June 4, 2000 –
“91/94, you have a stat run MVA. Your time is 15:51.”
Radio static crackled behind the dispatcher’s urgent voice.
The paramedic grabbed his gear and hurried toward the ambulance at Bates County Memorial Hospital in Butler, Missouri. Bursting through the bay doors, he slid into the passenger seat on a balmy June Sunday where his EMT partner already waited with the motor running. Sirens blared as they pulled away. He recorded the time – 3:53 p.m. – and turned up the volume on the VHF radio scanner hoping to hear more detail from the Sheriff’s office.
“There’s a 1050 on the Miami Creek Bridge, a J-2, possibly a J-4.”
They knew the codes well – injury accident, possibly a fatality. Pressing calls were the nature of their job. They knew there was no time to waste. Speeding down southbound Highway 71 toward the Miami Creek Bridge, every minute counted. Delays could mean the difference between life and death.
As they neared the bridge, traffic slowed and surrendered to the emergency entourage. Suddenly a white van, flipped on its side, popped into view. Behind it, a battered, roofless utility trailer slumped on 3 wheels. At 3:58 they pulled beside the wreckage and jumped out. A state trooper pointed toward a bloody heap against the concrete barrier.
“Your fatality is over there on the bridge,” he directed.
The experienced paramedic didn’t doubt the trooper’s words as he neared the body. Obviously thrown from the vehicle at high speed, this woman most likely died on impact. He quickly brushed the bystanders aside and knelt down beside her. In all his years of service, he never saw anyone survive injuries as severe as these, but touching the woman’s shoulder, he was taken by surprise.
“Please God, help me…,” she gasped…