The Boating Accident

It was a nice summer day in about 1998, and we had been very busy. The county ambulance service that I had been working for, normally operated with 3 ambulances a day, but since we were so busy, we had to put 2 more trucks in service. All 5 trucks were running pretty regularly, and we had already worked 2 fatality car accidents. In fact, one of our trucks was had just been toned off to go to a third accident, that sounded pretty serious. My partner and I had gotten the short end of the stick. We were stuck doing local convalescent runs, and anyone in EMS knows how much you grow to despise them. We were just unloading a patient at the hospital, when dispatch radioed that she needed ambulances available for something at a local state park. Since none of our trucks were available, my partner and I expedited in delivering our patient to the hospital, so we could be available for the run. We marked available, and dispatch told us to head to the scene, but that she did not know what the problem was. She said that someone from the park had called and requested a lot of ambulances, but did not stay on the phone long enough to explain why. This immediately sent everyone in high gear. We knew it had to be something big, but we could only prepare for the worst. My partner and I proceeded to the scene as quickly as we could. It was about a 10 mile drive, but we made it in less than 10 minutes through the country. Upon our arrival, the gate keeper of the park told us that there was a boating accident. We kind of settled down a little bit, thinking that most boats only carry 2 or 4 people. Little did we know what we were in for. As we approached the water edge, we did not see anything. We were the first to arrive, and there was only a park ranger standing along the shore. We pulled up to the edge, and he told us that the victims were being brought to us on a large pontoon boat. That's when I looked up and noticed what was coming. It was a very large flat boat, and we could tell there were a lot of people on it. As it approached, we could see several patients lying on the boat, and beyond it, was yet another boat coming in with more. We were in way over our heads, and so far, we were all by ourselves. As the boats made shore, we could count about 20 people that appeared to be injured. Some were able to stand, while others were lying and seemed barely alive. We immediately began to triage the wounded, and luckily help was now arriving. Several of the victims suffered only minor scrapes, but there were a few that had serious injuries. We started to send the "Walking wounded" to a place along the beach that was out of the way, and this gave us the ability to see the extent of serious injuries. One guy that appeared to be mid 40s had some obvious chest damage, and by exam, we could tell he was suffering a pneumothorax. A pneumothorax is when a lung is punctured that allows air to escape into the chest. This air eventually builds pressure inside the chest, and collapses the lungs. This patient was sent as a priority, and a medic managed to successfully treat him enroute to the hospital. Another patient had a partially amputated foot, and was stabilized at the scene, then sent to a distant hospital. After about 30 minutes, we were able to get everyone transported. Some were taken to a local hospital, while others were taken to distant hospitals in an attempt to keep our small local hospital from being overwhelmed. We were just starting to think that everyone might live to see another day, when we were told some bad news that two young children were still missing. A 9 y/o boy and his 13 y/o sister were missing. Reports from the other stated that the boy was last seen swimming toward shore, while an uncle stated he seen the little girl floundering in the water and tried to help her. He said he went under water and pushed her to the surface, but in doing so, it sent him deeper into the water. He stated that by the time he made it back to the surface, she was gone. He tried to dive and find her again, but had no luck, and he only hoped that she was able to somehow make it to another person. The accident happened at about 3pm, but the search for the missing lasted well into the next evening. My partner and I stayed to aid in the search, as well as be on hand incase we were needed by the divers, or anyone else. At about 6 pm the next day, the 2 children were found. We were secretly notified, so that the press did not rush to the location and make a tragedy even worse by reporting it from the scene. My partner and I went to the location of the divers, and prepared to transport them to the morgue. I will never forget what I seen on those kids' faces. It was obvious why the boy was not able to make it. He had suffered a severe injury to his leg, and could not have possible been able to swim far. The girl was found with her hands still cupped over her mouth, as if she was trying to block the water from coming in. It is an image that I will never forget, and one that I will see every time I see people swimming in a large body of water. The reports of the accident were given to us a couple of days later. It seems that both of the drivers had been drinking, and one of the boats was towing a tube with a small child and an infant in it. The second boat rounded a corner and seen them in his path, but was unable to steer away from the boat. The second boat "T-Boned" the boat towing the tube, and cut it completely in half. Both boats were destroyed, and it sent a total of 16 passengers threw the wreckage, and into the water. Blood alcohol tests were positive for both drivers, and the small boy that was killed even tested positive for marijuana. It makes you wonder, just how things may have been different if drugs and alcohol were not involved. The day ended quietly. It was a sad day for sure, and one that about 50 EMS, fire, and police workers will never forget. My sympathies to the family of the children that were killed, and one can only pray that you never have to go through that type of ordeal.