It was a mess: three cars all crushed together, bloody victims, concerned citizens yelling about bodies being pinned under cars and media getting in the way of people trying to do their job.

Saturday, May 06, 2000

It was a mess: three cars all crushed together, bloody victims, concerned citizens yelling about bodies being pinned under cars and media getting in the way of people trying to do their job.

Even though the occasional smile slipped onto the face of someone pretending to be a victim, the students trying to save them were all business.

"Could you please step back ma’am, no photos," one told the newspaper photographer.

"This one is D.O.A." another said. "What was the time of death?"

"Calm down," Riverland freshman Stacy Freeman told the probable cause of the accident, holding his head. "You need to stay still – you’ll be alright."

Freeman said she was glad she ended up helping the drunk accident victim, played by Jason Mindrup of the Austin Police Department, because he was one of the toughest to deal with. She figures the tougher the practice, the better her response when the accident isn’t simulated.

"I’m glad I knew what I was doing," Freeman said afterwards. "I was worried, but as soon as things started happening, I knew what to do. Bleeding, open wounds, it all came back.

In total, the Riverland American Red Cross Emergency Responder class had to deal with seven victims in three cars at their final practical on Saturday. There was the drunk guy, who was pinned underneath his car until the fire department could get there; the family of four who weren’t wearing seatbelts, and the two teenage girls who had to be cut out of the third car.

Instructor Kurt Zehnder said overall, he was very pleased with his students’ performance.

"Wonderful," was his comment after it was all over. "Yes, there were some things I was concerned about, but this was the first time for them. It’s gonna be that way. The point is, they were thinking about what was going on, thinking about their patients."

Zehnder’s brother Tim, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, was one of the people evaluating the students’ performance. He and the other evaluators judged on professionalism, knowledge, extrication, use of resources and responsibility as a first responder.

"They saw something here that was pretty realistic," Tim Zehnder said. "You can’t pull off something of this magnitude every day. They did well."

While Kurt Zehnder was the director who orchestrated the mock disaster, the instructor and police officer was quick to credit the other people and agencies that helped make it all happen. On the thank you list was Midtown Auto Clinic, the Austin police and fire departments, Sgt. John Mueller of the Safe and Sober Program, Gold Cross ambulance, the Red Cross, Godfather’s Pizza, the four others who were wandering the scene with clipboards and all the people who roll-played to make the scene that much more realistic.

"A lot of people helped, but I have to give the kids in the class a lot of credit," Zehnder said. "These guys and girls worked very hard. They all passed, and they will all get their First Responder cards today."

Some of his students are studying Law Enforcement, others hope to be nurses. A few are undecided.

Freeman thinks she wants to do something in the medical field, but she isn’t sure. No matter what she decides, though, she’s pleased to be getting her First Responder card.

"I’m glad I know this," she said. "Now if something happens, at least I can get out and do something, not just drive by."