HEROINE: QUICK ACTION SAVES LIFE FOLLOWING FREAK ACCIDENT

What would have been a minor traffic accident on the Mississippi River bridge Wednesday almost claimed the life of a Jackson truck driver.

Medical authorities say quick action by Candy Tucker, 24, of Olive Branch, Ill., an off-duty administrative secretary at St. Francis Medical Center, helped save the man's life.

The truck driver, Ronnie Seyer, 45, of Jackson Route 2, remained Thursday in critical condition at Southeast Missouri Hospital after he was seriously injured on the bridge here shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Seyer was driving a semi-truck on the bridge en route to the Elfrink Truck Line terminal on Route K when the mirrors of his truck and an eastbound semi-truck hit as the trucks met on the two-lane bridge.

Mike Oliver, Cape Girardeau terminal manager for Elfrink, said: "It was really a very minor accident. Trucks are always trading side mirrors on that bridge."

But the mirror of Seyer's truck shattered into pieces. A piece of glass flew into the cab and struck Seyer in the neck, piercing the carotid artery, which supplies blood from the heart to the brain. Bleeding from the carotid artery is massive; death occurs within minutes if not stopped.

Oliver said Seyer was able to drive on to Cape Girardeau, where he parked his rig in the 400 block of Morgan Oak and staggered out of the cab to seek help.

At about the same time, Tucker, who had just gotten off work at the St. Francis Medical Center's Same-Day Surgery Center, was headed home. She stopped at the Bi-State Southern service station to fill her car with gas.

"I saw the truck parked just west of the gas station," said Tucker Thursday. "I could see a man holding his hand on the left side of his neck talking to someone standing next to the building next door to the gas station."

Said Tucker: "All of a sudden the man next to the building acted like he was trying to push the truck driver away from him. When the driver turned around and started walking toward the gas station, I could see a lot of blood. At first I thought he had been stabbed."

Tucker followed the injured man into the station, where she saw two clerks and customers. She said they were frozen with fear at the sight of the massive amount of blood pouring from the victim's neck.

Tucker shouted to one of the clerks to call 911, but had to yell it again because the clerk was motionless, phone in hand.

Tucker, who completed her emergency medical technician training in May 1991 with the Alexander County Ambulance Service, knew the bleeding was coming from the carotid artery. She realized Seyer would bleed to death if she didn't act quickly.

"I shouted for someone to bring me rags, lots of rags," Tucker said. "Before they got the rags, I had already put my hand on his neck to try to stop the bleeding. I tried to get some of the other people in the store to help me lay the man down, but no one responded at first. I guess they were scared of all the blood."

Finally, someone helped Tucker lay Seyer on the floor. By then he had lapsed into semi-consciousness because of lost blood. Tucker continued to keep a firm compress of rags over the cut artery.

"It seemed like it was forever" until paramedics from Cape Girardeau County Private Ambulance Service arrived about five minutes later, she said.

As Tucker continued to keep pressure on Seyer's neck, paramedics put Seyer into anti-shock pressure pants to keep his remaining blood flowing to vital organs. Another paramedic began pumping vast quantities of IV fluid into Seyer's arm in a desperate attempt to replace blood and fluids.

Within minutes, Seyer was aboard the ambulance as it raced toward Southeast Missouri Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

After the ambulance left, Tucker washed her hands, accepted an offer of a clean T-shirt to replace the blood-soaked shirt she was wearing, and drove home.

"After it was all over with, I was kind of concerned," she said. "I kept wondering if I had done everything right or if I had missed something that I should have done. I wasn't scared of the blood. I knew from my training it was a life-threatening wound and I had to act fast or the man would die."

Although Tucker played down her role, saying it was a normal response to her emergency medical technician training, others view her actions differently. Mike Craig, the ambulance service manager, said he has no doubt Tucker helped save Seyer's life.

Craig said: "It took my ambulance almost five minutes to get to the scene because of the heavy rush-hour traffic. If this young lady had not taken immediate steps to prevent additional bleeding, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have died at the scene from loss of blood."

Oliver agreed. "The folks at the hospital tell me that Ronnie would not be with us now had it not been for the action of this young woman. I know she does not want to take credit for it, but Elfrink Truck Lines and the Seyer family are very, very grateful for her quick action. Ronnie has worked for us 15 years and is a very fine employee."

"The doctors tell us it will be three to four days before they know if there is any brain damage from the loss of blood," said Oliver.

Tucker has plans for a career in emergency medical services.

"I want to be a nurse, specialize in trauma, and eventually become a flight nurse on an air ambulance," she said. "I've already completed some pre-nursing school courses. I plan to start nursing school at Shawnee Community College as soon as I can."