• Mike Forman •
• Originally published January 24, 2009 at 6:10 p.m., updated January 24, 2009 at 6:10 p.m.

As Yogi Berra once said, it was déjà vu all over again.

The pager is beeping. It's dark, and I fumble to find it next to the bed. The pager reads 9-1-1, and without glasses, I can barely make out 4 something on the pager's clock.

The combination of the pager message, darkness and time suddenly brings on that sinking feeling. I call the fire dispatcher. Lori Kliem tells me we have a large bus rollover on U.S. Highway 59. They are dispatching many more units than the usual initial response. A pickup has also run into it with smoke now visible and, "It's bad."

Quail Creek Volunteer Fire Chief Ron Kramer arrives on the scene and immediately asks for a large wrecker in case we need to lift the bus off some victims. A radio report from the scene indicates severe trauma injuries and at least 25 to 30 walking wounded.

The déjà vu clears - same highway, same darkness, same initial casualty reports, roughly same time, just freezing instead of stifling humidity. The illegal immigrant tragedy of 2003 arises out of buried memory.

First lesson previously learned: Notify the local hospitals ASAP. It takes time for additional doctors, nurses and hospital staff to get to the hospitals. We contact the hospitals' emergency departments directly by radio to give them some minimal information, ask them to activate their disaster plans and send a hospital rep to the scene.

Incident Commander Battalion Chief Roger Hempel is on the scene. He radios for helicopters and is requesting additional resources. The situation is very serious.

This time there is another giant box with injured coming out of it, standing around it, and being carried out of it by firefighters. This time the box is on its side instead of upright. Another previous lesson learned. Establish Incident Command and Unified Command with other agencies as soon as possible. So the Sheriff's Office Incident Commander, John Kasper, soon joins with Roger to coordinate resources.

Arriving on the scene, in the low light, I can see people near the bus, standing in coats and hoods covering their heads - some in groups, some alone, some sitting on the ground. A small team of firefighter-paramedics move quickly among them, triaging. The worst go first. Good.

Some of the people in coats turn toward me, a few at a time, with shock on their faces. Only then is the seriousness apparent as the blood on the coats and around their faces become visible. Serious trauma wounds are hidden by coats, hoods and darkness. It is still a horrific site, even to the experienced.

The triage officer tells me Spanish is the only language used by the patients. With serious injuries hidden from the cold and, initially, only one firefighter on the scene speaking Spanish, accurate triage is going to be very difficult. Just like the previous incident, there are many injured, scared patients we can't easily communicate with to assist.

But, it's going to be OK. Once again, Victoria will step up to the plate. Career and volunteer fire departments will work together with private ambulance companies, medical helicopters, wrecker companies, dispatchers, law enforcement agencies and mutual aid from surrounding counties to deliver patients to two hospitals geared up with additional doctors, nurses, technicians and staff.

Forty-six patients will be triaged, treated, transported to the hospital and in good care in less than 80 minutes. Good Samaritans and local charities will aid those who are stranded from out of town. The Texas Regional Trauma System will spool up, coordinating patient transfers from our trauma service area into higher levels of care into the San Antonio Trauma Service area and elsewhere.

Victoria sits at a crossroads of three major U.S. highways. These major highways carry human cargo (legally and illegally) and hazardous materials. These commodities pass through Victoria and/or are delivered into Victoria. U.S. Highway 59, a North American Free Trade Agreement highway (the future I-69), brings international commerce to and through us. This is good for Victoria in terms of economic development, growth and jobs - a welcome advantage in times of national economic downturn.

However, both in study and actual incidents, it is clear that these highways also bring additional burdens to law enforcement and to limited emergency response resources.

Having worked elsewhere, I know firsthand what a special place our community is when it comes to responding to tragedies. I know of horror stories from other places in Texas and around the nation where agencies argue at emergency scenes, elected officials fight about emergency response, and citizens are apathetic. We are so blessed, that in Victoria, we all drop our egos, roll up our sleeves and get to work helping others in times of tragedy, regardless of the circumstances of that tragedy.

The bus accident could have been much worse.

A few more feet to the right and the bus would have tumbled and twisted down into a large, 15 foot deep, drainage ditch. Instead, the bus laid over neatly on its side on the flat highway surface. We pray that these multi-casualty incidents don't come in threes.

 

Victoria Fire Chief Vance Riley was on-scene during the May 2003 illegal immigration tragedy and the January 2008 bus crash.

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