Chapter 155: 【155】Car accident scene
The ambulance had just screeched to a halt, and the crew jumped out one after another.
Under the veil of night, it was pitch black, their surroundings barely visible.
The north wind bit with an ice three feet thick, the road was like an ice cellar.
In such conditions, if there was an injured patient, the outcome was predictable. The mere low temperatures could shrink the distance between any victim and death.
There was no time to lose.
Doctor Jiang led everyone to quicken their pace.
“Over here!” A traffic officer guided them to the first victim.
The middle-aged man lying on the ground was pale, like a white candle about to be snuffed out by the cold wind. The officer had wrapped the victim in a coat to ward off the chill.
Before the doctor arrived, the police didn’t dare to move the critically injured, fearing any movement might kill them.
Doctor Jiang stamped his foot, realizing a serious problem, possibly one that wasn’t fully communicated over the 120 emergency call, said, “Initially, 120 reported to our hospital about a female patient.”
“Here’s what happened, Doctor, the previous ambulance took the person away. This man was just rescued from the wrecked car.” The traffic officer explained.
So what now? Doctor Jiang and Xie Wanying looked to their left.
The floodlights shining in the darkness resembled miniature suns, revealing about a dozen firefighters busily working, climbing up and down, using tools to break the coach bus’s windows to reach the injured.
This was a coach bus tilted on its side on the roadway, and given the peak travel season for the New Year, one could imagine how many passengers were inside.
Apart from the coach involved in the accident, to the right side of the bus, two sedans were smashed beyond recognition, their fronts completely deformed, it wasn’t clear at a glance whether there were people inside. Maybe they had been pulled out, or maybe they had died inside and hadn’t been attended to yet.
There was also a minibus, with reports of another three to five cars involved in the accident.
The most frightening was the large truck that had fallen into a ditch by the roadside.
Commanders on the scene urgently dispatched a large crane to assist in retrieving the vehicle.
Multiple vehicle pileup!
Doctor Jiang cursed inwardly, doctors dread witnessing such scenes. He didn’t know which damn fool had caused the accident by not following traffic rules, and now, tragically, many might die.
“Is ours the only ambulance?” Doctor Jiang asked.
“There were seven or eight before us, they took the earlier victims,” the traffic officer said, of course, it wasn’t just them; rescues had been continuous on the scene, “the ones able to walk by themselves, we’ve asked social vehicles to help transport to the hospital.”
No nearby ambulances left, that’s why 120 dispatched them all the way out from Guoxie. Thus, the problem now was that the later the victims were rescued, the more severe their injuries likely were. They were patients in critical condition who could die at any moment. Under these circumstances, Doctor Jiang would have preferred to have been sent first, not to arrive later like at this moment.
It was a matter of life and death now, truly a race against Yama, the King of Hell.
Just as Doctor Jiang crouched down to check on this victim’s condition, another traffic officer called out, “Doctor, come and look at this one!”
There was no choice but to quickly scan the patient’s condition with his eyes, Doctor Jiang said to the nurse, “Start an IV drip.” Regardless, rehydration couldn’t hurt, mostly likely there was bleeding somewhere for the face to be so white.
The nurse opened the first-aid kit to get the equipment for the injection, attempting to find a vein on the patient close to shock. The traffic officer provided light with a flashlight while the nurse tried desperately to find a vein.
Doctor Jiang, along with two students, ran to the place where they’d been called for help.