Not Every Call Is Bullshit

It was nearing the end of my shift when we were dispatched to a motor vehicle incident. Usually wrecks at this time of night are pretty bad and 90% of the time are caused by drunks leaving the bar. This particular one involved a single vehicle and according to our computer notes, the victim MAY be trapped inside but the caller was not sure because he didn't want to get close enough. This accident was not dispatched as an extrication (meaning a rescue truck would have been added) so I radioed in to dispatch and inquired about what I was reading on the computer and why a rescue truck was not sent. They gave me pretty much the same information so I guess I would just have to wait until I got there to determine what what other equipment was needed. We pulled up and see an older model Lexus laying on it's roof and what looked like someone lying underneath it. I'm thinking, oh man the victim isn't trapped inside but underneath the car!!! As I opened the door to the fire truck, I can hear the sound of rap music filling the air and see a trail of blood at my feet leading to the vehicle. The ground was scratched up with debris scattered across but I focused my attention towards the woman as I approached. I could see her arm move and what looked like her chest trying to rise as if she was attempting to get up. My first thought was "holy crap shes alive". I ran over to her but as I got down next to her I realized that there wasn't anything we could do. She had no pulse and it appeared that her entire chest was ripped open explaining the trail of blood I had to walk over to get there.

As the senior person on scene, It was now time for me to make a very difficult decision. Do we attempt to get the car off of her and try to save her life, or do we stop right here and call a 10-50? (Code for deceased). I have called many 10-50's but this was one of the only times where I hesitated. I needed to process this in my brain because I don't like making rash decisions and I sure didn't want to regret it later. All of this happening within 30 seconds, I thought about every possibility. She had no pulse, she had a several thousand pound vehicle on top of her mid section probably crushing her insides, and a trail of blood which told me she was dragged for some time before ending up here. She likely had massive internal injuries and just had that look of lifelessness in her face. Something that you pick up on after a while. So what was stopping me from calling the 10-50? It was the moving I witnessed as I walked up to the vehicle. The movement was only very slight but was she really trying to get out from underneath? Was there really a chance to save her? Well the movement was most likely an involuntary spasm, similar to what happens to a snake when you chop it's head off. She had no pulse and if we really did get her out, what was the chance that she could actually be saved? We normally do not perform CPR on traumatic arrests especially when there are signs incompatible with life. After taking all of this into consideration, I bit my cheek and called the 10-50. There was no chance we could have helped her and pulling her from where she was could hinder the investigation. It was one of the hardest decisions I have made but I am confidant that I it was the right one.

We all just kind of stood there for a second and looked at her. So much going through my mind and feeling sorry for the poor woman but I had to snap myself out of it and move on. I walked over to shut off the radio because the rap music was still playing loudly throughout the empty road. I reached inside the open door and had to go over her leg to turn the volume knob. One of her legs was resting on the steering wheel and the top half of her body was through the sunroof with the car resting above her waist. Seeing her that way, reassured  me that the right decision was made. Even if her chest was in tact, her spine had to have been broken as she was weaved through the sunroof.

This poor girl was only 20 years old. There was no smell of alcohol in the vehicle and probably something that could have been avoided had she been watching the road. It appeared as if she was on the way home and traveling at a high rate of speed when she struck a guardrail on the opposite side of the 2 lane road. The corner of the guardrail made her vehicle roll and the girl who was not wearing a seat belt, came out of the open sunroof before the car landed back on top of her, and sliding about 75 yards with her between the vehicle and concrete. You could see the drag marks down the road leading from the guardrail to her car. She had to have been going so fast for her car to slide such a distance and I can only imagine what she was going through in those few short seconds. I can only hope that she did not suffer long during the process.

I can still see her in my mind, moving around as if she was trying to get up. It has to be one of the hardest things I have seen and I am sure the image will stick with me for the rest of my life. Dealing with death is something firemen learn to cope with pretty well but there are some that you just can't forget. This will be one of those along side of a 10 year old girl who drowned several years ago. She fell into a small neighborhood lake which had a fountain in the middle. The fountain sucked the water with a vacuum so when the girl fell in, she wasn't strong enough to fight the current. When we arrived on scene, she was pulled out by a neighbor who was performing CPR in the grass next to the water. We took over and I noticed that every one of the girl's fingertips were missing down to the bone. She had fought so hard to escape the current that she wore off her fingertips trying to claw her way out. She tried so hard yet was unsuccessful and my heart truly sank for the poor girl. How can one be so determined yet fail in the process?

I suppose it's all part of the job so there isn't much you can do but pick yourself up and move on.