JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Four Air Force Reservists with the 433rd Airlift Wing here helped save lives when they responded to a one-car accident on the way home from a unit training assembly Aug. 16.
Maj. Angella Mudd and Master Sgt. Shanita Campbell, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Tech. Sgt. McKenly Matson, 433rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Airman 1st Class Alejandro Villarreal, 433rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, all heading home in separate vehilces, were on the scene, minutes after the accident occurred on Interstate 10 West.
The driver of a Ford Excursion lost control when a tire blew, causing a roll-over accident that ejected two of the six passengers in the vehicle. The five adults and one nine-year-old child were heading to Vidor, Texas
The reservists immediately stopped to render care to the injured passengers and performed skills learned in Self-Aid Buddy Care in the Air Force until the medical crews arrived on scene.
Mudd and Campbell, with their medical backgrounds, immediately began establishing command. The order of business was determining who needed attention first through triage.
Mudd a six-year veteran, with two deployments under her belt, took the lead on the scene, contributes her leadership ability to the Air Force. "My training in battlefield care made a huge difference when it came to treating the wounded," she said. In her civilian capacity, Mudd is the director of perinatal services; labor and delivery at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Sugarland, Texas.
Campbell, an aerospace medical technician, who assisted with performing triage and treatment to the injured, believed the emergency medical technical refresher training she performed during the four-day UTA honed her skills and prepared her for even more at the scene. Campbell, who has served almost 20 years in the Air Force, is an executive secretary at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.
Matson and Villarreal assisted with aiding and transporting the wounded.
Villarreal climbed into the overturned vehicle and pulled the nine-year-old boy, who had a broken leg, from the back seat of the car. Villarreal is a student at the University of Houston.
Matson, an aircraft electrical and environmental systems technician, assisted in treating the wounds of one victim thrown from the vehicle. Matson is an operator at Lubrizol Corporation in Houston.
All of the wounded were transported to local hospitals in the San Antonio area, three by helicopter, and the other two by ambulance. One individual did not sustain any injuries.
The 433rd AW Airmen, along with a civilian registered nurse, stayed at the scene and continued to assist Seguin EMS until the last ambulance left.
All Airmen accredited their leadership and teamwork to the Air Force and SABC training.
At the end of this horrific accident, all members had one thing on their minds, the welfare of the individuals in the accident and the aftercare.
"That day, what we did is truly representative what the Air Force stands for, 'Service before self.' Those Airmen that day represented the Air Force with honor and dignity," said Mudd.
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