Victims of Tuesday accidents doing okay |
| May 21, 2011 |
|
Two Bonners Ferry people injured in separate
accidents Tuesday, one of them flown out on a MedStar
helicopter and the other one nearly so, are
recovering well. Tanya Currie, 37, was trapped in her Pontiac Vibe for more than an hour as EMTs worked to extricate her after she struck a south-bound semi at about 9:22 a.m. Tuesday at the north intersection of Deep Creek Loop and US 95, pinning her vehicle beneath the rig's trailer. While work was going on to extricate her from the vehicle, a MedStar helicopter landed on the fourth green at Mirror Lake, and within moments of her being freed from the car she was flown to Kootenai Medical Center, and later to a hospital in Spokane. According to EMT Ken Baker, Currie suffered arm and leg fractures in the collision. "The side airbag in her car absolutely made a difference," he said. "If she hadn't had that, the outcome would have been much worse." At about 1:16 p.m., sheriffs dispatch received a report of a tractor roll-over on Bridle Path Road in Paradise Valley, and responders arriving at the scene found Elden Merrifield, 72, laying on the ground, face down, responsive but turning blue in the face. A second MedStar helicopter was requested, but its arrival was delayed so EMTs transported Merrifield to Boundary Community Hospital. According to a relative, Merrifield suffered a fractured rib and punctured lung, but, while sore, he's recovering nicely. |