50 car accident, Level 3 MCI, Sarasota, Florida

Chimpie

Site Administrator
Community Leader
Messages
6,371
Reaction score
823
Points
113
SARASOTA - Southbound Interstate 75 has been closed for more than two hours at the University Parkway overpass, and there is no telling when it will be reopened this evening after a 50-car pileup.

Witnesses and drivers say a heavy rainstorm contributed to the crash, which sent 20 people to area hospitals in ambulances, including two trauma patients who were flown by helicopter. About 30 more people were checked on the scene for minor injuries.

Officials cautioned to avoid the area, where damaged and undamaged cars are sitting in the roadway as a convoy of tow trucks moves them or clears a path so they can be moved. Transit buses moved some people out of the immediate area.

This is the exit by my house.

Linky: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121005/BREAKING/121009788/2416/NEWS

Photo gallery also at the above link.
 
here is the all important question: since it was right by your home, did you head over in your POV before EMS arrived to help out?

Inquiring ricky rescues want to know....
 
No, I don't play EMS anymore.
 
Seems like every few months you Floridians have some sort of MVC MCI involving dozens of cars...
 
Seems like every few months you Floridians have some sort of MVC MCI involving dozens of cars...

It's gotta be all the old drivers....
 
Or just the fact that it is Florida. There is a reason the state is the only state to have its own Fark tag.
 
It's gotta be all the old drivers....

Mix a state full of old people driving and throw in some rain and its amazing it only happens every so often. Haha
 
This is my exit, also. This happened about 10 minutes before my service (which is stationed in an ER) got put on standby for a Bayflite (our chopper service in the area). Bayflite then got re-routed for 2 of the trauma alerts that got called from the car accident, pushing my patient back until 5pm.... I would be shocked if the patient makes it.

Additionally, watched a video where they interviewed a young kid and he said his car was totaled. Looked like he was pretty happy about it...
 
Fark.com

News aggregation site. Users submit links to interesting/funny news articles. The links are all tagged with a single tag, like "Stupid", "Hero", "NewsFlash" etc. Florida is the only state with its own tag because so much idiotic crap happens there.
http://fark.com
 
Anyone ever remember Adam Carolla playing "Germany or Florida" on Loveline back in the good ole days?
 
here is the all important question: since it was right by your home, did you head over in your POV before EMS arrived to help out?

Inquiring ricky rescues want to know....

I know that 3 years ago I was clearly a whacker. At the time I would have just said eager but yeah I was all "must maintain state of catlike readiness" with an ear to the scanner. Some months later I gave away my BLS bag, and last week I drove past a 4 car accident on my way to my shift without stopping (all indications were it was minor).

But is there a point when you're not a whacker and you are truly needed? I've got to believe you could show up at a 50 car wreck and be put to good use, assuming of course that you present yourself to ICS command for assignment.
 
But is there a point when you're not a whacker and you are truly needed? I've got to believe you could show up at a 50 car wreck and be put to good use, assuming of course that you present yourself to ICS command for assignment.

I think it depends where you are.

This happened on a county line (literally, the overpass is on top of the line) and units from both counties responded. Both counties have top notch fire and ems crews, and the incident command system works well here.

There was (and is) plenty of help available in these types of incidents. Both 911-EMS are gov't (county) based and there are two fairly large private ambulance services as back ups.

If you just showed up at this particular scene and command was set up, you'd probably be asked to leave.

Now, take this scene and place it in rural Indiana, where personnel is limited to volunteers, fire/ems stations are far away, and the overall number of ambulances is limited, yeah, you might be able to help out.
 
Back
Top