Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Davella | 210711-N-OX029-1001 NORFOLK (July 11, 2021) - A graphic was created in Adobe...... read more read more
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The vehicle lies on its side with the wheels still spinning, broken glass is scattered about as fluids and oil seep onto the road while countless of other drivers zoom by at 50 to 60 miles per hour. The red SUV is flipped over on Highway 264. Inside the vehicle is a young woman, whose head is bloodied, and her shaking dog is just trying to stay as close to her as possible.
Most of us would join the majority and tap our brakes as we look upon someone’s terrible day as we continue with ours. But, one Sailor didn’t think to help; he just did.
Aviation Boatswains Mate (Handler) 3rd Class Zachary Nashan, a Sailor assigned to USS Wasp (LHD 1), pulled over immediately to assist the woman. He ran up and attempted to get inside the crashed vehicle to help the driver. Each of the doors of the vehicle were stuck shut from the damage acquired from the accident; however, he was able to break open the trunk gaining access to the rest of the SUV.
When he entered the vehicle, he noticed tools everywhere – scattered throughout the interior. “There was debris everywhere, and the inside of the vehicle was tossed-and-turned,” said Nashan.
He saw the dog was sitting on her, so the first course of action he took was to get the dog out of the SUV. By this time, two US Army soldiers had seen Nashan assisting the woman and pulled over to lend assistance.
Nashan noticed the woman’s head was bloodied from cuts obtained during the accident.
“She was conscious but also in an out,” said Nashan. “She was just moaning and groaning from the pain.”
As he pulled the shaking dog from the vehicle, the soldiers lent assistance by preventing the dog from reentering the vehicle or wandering into traffic as first responders arrived at the scene. The woman was treated by on scene professionals and both she and her dog are okay.
“I’m just glad her life and her dog’s life weren’t taken that day. I feel relieved for her and I hope she’s doing better today,” said Nashan. “Honestly, I don’t know what made me stop – it was an in-the-moment type of thing.”
He saw what happened and did not think; he acted. He said all he cared about was doing whatever he could for her and did not care about the risks to himself.
“I’m glad I was there," said Nashan. "I think if I hadn’t gone in there and did what I did, I believe worse things could’ve happened."
He believes that his Navy training helped him to get access to the vehicle but he states that anyone who stopped would have been able to do what he did. Nashan says, “I think if someone has the power in themselves to be able to put themselves out there like I did, then everyone can do it.”
But, not everyone would stop. It takes a certain caliber of person to not only stop, but to also put themselves in harm’s way for someone else. Every person is capable of doing something heroic, but not everyone is willing to be the hero like Nashan was that afternoon.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2021 20:46 |
| Story ID: | 412284 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Crash Response: Nashan's Story, by PO1 Benjamin Davella, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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