This is one case in which a seatbelt more than likely could have saved this young man's life.
He had led the police on a wild car chase... rolled his vehicle... got ejected... and ended up with his vehicle on top of him. His legs are pinned by the passenger side. Choices. It's all about choices.
That's me, back in 1989 (yeah, look at all that hair) about to put a tube in his throat so we could oxygenate his lungs. The medic on the left is Randy, the guy that taught me everything I knew about being a paramedic. He was a god.
The patient's unconscious, barely breathing here, but died sometime after we got him to the hospital from a massive head injury as well as internal injuries. The fire department worked diligently to not only keep the vehicle from teetering over on us, but to get it off of the patient so we could get him to the ambulance.
Moral: If you can stay inside the vehicle, you have a chance. Become ejected and you're as good as dead. Oh, and, crime doesn't pay.
Posted by Cranky at July 21, 2002 12:46 PMthis is very intense. i can't even begin to imagine the things that you have experienced as a paramedic.
thank you for sharing.
Posted by: jennifer on July 21, 2002 04:25 PMAfter having worked for many years an an operating room technician, there are two things I will not do: 1) ride a car and not wear seat belts (or allow passengers in my car to ride without them) and 2) get on a motorcycle. I spent too many hours passing instruments over broken bodies that would not go back together!
OMG! The hair!
Yes, I know what you mean, MG. I once stood over the body of a young motorcycle accident victim with not brain one left in his unhelmeted head. It was a cool November morning and I'll never forget the steam pouring out of the giant hole in his cranium.
Posted by: Tess on July 21, 2002 05:57 PMThe motorcycle accident victim I remember most vividly is the young man who slid on his back on the pavement only to be stopped by a telephone pole. The pole hit him in the crotch; his legs were spread open. The young man, sadly, lived.
Posted by: MG on July 21, 2002 06:44 PMWoah, that is intense.
I always wear my seatbelt. For whatever reason, I feel like I'm not "in" properly without it on. I've been in two accidents and that seatbelt definitely saved my ass, if not my life.
Posted by: Kelly on July 21, 2002 07:10 PMwow. very, very intense. i always wear a seatbelt, have my son in a weight-appropriate booster seat out of reach of airbags.
nice hair!
Posted by: kd on July 21, 2002 08:36 PM