Tragedy Strikes: 'Short Stories'

By Vanessa Sgroi © 2008

The odd growling rumble from beneath the bus gave little warning of the disaster to come.  Most of the sleepy-eyed morning commuters didn’t even notice.  Those who did chalked it up to the poor road conditions and went back to reading their newspapers or staring into space contemplating the workday ahead of them. 

Without warning, the bus lurched and swayed to the left.  The driver, in a desperate attempt to maintain control, yanked the steering wheel to the right.  Sadly, he over-corrected and the unwieldy bus began to rock back and forth.  It hit the shoulder of the road where a right front tire encountered a large pothole.  From that moment on, the fates of those who boarded that bus were sealed.  The vehicle tipped and began to roll.  The breaking of glass, the crunching of metal, and the screams of those trapped inside all combined into a cacophony of horror.

* * *

The klaxons sounded at Station 10 summoning the rescuers to the scene of the MVA. 

“I have a feeling this is gonna be a bad one.”  Firefighter/Paramedic Randy Geraghty’s typical exuberant tone was grim. 

“Yeah, I know.  A commuter bus full of people.  And, I doubt this is just a fender bender,” commented his partner, Kevin Duval. 

The ten minutes it took to reach the accident scene seemed like a lifetime to Randy and Kevin.  They both knew that every minute counted in situations like this.

* * *

All it took was one look at the bus upon their arrival to realize their predictions were all too true.  From what the paramedics could see, the bus had crumpled like a tin can.  It lay on its side, diagonally spanning both of the northbound lanes.  Miraculously, when it had rolled the bus had only struck one other car that had been sharing the road at the time. 

The two firefighter/paramedics exited their vehicle and began grabbing their gear.  The crew from the engine quickly joined them. 

“Paul, Chris.  Check for gas and get it hosed down if you find any.  Then we’re gonna need all your help extricating the victims.  Kevin, Randy, let’s go see what we’ve got.” 

As Captain Ron Coben spoke, Station 127 arrived on scene.  Ron spoke briefly with the Captain from 127s before rejoining his men. 

The three men approached the bus, wincing at the crunching of glass beneath their boots.  Luke Nolan and Sean Riley, the paramedics from 127s, quickly joined them.  The team from 45s had not yet arrived.  As the group drew near, they could hear soft moans and an occasional quiet curse coming from within. 

“Cap, I think Kevin and I should go in through one of the windows on top.  We can triage and use our guys along with the engine crew from 127s to lift people out to the paramedics outside.” 

“Sounds good.  Let’s get to it.” 

At that moment, Paul and Chris jogged over and reported that no gas leaks had been found.  Kevin and Randy carefully hoisted themselves onto what was now the top of the bus.  They reached down to retrieve the equipment as Paul and Chris lifted it up to them.

The two peered into the nearest shattered window. 

“Oh, man.  Kevin, you were right.  It was a full bus.  There must be 40 to 50 people in there.” 

“Let’s see if there’s a clear place to enter.” 

They found it at the next window.  Randy carefully removed what little jagged glass remained in the frame.  Kevin lowered himself down, grabbed the equipment as his partner handed it through, and then stepped aside to make room for Geraghty as he dropped through the opening. 

The two men stared regretfully at the chaos before them.  Twisted bodies and tangled metal lay everywhere liberally mixed with crumpled newspapers and Styrofoam cups.  Briefcases lay upended and open, their contents long since expelled.  Coffee and blood mingled creating a grotesque mosaic on the seats and walls. 

“Randy, let’s split up.  You go toward the front of the bus, I’ll take the back.” 

Geraghty nodded and took a couple of steps before crouching down to check on his first two victims.  A visual inspection told him these two were dead, but he checked for pulses anyway.  Finding none, he inched over to the next person.  The woman moaned and opened her eyes just as he reached for her neck.  The dark-haired paramedic quickly assessed her condition. 

“Now, you just lay still.  We’ll have you out of here as soon as we can.  Can you tell me where you hurt?” 

“Um . . . my foot, I think.  And my head  . . .” 

“All right.  Just take it easy.  I’ll be back.” 

Randy continued on with the grim task before him.

* * *

Kevin dropped his head dejectedly when he failed to detect a pulse on yet another victim.  So far, he’d found four people dead and two who were critically injured and might not make it through extrication. 

Duval stood up and moved toward another group of people.  Ahead of him, he saw one of the victims suddenly sit up. 

“Sir, you need to stay still.  I’ll be over in just a minute to check you out.” 

“I’m fine.  I’m fine.  When are you going to get us the hell out of here?” 

“We’re working on that right now.” 

“Well, you’re not moving fast enough.  I want outta here now!”  As the man spoke, he started to get to his feet. 

“Please, sir, you need to sit back down and let me look at you.” 

“I told you I’m FINE!” 

“Sir, that’s not what the blood on your face is telling me.” 

“Blood?”  The belligerent gentleman touched a hand to his face and was shocked when he pulled it away covered in the sticky substance.  Without uttering another sound, he plopped back down on the floor. 

“I’ll be over there in a minute.” 

Kevin rapidly checked the next group of people before proceeding over to the man he’d been talking to.  He gave him a quick exam. 

“I think you’ll be okay.  Head wounds bleed a lot.  And, you probably have a concussion.  Just sit tight, okay?” 

The sullen man just grunted and then watched as the paramedic checked the rest of the people on his half of the bus.  When Kevin was finished, he made his way back toward his partner. 

“Randy, what have you got?” 

Following Geraghty’s brief update, Kevin keyed his mic and informed Captain Coben of the situation they were facing.

* * *

After briefly assessing the situation, it was decided that removing the victims would be easier if they cut a hole in the bus, creating a “doorway”.  While preparations were being made to do just that, Captain Coben requested an additional ambulances be dispatched to the scene. 

Because of the close confines, only two additional firefighters could enter the bus to help extricate the victims.  Chris and Paul dropped through the same window the fellow crewmembers had used while others fired up a K-12 and began creating the hole.  Splitting into teams of two, the four men began to treat the most critically injured people first preparing to move them as soon as the opening was finished. 

Randy carefully removed some plastic seating off an unconscious middle-aged woman and dropped down next to her, wincing slightly as some glass bit into his knee.   

“Chris, we need to get a c-collar on her.” 

As Geraghty spoke, he felt something close around his ankle.  Thinking it was some shifting debris; Randy glanced down preparing to brush it aside.  He was surprised to see it was a hand.  Allowing his gaze to drift up, Geraghty discovered the hand belonged to a young woman and she had it tightly wrapped around his ankle.  Turning slightly, he looked at her and spoke gently. 

“Ma’am?  We’ll be right there, okay?” 

Her deep blue eyes continued to stare directly at him and her lips moved slightly.  Randy felt a connection when he met her pleading gaze.

“Please.”

“Ma’am, we’re coming.” 

The hand tightened and she whispered again. 

“Please.  Please, just fix my glasses.  Want to see.” 

Randy noticed then that her eyeglasses had been knocked aside and were dangling from one ear.  Stretching a bit, he leaned over to her and righted the glasses on her face.  With that, her pink-tinted lips curved into a slight smile and she released her grip on the paramedic. 

“Thank you.” 

“We’ll be right back for you.”  The dark-haired man’s comment was drowned out by a shouted “We’re through!” from the crew manning the K-12.  Geraghty and Little quickly packaged up the middle-aged woman and delivered her to the crew waiting outside the bus.  Wasting no time, the two men turned and hurried back into the bus.  Randy approached the blue-eyed woman prepared to get her out next. 

“Okay, now it’s your turn.”  Geraghty kept his voice light to ease any fear. 

There was no response. 

“Ma’am?” 

Geraghty’s heart sank when he noticed her eyes were wide-open and unblinking. 

“No . . .” 

Though he knew it was pointless, he reached out and felt for a pulse.  His eyes closed for a second when he didn’t find one.  “Damn it.” 

“Randy?” 

Geraghty shook his head at Chris and they moved on. 

The rest of the rescue passed in a blur of activity for Randy Geraghty.  Finally, the last living victim was out and Kevin was accompanying him to the hospital, leaving Randy to bring in the squad.  By the time he reached the hospital, the dark-haired paramedic was practically numb.  The adrenalin rush was long gone.

* * *

Geraghty slowly walked to the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of coffee while waiting for his partner to meet him.  After a couple of sips, he sat the cup down and stared into space. 

Hey, Randy.”  A soft feminine voice broke into his thoughts. 

“Oh, hi, Tammy.  We’ve kept you guys busy this morning, huh?”  Randy offered a small smile to the emergency room nurse. 

“You sure have.  We called in a few other doctors and held over some nurses and, all things considered, it’s gone smoothly.” 

Several minutes later, Kevin joined them at the table, rubbing the back of his neck.  He heaved a tired sigh. 

“That must have been some accident scene.  You both look beat,” Tammy commented, seeing the fatigue weighing heavily on the two firefighter/paramedics. 

“It was a mess,” Kevin quickly agreed, “One of the worst we’ve seen . . .” 

Surprisingly, his partner remained silent, not jumping in as he usually would. 

Kevin looked at his partner in concern. 

“Randy, you okay?” 

Again pulled from his reverie, Randy nodded and said, “I’m fine.  I’m goin’ to the Men’s Room.  Be right back.” 

Kevin and Tammy watched the dark-haired man walk away. 

When he returned long minutes later, Kevin immediately spoke up. 

“What’s wrong with your leg?” 

“Huh?  What are you talkin’ about?  There’s nothing wrong with my leg.” 

“Then why are you limping?” 

“Limping?  I’m not lim . . .” 

Rolling his eyes, Kevin grabbed Randy’s arm. 

“C’mon, partner.  Let’s see if there’s a doc around to look at you.”  

“I’m tellin’ ya, I wasn’t li . . .” 

A short time later, Firefighter/Paramedic Randy Geraghty hopped off the exam table, his knee nicely bandaged. 

“You’re all set,” muttered the harried young resident.  “Keep it clean and dry.  If it gives you any trouble, get back in here.” 

“Um, yeah, sure.  Sure, Doc.” 

They watched as the resident hurried out of the room.   

“You wanna tell me about it?” 

“What?” 

“Randy, I know you well enough to know something’s bugging you.  So much so you didn’t feel there was glass imbedded in your knee.  I thought you’d feel better if you talked about it.” 

The younger man sighed.  He knew his partner was right. 

“Damn it.  There . . . there was this woman on the bus.  She had the prettiest blue eyes.  And all she wanted, Kevin, all she wanted was for me to fix her glasses so she could see.” 

Randy rubbed his hands over his face. 

“I did that for her.   I fixed her glasses and told her she was next.  I told her I’d be right back, but . . . but, she was gone by the time . . . it was only a couple of minutes and she was gone . . .” 

“Randy, you know we saved as many as we could today.  You know that.” 

“Yeah, I do.  What I don’t know is why she got to me.” 

“ ‘cause you’re human, and you care.  We all do.  Even when we’re not supposed to.”

Knowing that his partner was right, Randy Geraghty just nodded his head, his thoughts still centered on those deep blue eyes.

The End...

 

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