ALTUS AIRMEN RENDER AID TO ACCIDENT VICTIM

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Seidl
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Three Altus Airmen rendered aid at the scene of a major vehicle accident Sept. 8.

Staff Sgt. Adam Hills and Airmen 1st Class Bryan Foley and Arryawana Saldana of the 97th Civil Engineer Squadron were returning to Altus Air Force Base from Lawton, Okla., after reconfiguring two Altus emergency response vehicles for the Mobile Emergency Operations Center.

"The (vehicle) was rolled over on the driver side," Hills said. "There were one or two civilian vehicles already there, and people on scene were helping the victims out of the truck. There were no emergency services yet on the scene."

Rose Jenkins, a 97th Medical Wing licensed practical nurse, and her 4-year-old grandson were traveling in the rain. Jenkins had her vehicle in cruise control.

"I had no idea not to use my cruise control in inclement weather," Jenkins said. "I didn't want to get a ticket, so I put the cruise control on."

What she was about to discover is that having the cruise control on in the rain can cause the vehicle to spin out of control, especially if the driver doesn't disengage it once the dangerous slipping and sliding begins.

"I saw a little puddle on the road; and when I hit that, it felt like the car went airborne," she said. "I had no control of it. When I hit the ground, I was drifting off into a grassy area. I turned my wheel, and the car spun around and shot out to the other side of the highway. I turned it again; it spun back to the middle. I never thought about the cruise control. It spun me back on the other side, and it started flipping over and skidding."

She held on tight, and when the car came to a stop, they were in the middle of the oncoming lane.

"I asked my grandson if he was OK, and he said, 'I'm OK but why are we upside down?' " Jenkins said.

The three Airmen stopped immediately and, with the aid of two other civilians, helped to stabilize the situation. They risked their own lives to come to the aid of vothers, Jenkins said.

"They make me proud," she added. "They stopped traffic.

I was pushing on windows, pushing on doors. I began to panic, and thought, 'How am I going to get out of this car?' "

When she saw a big truck bearing down on her, it only added to the terror.

"(The Airmen) got the back (of the vehicle) open and got me out," Jenkins said.

Saldana began guiding other cars away from the scene to avoid further collisions and keeping the situation from getting any worse.

Foley and Hills helped the child into Foley's car to get him out of the downpour.

After ensuring the youngster had no injuries, Foley kept him warm and dry in his vehicle.

"He told me he was cold, so I turned on the heat and gave (him) my uniform top to try and stay warm," Foley said. "We instructed him to keep still and not fall asleep as he told us his head hurt."

Hills helped Jenkins out of the wrecked car and dressed a wound on her elbow with the response vehicle's first aid kit.

"She was very scared and frazzled," he said.

But Hills said the fear and panic in her face was replaced with relief when they took her to Foley's car and she saw that her grandson was OK.

The in-vehicle subscription-based communications system had already notified emergency medical services of the accident. By the time emergency medical services and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrived, the three Airmen had secured the scene and the victims. The Airmen helped load the patients into the ambulance.

"I was happy we just happened to be there," Hills said. "Between all of the emergency management training, self-aid buddy-care training and confidence in our emergency response abilities, I feel Ms. Jenkins and her grandson were both in good and capable hands until help could arrive."

Jenkins couldn't agree more.

"In my opinion it was a heroic act," she said. "Seeing them there in their uniforms brought me peace. They were cool; they were calm. They were, to me, at their finest. They knew what to do, and they did it. When I saw them, I knew everything would be all right."