Date of Incident:
08/01/2016
People Involved in Providing Assistance to Incident:
- Kenneth P. Pitre, Fire Chief, Incident Commander
- Willard Chauvin, Rescue LT., Operation Commander
Description of Incident:
A pickup truck south bound on La Hwy 311 with the driver playing on his cell phone sideswipe two vehicles causing the truck to turn left into the front and side of a car heading north on La Hwy 311. The force of the collision cause the driver side of the vehicle to be crushed and ripped on the vehicle. The accident was reported to be in the Schriever Fire District but was found about 1/2 mile into the next district. A total of response distance of 9 miles. That Department was requested however all Schriever units continued to the accident scene. The second department did not have a truck at their nearest station so Schriever began extrication using Amkus tools. The call was dispatched to Schriever at 19:05 and the first rescue unit arrived on scene at 19:17 and extrication was completed at 19:29. This was a 22 minute response and extrication time. The young lady was driving a Honda Accord. The driver door, the A post were crushed down on the lady and the B post hit her in the head. Upon arrival of Schriever Rescue 1, an Amkus 32 Spreader, Amkus 21A Cutter, and 30″ Ram were deployed using two on board electric pump units with a total of 4 lines available. Three 100 foot hose reel lines were used. The speed of the spreader and cutters removed the vehicle parts to free the driver. The lady was transported to a New Orleans trauma hospital by medical helicopter. She went into cardiac arrest twice in route to the hospital. The lady is still going through physical therapy as of today for damage to her left arm. According to her, at a meeting one year later, the trauma doctor wrote in her medical records that “if not for the speed of the extrication she would have died from her injuries”. Our Amkus Tools are the best