Crash: Some Tips Lessons Learned

I was first on the scene of a crash this morning between a cyclist and a runner at MM 11 on the MVT (Old Town). It’s actually a rather dangerous spot, 3-way trail intersection adjacent to a blind curve.

What happened: cyclist rang bell to pass runner; runner had music buds in both ears, never heard the warning; turned left into the passing cyclist, causing her to crash. Cyclist sustained head, shoulder, and leg injuries, as well as facial, arm and leg lacerations, and was in mild shock. (BTW, lest we get too smug about the runner guilty of causing this, let me say that at least half of my warnings given to other cyclists when passing fall on deaf ears because they too are budded up in both ears and hear nothing.)

Some tips and lessons:

If nobody has done so already, take charge of the scene, i.e., direct people who stop to help to do specific things. Examples:

I asked one person to position herself around the other side of the blind curve to warn approaching cyclists and get them to slow down.

I asked another to position himself at the nearest road intersection adjacent to the trail to flag down the responding EMS folks and guide them from the road to the trail location.

As 911 will either request that someone stay on the line, or provide a call back number they can use if needed for further info regarding patient’s injuries/condition and/or directions, I asked a third person do that.

– Provide first aid as appropriate. Important considerations are to keep the injured person still to preclude further injury, and talk to them with the intent of calming them (helps with shock). After the obvious back and forth about their injuries, let them know that the worst is over, they’re going to be okay, and that help has been contacted and will be there in a few minutes. Then change the subject, as that will help with the effort to calm them. (I got her to tell me about her husband and their recent move here from CA.)

– 911: The following, I think, are the most important lessons learned.

1. Calling 911 from a cell phone is not supposed to be tricky business, but it is. The first call was answered by a person saying “911 what is your emergency?” I assumed (wrongly!) that I was talking to Alexandria City. She took all the relevant info, seemed very unfamiliar with the location, but said the call would be entered. 10 minutes pass: nothing.

The second call was answered by a person saying “Prince George’s County 911, what is your emergency?” Now I understood, you never know which tower a cell phone will ‘ping” to!

I asked her if she could transfer me to Alex City (which is what the first person should have done automatically), she did, they took the call and the responders were at the scene in four minutes.

Lesson: when you call 911, if they don’t ID which call center you’ve reached (i.e., PG, Alex, Arl, Fairfax, etc.), ask. If it’s not the location you’re in, ask to be transferred, then confirm with the next person that you are now indeed talking to the right place.

2. We denizens of the trails live and die by MMs and landmarks. 911 centers and first responders know little to nothing of these things. It is critical that you provide nearest street location to where you are on the trail. For example, in this case it was the intersection of Fairfax and 3rd Streets in Old Town.

3. When EMS gets there, tell them what injuries you have observed, and those that the injured person has told you about (i.e., what hurts), ask if they need anything else from you, and ultimately, whether you can now depart.

As you roll away, in your thoughts, give thanks that it wasn’t your day in the barrel, think good thoughts for the injured’s recovery, and vow to ride, run, and walk as safely as you can, every day!