Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace | Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith, 89th Communications Squadron program manager, inspects a work...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. – An 89th Communications Squadron Airman saved the life of a middle-aged Washington, D.C. woman after witnessing her car crash on Interstate 495, Oct. 16, 2014.
Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith, a Hinesville, Georgia, native stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, saw her car hit a tree before rolling, rushed to aid and extinguished the burning car, before helping stabilize the victim on the side of one the nation’s busiest highways.
Smith was on leave that day and came to base for a retirement and was heading toward a shopping mall when he saw the accident unfold.
Pulling over and taking out his mobile phone, Smith started to dial 911 when he saw another bystander already on the line with emergency services. From a short distance back, the wrecked car looked to be in bad shape, so Smith knew he had to act, he said.
“I was surprised when I ran up and saw the mangled car, I really thought whoever was inside must me dead,” said Smith, who works a desk job at the 89th CS as a program manager. “When I got to the car I could see an older Hispanic woman in the driver seat and she wasn’t able to really move.”
Smith yelled to the woman asking if she was alright and if anything was broken; he could see she had a laceration on her hand, which was bleeding.
The dazed woman’s responses were inaudible so Smith began to try to force her door open, which was impossible because of the state of the car smashed down into the ground. Meanwhile, emergency responders arrived on scene. A few other civilians also stopped to offer help.
As Smith worked to free the woman, he heard an onlooker shout, “Fire!”
As Smith was trying to pry the door open, the front of the car had ignited into flames. Acting quickly, Smith and one of the emergency responders accessed the crashed car through the back, pulled the victim over the front seats and removed her from the rear. Once the 62-year-old woman, identified only as "Hilda," was safely out of the fire, another emergency responder rushed in to assess wounds.
Scanning, Smith saw a bystander holding a fire extinguisher she had in her car. Smith rushed over and retrieved the extinguisher, then put out the flames.
“I would have absolutely gone into that burning car even if it was engulfed in flames and we couldn’t get the fire out,” said Smith. “There’s no way I could sit by idle and watch someone burn alive.”
Fortunately such wasn’t the case and neither Smith, Hilda or the emergency responder were burned.
“Smith has a natural calling for leadership,” said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Zeeb, Smith’s supervisor. “He’s got such a great sense of humor; he’s humble and really cares about people. He’s very much what you’d call a people’s person.”
Once the scene was safe, Smith noticed one of the emergency responders was stabilizing the woman’s neck, but looked fatigued.
Smith asked if she needed a break, to which she replied, “Are you qualified to do this,” said Smith. Explaining that he was military was enough. The responder moved over and Smith laid near the victim’s head, bracing it with his forearms.
“I felt completely confident the whole time. Had I not had the training the Air Force has given me, I may not have even stopped,” Smith said.
Smith was recognized by Col. John Millard, 89th Airlift Wing commander, in a recognition ceremony, here, Oct. 22.
“The way you represented Joint Base Andrews and the 89th Airlift Wing was top-notch, we couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said Millard. “Had you not stepped in, extinguished that fire and acted quickly, the results could have been much different.”
Smith agreed and believes most Airmen would have done the same, he said.
“Take your training seriously,” said Smith. “You never know when you’re going to need to use it.”
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2014 13:24 |
| Story ID: | 145993 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD, US |
| Hometown: | HINESVILLE, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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