Courtesy Photo | Capt. Jimm Dodd, left, and 2nd Lt. Phillip Compean load a stretcher onto an ambulance...... read more read more
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With more than one million vehicles on the road in a country roughly the size of Rhode Island, getting from place to place in Kuwait can get very dangerous.
Other than the usual call to emergency services most people just pass by an accident they see on the road. On Oct. 2 however, two Third Army/U.S. Army Central Soldiers stationed at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, played the role of good Samaritans.
When 2nd Lt. Phillip Compean, platoon leader for 708th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance), saw a vehicle in his rear view mirror get cut off while moving at a high speed the first thing that popped into his mind was "This is going to be bad."
"(The vehicle) came by us like it was shot from a cannon," said Capt. Jimm Dodd, commander of the 708th Medical Company (GA).
Reacting quickly to the situation Compean slowed the vehicle and moved to the right to avoid the approaching vehicle. After being cut off the vehicle lost control and flipped onto its side before slamming into a pole in front of Compean's vehicle, said Compean.
Along with Compean and Dodd two Kellogg Brown and Root civilians were also in the vehicle. They were on their way to lease ambulances for use while in Kuwait, when the accident occurred, Dodd said.
"As the vehicle passed by us it was close enough for us to see their faces," said Dodd. "You could see the look of panic on the drivers face as he tried to regain control of the vehicle."
Reacting quickly to the situation, Compean pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. He and Dodd then approached the vehicle to render aid to the victims, said Compean.
Before they could aid the victims they had to be moved to a safe distance from the wreck. One of the KBR civilians with Dodd and Compean acted as a translator and assisted in communicating with the driver.
The driver had suffered fractures to his lower extremities and hands. The passenger, who was unconscious due to an obvious head injury, suffered fractures to his legs and hands, and injuries to his chest from the collision with the dashboard, Dodd said.
They provided aid to the victims with only an Individual Lifesaving Kit and PVC pipe, and scraps of clothing for splints.
"We made due with what we had," Compean said.
Both Soldiers stayed with the victims until the ambulance arrived 20 minutes after the initial call was placed to emergency services.
Though Compean and Dodd felt good about what they had done they saw it as their duty to employ their medical training when it was needed.
"It couldn't have been more perfect that we were there to help those people," Dodd said.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 10.07.2007 05:49 |
| Story ID: | 12736 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 139 |
This work, Soldiers save lives on Kuwaiti highway, by SPC Christopher Grammer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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