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***image1***An Oct. 18 car accident across from Volgeweh housing left three people injured and gave two Landstuhl Regional Medical Center medics a chance to make a difference.
“We were just hanging around the house when we heard a big bang,” said Staff Sgt. Owen Barr, 435th Medical Squadron medic at LRMC.
The “big bang” turned out to be a three-car crash that left two German nationals injured and one severely hurt.
“We looked out the window and saw it and could tell that someone was hurt,” said Sgt. Alex Alvarado, a reserve Soldier from the 349th General Hospital.
“So we ran down toward the fence. When we got there, I looked at the car and said, ‘Oh, my God, how did that guy get out there?’ Then I heard moaning coming from the car.”
Since none of the German bystanders were medics, the sergeants took action to help the badly injured crash victim.
“People told me there were cars whizzing by as I ran out to the injured guy, but I was so focused that I didn’t even see them,” said Sergeant Alvarado.
The car had been hit so hard that the car’s passenger side was missing. The man’s legs were hanging out of the car, where the driver’s door used to be, he said. He had facial lacerations, a compound fracture in his arm, badly injured ribs and a broken foot.
“When someone is hurt that badly, you don’t move them,” said Sergeant Alvarado. “You just do what you can to help them. We checked his vitals, made sure he was breathing, stabilized his neck and elevated his feet to prevent him from going into shock.”
“We tried to keep him calm so he didn’t hurt himself further,” said Sergeant Barr. “It was important to provide him comfort by talking to him and telling him that everything was going to be OK, instead of leaving him there dazed and confused.”
The two stayed with him, provided blankets and directed traffic until the German authorities arrived 15 minutes later. For the medics, the decision to help was never in question.
“Regardless of who it is, if someone is in need of help, you need to help them out,” said Sergeant Barr.
Since then, the two have been awarded the Army Commendation Medal and developed a certain “hero” status around the hospital.
“It’s like everyone is doing this William Wallace (Braveheart) thing,” said Sergeant Alvarado.
“You know, that he was 10 feet tall and shot lightning bolts from his eyes. People are making it out to be bigger than it actually was,” he said.
“When people come up and say, ‘Oh, you’re a hero,’ I tell them that I was just doing my job,” said Sergeant Barr. “That’s really all it was.”
