'Pup was on the road the weekend I was in Chicago and witnessed an accident. The primary car involved had rolled over several times, and was...not in prime condition. 'Pup, and many others, stopped to see if they could render aid.
He said the first thing he saw was an 18 wheeler driver hop out of his cap with not one, but two fire extinguishers, one small, and one huge. (Which reminds me, ours are old and need replacing.) He stood near the wrecked car, ready if need be. Fortunately, they weren't needed.
Then, things got interesting. Several of the men who'd stopped had reached the car and were checking on the driver. He was alive, and trapped and struggling to get out. The five men, none of whom probably had ever met, worked as a team and got the driver out remarkably fast.
About that time, 'Pup had gotten the side door of the van open and was hauling out some bottled water and some blankets. No sooner had he done that, then another man ran over and asked if anyone had any water. 'Pup called him over, the guy loaded up with two cases of water and three blankets and ran back to where the driver was laying on the ground.
Turned out, one of the men had been a medic in one of the armed services, and was a paramedic. He was assessing the driver's condition when everyone was startled to hear, "We've got another one over here!"
Turns out that there had been a passenger in the car as well, and he'd been thrown out of the car. He was, miraculously, up and walking around!
Right about the same time, a rather large woman stopped and hopped out of her car. Dressed to the nines, she hiked up her skirt, and was trotting across the grassy median towards the accident. In high heels, she was moving with a lot more speed than you'd have guessed she could rev up too. 'Pup said it was an...unforgettable... sight. She turned out to be an RN, and she yelled at the men to GET THAT GUY DOWN ON THE GROUND, NOW!
She had a voice that carried enough authority to flatten a hay barn, and that passenger was placed down flat on the ground and was held there until she was able to get to him and run her assessment.
Amazingly, he seemed unharmed. Other than a few bumps and bruises, he hadn't even been knocked out and was coherent, if a bit argumentative. He was feeling no pain, having been pre-anesthetized by an unknown amount of beer. They let him sit up, but not walk around.
'Pup said all of this couldn't have taken more than about 1o or 12 minutes. The police, called by several of the on lookers got there about 15 minutes after the accident, accompanied by a fire truck, two ambulances and a tanker truck full of water. It's been a dry spring, and I suspect that the rural fire departments have been doubly concerned about grass fires.
After that, 'Pup decided it was time to move on and, though he's looked, he's not found any news about the event. When he drove me to my birthday surprise, he did note that you could see where the accident had taken place.
The accident reminded us that we needed a new first-aide kit and to restock our water. As of June 1, it's now officially "Hurricane Season", so we'll be reviewing and redoing our stash. Ike taught us: more water, more batteries and ice earlier, rather than later. It also taught us that we need to practice with our camp stove.
We'll be watching for some things to go on sale, and be ready with a wish list.
Emergencies are funny things. They never happen when and how you expect them to....
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