My day: a horrible car crash, and a dose of humanity

[Oscarsjava]

Well, I'll preface this by saying I'm neither a LEO nor an EMT. I don't belong to a fire department either. With that said...

Today I was driving north on I-97 toward Baltimore around 2:40pm. I was looking at my cell phone, trying to find the number I was seeking, when I looked up and in the southbound part of I-97 there was a huge puff of debris, followed by a loud BOOM and then this white car came from the middle lane, went flying into the metal barrier on the median, spun, and stopped in a cloud of steaming antifreeze. I immediately hung up and dialed 911, pulled over to the median on the northbound side, put my flashers on, and ran from my car, hurdled the median and went to see what I can do to help. Another car who had witnessed the accident from the southbound side had stopped, also, and exited. We were trying to reach 911 but we kept getting a busy signal, which was extremely disconcerting.

When I got to the car (coming from the passenger side) I could see the female passenger's head and right shoulder were pinned by the passenger side door. The roof was entirely collapsed on that side, and the door bent, so she was stuck and seriously hurt from what we saw. The two of us searched the vehicle (there was a ton of steam coming up making visibility and breathing very difficult) but couldn't find the driver anywhere.

The steam finally subsided, and about 60 feet up the road was the driver, laying on his back on the shoulder of the road, not breathing. The woman was staring at us and breathing, but wouldn't respond to any of our questions. At this point about 10 other cars had pulled over, one of whom was a volunteer firefighter - she told me to take care of the male, she'd stay with the female. We went over to him and were about to perform CPR (I am certified, and we had gloves) after checking his vitals when he began to breathe, faintly at first, then a little stronger. He wouldn't open his eyes, and would mumble when we asked him questions, but he was a little responsive, which was better than dead. We didn't move him at all for fear he had a neck or back injury, and decided the best course of action was to stay with him until help arrived.

At this point, 10 minutes have passed. No police, no ambulance, and nobody can get through to 911. Finally, after another few minutes, an Anne Arundel PD car came up with 2 officers. They took charge immediately, instructing the onlookers to help direct traffic. Those of us tending to the male were keeping his head immobilized, talking to him and holding his hand to let him know we were there.

An ambulance arrived, along with a few more patrol cars, and they tended to the male. A Prince George's PD officer tried to get to the woman by tearing off the door with his hands, with some success, but he wasn't able to remove the door completely, only remove some pressure. Finally, the fire department arrived with the jaws of life and started going to town on the vehicle.

One of the other officers started asking those around if they had seen the accident and if so, what happened. I told my piece, which truly wasn't much as I was coming northbound, and he thanked me for my help and told me it'd be best to leave.

Looking back on the whole event, it was like something out of a movie. I half thought the car had hit a land mine, that's what it had looked like from my vantage point. When the car smacked into the median it was double horrific, worse than anything I'd seen in Nascar lately. My first instinct was to pull over and do what I could to help. I was surprised at how calm I was, given the situation (this led to a fight with my gf over the phone, because she thought I reacted heartlessly. I countered that if I were heartless I wouldn't even have stopped) and it only reinforced how much I want to help me by becoming a police officer.

As it turns out, nobody knew what this vehicle hit, nobody pulled over with any type of body damage to their vehicle, and the driver hadn't been wearing a seatbelt. As a matter of fact, the force of the impact was so hard that when he was ejected, he took the steering wheel and column with him - we found it 30 feet from him, airbag limp. Some of the witnesses who pulled over said that they had seen the car fly by them going at least 90 - maybe they blew a tire, or hit some debris in the road? In any case, it was just a horrific scene...as I left, the male was being placed in the ambulance, and the female was being tended to as they tried to get her out of the car.

As for the humanity - crouched next to the male, talking to him, one person holding his hand, the other holding his head in place...none of us knew the guy, we'd never met him before, but we'd all dropped everything to help him. When I thought about it this evening, that's what stood out the most to me. There were lookyloos of course, and tons of rubberneckers, but every person who exited their vehicle was there to help in any way they could. It made me feel good as a human that we, as humans, are capable of this selflessness.

I haven't been able to get an update on the condition of the people, there wasn't anything on the news, nor on any of the local news, tv, or radio sites. I didn't get their names, and don't want to hound the hospitals to try and find them. I just hope that they pulled through.

[1776]

Wow. You had one hell of a day. I also hope they make it. However,you did all you could. Its people like you and those others that stopped to help total strangers that make this world a better place. Good job.

[JakeLock]

Oscar... You did exactly what you should, and I'm proud of you. I know that may not sem like much, but you did what was best given the situation, and I'm pround that you acted as calmly as you did. You may very well have saved someone's life. We'll never know, but you did what was neccesary (sp).

I'm glad you responded so calmly. I (as a non LEO) believe you did the best you could and salute you for it.

[phantasm]

You did what you should have. Don't move the victims (unless there's a danger of the car blowing up) and do what you can. From what you told me, they probably just lost control.

[serenityBlue]

You did a brilliant job and it's good to recognise the people that stop to help and not just stop to stare if indeed any stop at all.

You stayed calm and dealt with what you had infront of you, no one could ask for more. Give the hospital admissions a call and see if they know anything.

[besafe2]

As others have said you done a great job & all you could've done. Thanks for stopping to help.

[Big Sexy]

Great phucking job, outstanding.

[mpd145]

Man theyre going to appreciate all you had done for them when they get out of the hospital.
Looks like you were the HERO of the day! Great job!

[Titansfanmjfink]

If only everyone had your reaction in situations like this.

[kels]

First.......... YOU DID GOOD

Second......QUOTE At this point, 10 minutes have passed. No police, no ambulance, and nobody can get through to 911. QUOTE

You just got a dose of reality. Fire, EMS and Police may take a while to arrive. It is just a frustrating for us as it is for you.

Again, job well done.

[Oscarsjava]

Thanks all for the support and replies...I don't think I was a hero, honestly, just a concerned driver helping out. I would hope that, if I find myself on the other end of that situation, people would stop to try and help me. Kels, I can imagine how frustrating it is for you guys to try and get to the scene as fast as possible...I can't even imagine what it is like for a victim.

[Paul Hartwig]

good job.

[SPM]

Perhaps the driver was looking at his cell phone trying to find a number?

;)

Nevertheless, you did a great job. It is a shame about the busy signal on 911...

-SPM

[deputywave]

Great Job!

[PVPD124]

I don't think I was a hero, honestly, just a concerned driver helping out.

That right there is the definition of a hero and don't you dare think otherwise.