Photo courtesy of Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness.
First responders from the Emery County Ambulance, Emery County Fire Protection District, Emery County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol and Sevier County EMS were recently recognized by the Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness (BEMSP). The Outstanding Performance in a Mass Emergency Medical Incident Award was presented to these entities at a ceremony on Wednesday in Draper.
The recognition stems from an incident on Dec. 31 after Emery County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a call from a very confused and distressed woman who stated that the bus she had been riding in had crashed and landed in a ditch.
“She wasn’t sure where she was, how the accident happened, or even which direction the bus had been traveling,” BEMSP shared. “She indicated that everyone was sleeping when they were suddenly thrown around violently and that she woke up when the bus crashed. The caller and a few others managed to climb out the windows and hiked up to the interstate hoping to get cell service.”
The woman managed to make the call and dispatchers worked to pinpoint the location of the accident. Unfortunately, the locating technology was not able to help due to the remote location.
“Dispatchers kept her on the phone while they sent first responders,” BEMSP shared. “Fortunately, a citizen traveling that same stretch of road saw some of the victims and stopped to help. It took nearly 30 minutes, but the accident was finally located.”
By the time the accident was located, dispatchers had determined that there were more than 10 passengers who needed medical attention. Additional resources were paged, including seven ground ambulances, three medical helicopters and fire departments from nearby cities.
“Once on scene, investigators determined the Greyhound Bus had been traveling westbound on Interstate 70 after leaving Green River on the way to Las Vegas, Nevada,” BEMSP said. “The bus went off the right shoulder of the freeway near the Devil’s Canyon view area, down into a steep wash, coming to rest about 200 feet off the interstate. The bus carried 12 passengers and one driver.”
A 13-year-old passenger died at the scene. The driver and two passengers were transported in serious condition by air while the remaining 10 were transported for medical attention by ground ambulance. More than 50 first responders from seven different agencies were at the scene.
“Many of those first responders were volunteers who worked diligently in the cold and chaos extricating the victims, securing them to backboards and carrying them up and out of the ravine,” BEMSP said.
Response efforts involved fire departments from Emery, Ferron and Orangeville; law enforcement officers from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office and Utah Highway Patrol; ambulance crews from Green River, Ferron, Orangeville, Castle Dale, Huntington and Richfield; and medical helicopters from Classic Air in Moab and Vernal as well as Mountain Star Air Care from Payson. Those injured received medical attention in Grand Junction, Provo, Richfield and Price.
“Emery County is a large rural county that relies on a small number of volunteers to cover a very large area in an emergency situation,” BEMSP concluded. “Citizens and visitors are fortunate to have volunteers who are skilled, knowledgeable and willing to serve at any given moment.”