Highway 41 fatal crash, EMS update on 12-year-old survivor
SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE: (Smokey Barn News), We now have an update from Robertson County EMS Director Brent Dyer regarding the serious two-vehicle crash on Highway 41 South near Worsham Springs Road on Wednesday. LOCATION OF CRASH The crash tragically claimed the life of an adult female and left a 12-year-old girl critically injured.
We are sharing Director Dyer’s full statement without modification. His account provides a clear and well articulated timeline of the response efforts, the condition of the young girl during treatment, and the extraordinary measures taken by first responders. It is also a story of hope, as the 12-year-old girl is now extubated, sitting up, and talking.
Please note: Director Dyer’s statement includes detailed descriptions of the rescue and medical response. While not graphic, some portions may be difficult for sensitive readers. You may wish to consider that before continuing.
As for the cause of the crash and the official release of the names of the individuals involved, the THP is leading the investigation. As soon as we have their preliminary report, we will bring it to you.
The full statement from EMS Director Brent Dyer follows below.
“In reference to the serious vehicle accident that sadly claimed the life of one adult female on Wednesday, we have an update to share on the condition of the severely injured 12-year-old female from this crash.
“We have spoken with a colleague first responder, a lieutenant with the Springfield Fire Department, who is a family member of this young lady. She has been extubated (breathing tube removed) and is sitting up and talking some. She is miraculously doing very well given her condition at the time of the crash. We know so many people in our community have been worried about her outcome and are saddened that the girl’s mother didn’t survive.
“The first units were dispatched to the scene at 6:52 p.m. Two patrol deputies with the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office arrived first, within two minutes of initial dispatch. A THP trooper and Springfield Police quickly arrived next. Springfield Fire E-2 arrived within four minutes from the city’s south station. All three of the Robertson EMS paramedic ambulances stationed on Hill St. responded together and all arrived at the same time, only five minutes from time of dispatch, along with the on-duty paramedic supervisor. A fourth ambulance, coming from the Ridgetop EMS station, arrived two minutes later, quickly followed by our EMA Director, Blake Pierce.
“Initial 911 callers had reported a serious head-on vehicle accident with multiple cars and multiple patients who were trapped. The initial callers had reported that there were critical injuries. The first arriving paramedics reported to command that one patient was deceased, another adult patient was injured but stable and ambulatory. While the driver of a pickup was receiving care from one crew, others worked as hard as possible to access a 12-year-old female who was trapped on the passenger side of a small car. The pickup truck was up on the side of the car, blocking access to the doors, preventing emergency access to the critically injured 12-year-old. One of our EMS supervisors made a quick decision to request EMA Director Pierce to quickly position his response vehicle that is equipped with a heavy-duty winch, so that the ¾-ton emergency response truck could pull the damaged truck off the car, allowing quicker access for the use of rescue tools to free patients from entrapment. Lt. Josh Lackey with Springfield FD Engine 2, A Shift, oversaw extrication and rescue efforts. Law enforcement officers and everyone worked to do everything possible to get access to the girl and control the scene. 911 callers had given useful information under stress, so our teams knew what resources were needed and allowed us to get them there quickly.
“While trapped in the vehicle, paramedics were already inside working to resuscitate the young lady. Once she was rescued with the help of EMA and Fire, she was moved into Medic 11. The young lady’s condition was so critical that at one point she had six paramedics working on her at the same time. Air medical (helicopter ambulance) support was unavailable at the time, and given the ETA of the nearest helicopter, crews decided ground transport remained the fastest option. Robertson EMS paramedics administered emergency medications necessary to intubate the young lady to protect her airway and manage her breathing, which had almost stopped when she was in the car. She was transported emergency traffic to an initial destination of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville. During transport, as Medic 11 got closer to Skyline Medical Center, a decision had to be made to keep going or divert to Skyline at that moment. The team of paramedics agreed that stopping at Skyline to further stabilize her condition was the best decision. At that time, we were all very concerned that this young lady might not survive. Our telecommunicators in the 911 dispatch center took a radio report from our medics in transport and then quickly phoned Skyline to let them know to be ready and that there was a need to stop and stabilize. The team at TriStar Skyline Medical Center helped stabilize and then even provided a respiratory therapist and an RN to help manage the ventilator in transport to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
“Our personnel stayed close with our ambulance ready to go at Skyline and once it was time to move the young lady to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, no time was wasted having to await transport from another resource. I am proud of our team for staying with this young lady and seeing it through to get her where she needed to be. The teams at both hospitals did an excellent job as always. We were very worried that this horrible accident would claim two lives, but thanks to bystanders who called 911 quickly and stayed calm, very fast response times, and an incredible team effort, this young lady is still alive and reported to have a favorable outcome. We ask everyone to keep her in your thoughts and prayers for continued healing and support as she did lose her mother in this crash. The gentleman in the truck was in stable condition during his transport via EMS to TriStar NorthCrest. His family also came to the scene and were very supportive and helped ensure he was in good hands.
“As mentioned, one of the lieutenants with our colleagues at Springfield FD who is a family member of the lady and 12-year-old female involved in the crash was on duty at the main station off Central Avenue. By the time he found out the crash involved family members, other colleague responders had her rescued and in transport to the trauma centers. One of our paramedics umpires baseball and softball games in Greenbrier on her off-duty days and knew this young lady from being involved in sports. Our paramedic, Mary Grasso, who knows the young lady as an athlete, said, “She’s a fighter on the softball field, so I know she is fighting hard right now.” This shows how we have a closely connected community in Robertson County. It is also good to know we can trust each other to do our jobs well in times like this. This is what we do, we take care of our people, our family, friends, and neighbors.
“We shared this update with permission of the family of the young lady because they wanted to be sure to let our community know how the young lady was doing and share that they appreciate the prayers and support as they navigate the days ahead after losing one of their family members. I commend the team at our RobCo E-911 dispatch center for keeping things well organized and coordinating a rapid response. I also appreciate the members of our department’s critical incident stress management/debriefing team for coming in off duty in the late hours to check on their colleagues and offer support. We are thankful for the work done by those who cared for this young lady, and most of all for the prayers of so many in this community.” Robertson County EMS Director Brent Dyer
