We've all been there: Traffic on a busy highway grinds to a halt, and after a few moments emergency response vehicles rush to the scene up ahead.
If you ever wondered what happens in those critical moments before emergency responders arrive, two Fort Rucker employees have an answer, after they recently intervened to assist in vehicle accidents.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen E. Lowe, instructor at 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, and Sarah M. Brisson, deputy chief of Protocol, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, each put their Army training into practice during their off-duty time, to make a difference.
For Lowe, who serves as an Unmanned Aircraft Systems technician at the Air Cavalry Leaders Course, the vehicle accident happened while he was on a temporary duty assignment away from Fort Rucker.
After his duty day ended at Fort Bragg, N.C., and he was returning to his lodging in June, he saw two cars that were racing. One of the cars flipped multiple times and hit a telephone pole, landing inverted off the road in some brush.
Lowe rushed to the scene, and instructed another person to call 911. As he assessed the situation, he saw downed power lines, smoke coming from the car's engine, and a stream of fuel steadily leaking into the car. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and airbags had not deployed.
He used a headrest to break the window so he could unlock and open the driver's side door.
Once he was able to get in the car with the driver and get her stabilized, he continued to monitor and assess, keeping an eye out for any spark that could cause a fire. He knew even though gas was leaking from the car, it was best not to move the driver unless it was absolutely necessary.
He talked to the victim and tried to glean whatever information he could, until the emergency responders arrived. At that point he relayed the information to the Emergency Medical Services team.
"It was really just adrenaline and kind of muscle memory. If there's a situation, you need to react, as opposed to just standing there and trying to figure something out you just go," he said.
While some people stop to help, bystanders tend to watch or start recording video, he explained.
"I've been in car accidents where people drive by you…. It's kind of disconcerting. The dust cloud hasn't settled and they just keep on driving," Lowe said.
Lowe hopes people will try to help out in the future when they are in a position to do so.
"I know that if it was my family that was in a car accident I would hope that somebody else would stop as fast as I did and try to assist as much as possible.
"I would hope everybody has a little bit of training, and say, let me help where I can," Lowe said. "Even if it's as simple as talking to someone to keep them conscious--if that's all you can do, that's better than nothing."
For his selfless actions in a dangerous situation on June 6, Lowe was presented the Army Commendation Medal.
Maj. Julie A. MacKnyght, commander of A Co., 1-145th Aviation Regt., commended Lowe's actions as a model of the Army Values.
"For our Soldiers, I think it's critical to get the word out about the incredible, courageous, and honorable things they are doing on and off duty to their peers as a reminder of the type of Soldier we all strive to be," MacKnyght said.
For Brisson, it was a family road trip to Disney World in Florida in December. Two kids in the back, husband at the wheel and then, in the vicinity of Jacksonville-Ocala area, it happened. They watched as a passenger van unexpectedly spiraled over into the median.
She knew she had to do something.
"An overwhelming call to help is what I felt," Brisson said.
According to Brisson, who previously served as an Army aviator, her Army training kicked in. She and her husband, Capt. Michael P. Brisson, a physician at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley, Ala., rushed to the scene.
"It looked like a war zone. We thought, 'these people are dead,'" Brisson said.
One person was ejected from the vehicle, the rest were inverted, suspended with fastened seatbelts intact, and some were unconscious. She saw from identifiers that the individuals had special needs.
The minutes before paramedics arrived seemed like an eternity. Brisson and her husband together assessed the situation, began providing triage, and kept people calm, while also keeping tabs on her own children still in the family vehicle.
"I did what any one of my military family members would have done," Brisson said. "Even if you don't have medical training, there's something you can do. People needed someone to sit with them and tell them it's going to be OK."
She said the incident changed her perspective on how normal people react, in light of the thousands who passed by the scene along the highway.
The experience made her thankful for her Army training.
"No hesitation. That's what the military training gave me--confidence to not hesitate in a situation you're not comfortable with," she said.
When her supervisor Jenny Hughes, USAACE Protocol officer, was notified about the incident and Brisson's immediate response to it, she was proud of her teammate's actions.
"I feel not everyone is comfortable, nor do they know how to respond to a situation like this, and I wanted Sarah to be recognized," Hughes said. "Sarah is a former aviator, and I feel her experience in combat gave her what she needed to jump into action ensuring these individuals were safe until medical help could arrive."
For her actions while on Interstate 75 on December 15, Brisson recently was presented the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service for her selfless service and disregard for her own safety.
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