Witnessed a bad wreck today

[mkwerx]

Was working this afternoon, headed for a jump start in Tigard coming out of downtown. About half way between the zoo and Sylvan on 26 a black Ford SUV suddenly shot from the center lane to the outside lane, then into the k barriers at about 50mph, then shot across 4 lanes of traffic and slammed into the center divider. Thank God he did not hit anyone else and no one hit him.

I stopped and was the first to run over and check on the occupants while on the line with 911. The driver of the SUV had a seizure and was still seizing when I got to him. His passenger was ok.

Poor dude was bleeding bad from his mouth - I can only guess he bit his tongue or cheecks either in the crash or just from the seizure - and he was still unconscious and seizing minutes later when Portland PD and the EMS/Fire crews arrived. Guy was lucky in a way - not even half a mile from Portland Fire station, couple miles to St Vincent, a Portland PD unit was nearby as was an Adventist ambulance.

Still have not been contacted by PPB officer yet - he has my info if needs a statement.

Was one of those random crazy things. So glad no one else was hurt. I hope the guy will be OK. Made me stop and say a little prayer after I left the scene. Was still shaking from the adrenaline dump I did not even know I was going through until I got back in my own truck for about ten minutes or so. Was just focused on the people in the car and making sure they were OK and doing what little I could for the guy.

Be safe out there folks and hug the ones you love just because.

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[MasterChief]

Good on you for stopping!!! Saying a prayer for the occupants.

 

[No_Regerts]

People like you are the reason many people are still alive. Maybe mankind isn't completely doomed.

 

[mkwerx]

I don't know if its just luck of the draw, statistical probability or divine intervention but I have come across probably dozens of wrecks as the first person to stop and render aid over the years. Mostly in the last 14 years since I started doing roadside assistance - not counting incidents I was dispatched to.

Seen some really horrific stuff folks walked away from with minor injuries if any. Seen others where folks were not so fortunate.

Each incident like that makes me thankful for what and who I have and the time I have with them. I hope if I ever need help like that someone else will step up and take that role.

 

[The Heretic]

Being out there on the road increases the chances.

I've seen a few bad ones - like the kid in Newport that ran between a truck and the trailer it was pulling. He survived, but it was messy. Ones involving kids are the worst.

 

[etrain16]

Good on you for stopping to assist, seems not many are willing to interrupt their day to help a fellow human. I've been first on site for a few accidents and am surprised how many just ignore it and keep going - I just can't do that, unless better qualified help is already there.

Your description of the accident reminds me of one I witnessed in the Terwilliger curves probably 10+ years ago. Heading north on I-5, moderately heavy traffic, but moving at a good clip, dry pavement. In one of the turns, a guy 2 cars in front of me suddenly loses it and shoots from the left lane all the way to the shoulder, up the shoulder, way up the embankment, at which point the car starts to roll back down the embankment, dumping him back on the road, across all 3 lanes of traffic, then coming to a stop, on its top, against the concrete median barrier. He managed not to hit anyone or cause any other accidents, pretty amazing. I got got out to help as did 2 other drivers. As I got to the car, he was climbing out of the passenger side window since the driver side was up against the median.

He had no obvious serious injuries other than a minor cut on his forehead, but he was dazed, in shock and started walking toward traffic. I grabbed him by the arm along with one of the other drivers, and sat him down against the barricade. We got a compress on his head and just talked to him gently to try and get him to stay still since he kept trying to get up and leave. A few moments later a couple of PDX officers showed up and needed us to move our cars. We gave a very brief statement, then they took control of the driver and we left.

Still amazes me he crossed 3 lanes of traffic, twice, and never hit anyone. His car stood up well after rolling over and over, probably why he wasn't hurt worse.

 

[Mark W.]

I was following a woamn in a car that was driving very erratic I followed in my dump truck and contacted 911 turns out they think she was having some sort of medical emergency. They got her stopped before anything but a couple mail boxes got hurt and then called me back to thank me for calling it in.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

A good reason for everyone to take a CPR / First Aid class.
Glad you stopped and checked him out / helped mkwerx.
Andy

 

[mkwerx]

A good reason for everyone to take a CPR / First Aid class.
Glad you stopped and checked him out / helped mkwerx.
Andy

I need to recert my CPR - its mandatory for bus drivers. I have not driven a bus in 5 years - could use a refresher. I know they don't want you doing rescue breathing anymore - just continuous chest compressions.

 

[etrain16]

I need to recert my CPR - its mandatory for bus drivers. I have not driven a bus in 5 years - could use a refresher. I know they don't want you doing rescue breathing anymore - just continuous chest compressions.

That, and you can get your AED certification in the same class. With more and more AED's around, it's good to know how to use them.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Sounds like possibly his seizure could of caused the wreck. Maybe?

 

[mkwerx]

Sounds like possibly his seizure could of caused the wreck. Maybe?

It was, according to the passenger. He was doing fine then just BAM convulsions which caused him to jerk the wheel. Poor guy probably had no idea what was going on at that point.

 

[CoastRange57]

As a former firefighter EMT, I have been on thousands of scenes. We have in each vehicle, long crowbar, axe, glass breakers on my knife, flares, warning lights, floresecent vests, ham radios. My wife is a former nurse and we carry a complete trauma kit also. We have used it several times over the years in accidents we saw or came across. Being able to render assistance in a situation like that is very satisfying.

Having the training and experience at scenes allows us to assume a command presence until suitable LEO or fire / EMS gets there. People generally will take direction pretty well when you are able to articulate effectively what needs to be done. When our role is over, we like to pick our stuff up and leave unnoticed, unless it is apparent LEO will need our information.

When traveling we take our F 350 4x4. It is more comfortable than our Explorer, and is a heavy vehicle for our safety. Even got 16 mpg going to Central Oregon this weekend, not that I care about mileage.

 

[Sandaholic]

I saw a wreck very similar about a week ago. Much lower speed but man it was crazy seeing the driver flopping around like a rag doll in the SUV running into a brick sided bank building in and out of culverts breaking powerpoles missed all other vehicles and no pedestrians were in harms way. Get this, it happened directly.........DIRECTLY in front of a State Trooper and an Ambulance was right behind him.

The situation sucked, but that was the quickest response time I've ever seen.