Waitresses acted quickly to help driver in Tuesday's accident

Christa Powers, 21, was just leaving Red Lobster on Tuesday after waiting tables during a busy lunch shift. And then she heard it.

About 200 feet from where she stood, a wrong-way driver hurtling down the offramp of Interstate 55 exit 96 had crashed into a truck hauling 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

When the truck overturned and caught fire, Powers ran inside to call 911. Then she, another waitress, Missy Dover, and a manager, Roxie Tillman, came outside with towels, ice and water to tend to what she was sure would be multiple victims.

Only one person was injured, but the group returned just in time to see the beginning of a fire that would require 46 firefighters and five fire departments to bring under control.

"We didn't know whether it was going to explode or what," Powers said of the burning wreck. "The fire was getting bigger and it just kept popping every few seconds and then the flames would shoot up."

They also found driver Terry Church of Perryville, Mo., who had extricated himself from the cab of his truck. He was staggering up the embankment beside the highway exit when the waitresses came out. Church had second-degree burns on his hands and arms from contact with burning metal and was bleeding profusely from the head.

The women acted fast, tying Powers' apron and shirt around the head of the bleeding man. They also put Church's seared hands in lukewarm water and held him as he laid down.

"I think it was the left side of his head that was just gushing blood. And all he kept saying was that his hands were burning. He kept looking at his hands, which were really black, and saying, they're burning," Powers said.

An ambulance arrived within minutes.

Experts say the group did the right thing to stabilize Church. Victims of burning are some of the most delicate of all trauma patients and action taken in the first moments can be critical.

"The first person on the scene has to assess the risk very quickly and determine what is the greatest risk this individual is facing at this moment," said Dr. Pascal Nyachowe, a trauma surgeon with Saint Francis Medical Center.

Nyachowe said the risk varies from accident to accident. In some cases because of head or neck injuries it may be too dangerous to move someone from a vehicle. But in the case of Church, staying in the burning wreck would have been fatal.

"If you're looking at a huge tanker leaking fuel and you smell gas, your intuition says this is not a safe environment. You have to be out of there as quickly as possible," Nyachowe said.

But once the victim is moved from the primary scene, other dangers arise. Chemicals on the body typically need to be washed off as soon as possible to prevent a chemical burn.

"Chemical burns are vicious," said Nyachowe, adding that diesel takes 20 minutes or longer to begin burning.

Water is typically a good solvent to remove chemical agents, but washing with water can be harmful in some cases.

"You don't put water on dry chemicals. Let's say the tanker is filled with a dry compound. You don't want to put liquid on it not knowing what it is. It could be a dry acid, and if you put water on it, that's it, they're totally cooked," he said.

Clothing is another potential danger zone. If clothing is soaked in a chemical, it is sometimes essential to remove it from the victim's body. But if it is melted to the skin, removing it can actually worsen the victim's injury.

"If you get a thermal burn, then that product you're wearing can decompose, which causes a chemical reaction with the skin. Then if you try to remove it you literally rip their skin off," said Nyachowe. Nylon fibers are particularly bad for this.

Battalion chief Mike Ramsey of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department was one of the first responders on the scene. He was focused on containing the diesel blaze and did not interact with the women, but offered tips for civilians who may find themselves aiding burn victims.

"A lot of people don't understand that the skin itself is a body organ and it does serve a significant purpose," he said.

When burning occurs over large portions of a body, dousing the victim in water can have an adverse effect.

"If you overcool, you could actually cause hypothermia. Putting water on a body with a large amount of severe burns could put the body into shock."

Luckily, Church had only minor burns and is now recovering in stable condition. He'd like to return to work in several weeks.

But the act of lending a helping hand can often be difficult for the responder.

"I just couldn't stop bawling," Powers said.

Later she pointed to a spot in the grass.

"Right here, this is where I actually lost my lunch," she said.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245