How many people does it take

[lgibson]

to call 911 when they see an accident? I came acrossed one this morning. A VW van hit a bread truck, and the truck overturned. I got there right afterwards, right when thetruck driver kicked the windsheild out. Other than the truck overturning, because driver overcorrected, it was very minor. The van only had a little damage. I counted seven people on the phone with 911. People were running into the stores in the area yelling "call 911" As I sat there more cars came and people jumping out with their cell phones call 911.



Since the truck block all lanes, people were pulling up anywhere they could just to get close to the accident and see. The police could not even get close. It was a circus. It took almost one hour for the cops to get all the cars out of there. People were parked sideways, on sidewalks, even in parking lots had cars parked where ever there was room. All this just for a minor accident.

 

[Bigsaint]

Yep, many call, especially for the roll overs. Typically, we get anywhere from 10-20 911 calls for a single accident, depending on how long it takes us to respond. Guess it's good that everyone wants to help, though the overkill on the 911 board doesn't please the dispatchers much.



Quick story... we had a car go off the road and into a swamp a few years back. Everyone got out okay but there was a delay in getting a hook to remove the vehicle. Safety cones were set out and the scene was cleared, with the thought of removing the vehicle once the duty tow became available. We weren't cleared for 5 minutes when we had to respond back to the scene as several people who passed had stopped and waded out to the vehicle to check for passengers. By the time we got back, there had to be 10 do gooders in the water. Thought that the safety cones would have given them a clue, apparently not.



Scott W.

 

[TPCDrafting]

When I was a volunteer firefighter we used to get BS calls like that all the time. We would even put 'do not cross' tape on the vehicles and people would still call. They wouldn't even stop to check they'd just drive by and get on the cell phone to 911. One year somebody lost a slid-in type camper on the hwy. It was about 30 feet off the road, no truck attached. We must have been called out on that 15 times in about two weeks. Mostly night calls too. That part of being a volunteer I don't miss at all.

 

[Bigsaint]

The cell phones are killing us !!! We are good for at least 2-5 calls per tour of " I'm behind a drunk driver". We do our best, when time permits, to locate the driver and follow same, looking for any indications of a DD. If we observe any violations, we pull the vehicle over. 9 out of 10 times, the driver is either very tired or very old . Again, good intentions I guess but a real waste of man power that would otherwise be better well spent, answering legitimate calls for service.



Scott W.

 

[Scot]

Don't get me started about crowd control or lack there of at accident sights.



We were working a single vehicle, 1 fatality, 1 Care Flight major trauma in another city. I was working the tool on the drivers side and kept bumping into gawkers, telling them to move, only to have them right back several moments later. People were out there with young kids listening to the dying man's screams. Bet they had sweet dreams.



At another double fatality accident, people would take the tarp off to gawk at the occupant who died of traumatic asphyxia (waiting on medical examiner). We were working on the other vehicle at the time.



Then there was the most challanging extrication I have ever worked. I turned around one time and there were probably 100 people sitting in the parking lot watching. We could have solld tickets!

 

[rrausch]

I dunno, the problem I seem to have is that NOBODY calls 911.

I was at a religious festival in Taos, N. M. , a year & 1/2 ago and a guy was boiling water in a 5 gallon stainless vat (about as big as a 5-gallon bucket) and the idiot boiling the water (for tea) set it down on the ground when a 2-year old was around.



Well, the idiot backed up or turned or something, and knocked the kid a$$ backwards right into the vat of boiling water. I was standing about 10 feet away and heard a blood-curdling scream. Meanwhile the kid's mother pulled him up and dipped him in (mercifully) a wash-tub of cold water. Then she pulled him out, and carried him right by me, on her way to the emergency room. There were 100 people around and nobody did anything except stare. I ran to the nearest house, barged in and about got shot while calling 911. I must have been the only one who did anything.



When the kid's Mom carried him by me, I looked at him and the skin on his arms and face were the color & conistancy of boiled chicken skin. I figured the little kid was a goner. I know something about burns and they can be serious.



A helicopter was called in and air-lifted him to Albuquerque.

He recoverd fully, without any scars even, and is a happy & healthy kid today.

God does everything!

 

['956Wheel]

Lets face it, most people would sooner stop for a dog on the side of the road than their "fellow" man. Then the ones that do stop tend to be "looky-lu's" with assistance NOT being on their mind. Heck, go home and watch COPS rather than start a circus on the street!



My gratitude goes out to the EMS people! BIG THANKS! I came up on a wreck where a drunk driver rear ended a real nice 59 Ford with a senior lady driving it. The drunk tried to run... . on foot! We put him back in his car and waited for help to arrive. Paramedics arrived and all the "audience" then, in the confusion the drunk tried to walk away. A paramedic grabbed and slammed him to the curb and nearly got into a fist fight with a spectator over his actions!



I have no idea how hard it must be as a police officer or paramedic to set aside what should be done and abide by the rules... not all do, but most are honest and doing precisely what they were hired to do.



My hero ain't no guy playing football or whatever, my heros are true heros doing their part to make this place better!



God bless!



Mike