Whiteman Airmen, civilian respond to accident, saves man's life Published Dec. 20, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Danielle Wolf 442nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Two Air Force reservists and a civilian employee, all from here, were first responders after witnessing a car accident, Monday. Heading westbound on Missouri Highway 50, Maj. Ryan Hodges, 303rd Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, was behind a white van when he saw it strike a southbound pickup truck trying to cross the intersection. "It looked like the van was fishtailing, until I saw a pickup truck spin into a nearby ditch," he said. Hodges parked his vehicle in a nearby parking lot and crossed two lanes of traffic to check on the passengers in the van and the truck. A few cars behind Hodges, Master Sgt. Nate Parks, 303rd Fighter Squadron aviation resource manager, was giving a ride to Brian Tripp, 509th Bomb Wing ground safety manager, when he saw several cars ahead of him slamming on their breaks. As Parks assessed the situation ahead, he saw Hodges in the ditch. "My first reaction was, 'Buster was in a car accident; We have to stop and help him,'" Parks said. "As we got closer to the scene though, I noticed his car in a nearby parking lot. I saw him over by the pickup truck and knew he would need help." The pickup truck was parked safely in a ditch, but the van was still straddling two lanes of westbound traffic with cars quickly passing by, Parks said. After checking on the two people in the van and seeing that they were coherent, Hodges went to the pickup truck, where the driver had been badly injured. "He wasn't breathing, and I couldn't find a pulse," he said. "I had tried calling 9-1-1 a couple times, but the call wouldn't go through, so I had to leave the man to ask someone to call 9-1-1. I knew we were going to need help." While Hodges ran to get emergency assistance, Tripp attended to the driver and passenger of the van, and Parks began trying to get the attention of the man in the pickup truck, who wasn't conscious at the time. "We had all tried to open his door, but it was crushed so badly, that none of us could get it open," Parks said. "The man had lacerations on his body, and there wasn't much we could do - so I cleared his airway and started chest compressions." Parks, a former police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, said he knew this wasn't the ideal situation to perform CPR and first aid - with the man pinned to his driver's seat - but he said he had no choice. "I couldn't go home that night and be wondering if I could have done more," he said. "At that point, I knew he needed help and I had to do everything I could." Eventually, the man began breathing and regained his pulse. Parks continued to talk to the man hoping to elicit a response from him. After a while, the man held his head up, which Parks later said felt like a small victory. According to Parks and Hodges, emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene in 12 to 14 minutes. Parks briefed the paramedics, and was then asked to continue assisting the EMTs. "They handed me a neck brace to put on the man, and then they handed me bandages to apply to his wounds," he said. The man was taken by ambulance to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Mo. where he was listed in critical condition. "(That night) I called some people I knew and told them this man was going to need prayer," Parks said. "So (the next day) my pastor went to go visit the guy in the hospital since I had to work." For Parks, passing the scene without stopping wasn't an option. "Driving by without helping would have been the wrong thing to do," he said. "I lost a spouse in a car accident several years ago. I just think to myself, what if that were my father in that car. I would want someone to help, even if it was just talking to him and trying to comfort him." Hodges said he felt no hesitation as he stopped and assessed the initial scene. "It didn't cross my mind to keep going," Hodges said. "People like Nate and I are young and able-bodied - that's not the case for everybody who witnesses an accident - but like for us, I don't know how you couldn't stop." This was not the first time any of them have responded in an emergency. In the late '90s, Hodges assisted a driver whose car had been overtaken by flood waters. Parks performed CPR on a congregation member in his church for 45 minutes in 2001 after the man suffered a fatal heart attack. Hodges is a traditional reservist from Lee's Summit, Mo. As a civilian, he is a government contractor. Parks is an air reserve technician from Kansas City, Mo.