaning to update my certs. it's been a long time.

Good on you for stopping. I think people get tunnel vision and it's hard to notice the goings on of others.

ender07 · Post by **ender07** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 3:36 pm

Thanks for the positive words you guys! I was in Boy Scouts most of my adolescent life and took CPR and First Aid Red Cross classes to stay certified while I worked in the corporate security field. Even though I normally get pretty grossed out by blood and stuff I had quite a bit of adrenaline pumping and my training kicked in so I didn't really even think about it.

BootScootin'FireFighter · Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:19 pm

LunaP wrote:SN: where did you acquire your first aid and disaster response training? Red cross?

Check to see if Richmond has a "CERT" team, or something similar. We call it CERT up here, for Citizens Emergency Response Team. Basically they get activated for large scale incidents if needed and most of them are CPR trained as well. It's funded by the county and the training is provided mostly by the fire and police departments. I'm pretty sure Red Cross has programs as well, as does American Heart Assoc.

pugbuddy · Post by **pugbuddy** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:51 am

Crazy day today. I started as part of a three car accident (I was driving the car to a doctor's appointment) and ended passing several wrecks while scooting home from work! It seems there were a lot of accidents out there today. Fortunately, there were also a lot of folks who were helping out, at least at the ones I saw. But it was crazy-weird IMHO.