Reviving a hypothermic man whose life was spared by a quick-thinking train conductor would make for an unusual shift for any ambulance crew.
But before their shift was over, the same Metro Atlanta Ambulance Service crew working in Cobb County on Friday was also hit by two different drivers.
“It was quite the traumatic shift for the Metro crew,” Marietta police spokesman Officer Chuck McPhilamy said.
The day started with a call about a man who had fallen on some train tracks. The man, who was homeless, had become hypothermic and could not get up as a CSX freight train approached about 10:40 a.m., according to police.
Because of the “swift action” of the conductor, the train was able to slow to a stop before hitting the man, McPhilamy said. Authorities had to shut down the tracks in order for the EMTs to load him onto a rescue basket and carry him a quarter-mile over loose gravel to the waiting ambulance.
“They first tried to get him to stand up and walk, but there was just no way,” McPhilamy said. “His extremities were too cold; he couldn’t even move.”
He was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment.
“CSX commends the swift actions our crew displayed in Marietta,” the company said in a statement Monday. “Railroad operations can be dangerous. Fortunately, no one was injured. This is an important reminder to stay away from railroad tracks.”
The ambulance crew enjoyed a few hours of relative normalcy until about 6:30 p.m., according to spokesman Dennis Westover. With lights and siren activated, the crew was en route to respond to an emergency when their ambulance was hit by another driver, Westover told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Driving on Concord Road, the ambulance was crossing the intersection with South Cobb Drive when another driver veered around a bus that had stopped for the emergency vehicle, Westover said. The driver hit the ambulance “in a T-bone kind of action,” Westover said. The accident was minor for the ambulance, and another unit was dispatched to handle the emergency.
“We have to stop and comply with the usual laws,” Westover said about the wreck. After Smyrna police responded to the scene and cleared the accident, the ambulance crew returned to their shift.
The second accident happened near the end of the ambulance crew’s 12-hour shift. Police were notified around 9:45 p.m. that the ambulance had been blindsided on Fairground Street near Freyer Drive.
The road is a divided highway with two lanes on either side. The driver was accused of running a stop sign “at a high speed” before striking the side of the ambulance, according to police.
“We have these move-over laws for a reason and every time we write the ticket, and I mean without fail, people say, ‘I didn’t know this was a law,’” McPhilamy said. “It’s just unfathomable that people wouldn’t slow down and move over for emergency vehicles, but they don’t.”
He said the ambulance driver was not at fault in either wreck and could not have done anything to avoid being hit.
“This is just sadly a case of bad drivers not paying attention,” police said on Facebook.
According to Westover, the same ambulance crew was back on the road Monday. “We all kind of recognize that, with this job, there are no normal days,” he said.
However, the crew was forced to acknowledge their unusually eventful Friday shift. “They did say it felt like they had a bull’s-eye on them,” Westover said.
