F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Members of the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron here rendered aid to victims of a major vehicle accident in December 2016.
The defenders came across the accident while traveling back from the missile field on Interstate 80. An 18-wheeler rear-ended a pick-up truck, causing the vehicles to block the lanes.
Staff Sgt. Thomas Bautista, 90th MSFS flight security controller, and Senior Airman Damian Dimmick, 90th MSFS response force leader, secured the scene and began traffic management to prevent any further accidents.
“There were two of us controlling traffic,” Bautista said. “I went out about 500 meters from the crash site and Dimmick went about 200 meters out. We did this to create a layer between traffic and the accident.”
During this time, Airman 1st Class Ricardo Montez and Airman 1st Class Shianne Spiekermann, 90th MSFS response force leaders, made their way to the victims in the pick-up truck. They assessed the situation and tried to establish communication with the three victims inside.
“When we got to the vehicle, all of the doors were smashed to where they couldn’t be opened, so I took off my jacket and punched through one of the windows,” Montez said. “We grabbed coats and blankets from our truck to shield them while we broke the glass.”
Montez was able to speak to the driver and found out the names and ages of the passengers, while trying to help stop the bleeding from their injuries.
“The driver asked me to help a female passenger in the back because her injuries were the worst,” Montez said. “I tried to hold her hand and keep her calm, but she passed away.”
When the ambulance arrived on scene, Spiekermann and Montez offered their help to the emergency medical technicians.
“We helped set up stretchers and lay out equipment near the vehicle to speed up the process for the EMTs,” Spiekermann said. “They were able to get them out and transport them to the hospital.”
This act of heroism did not go unnoticed by squadron leadership. Lt. Col. James Hughes, 90th MSFS commander said the defenders’ actions were not surprising.
“Every one of our Airmen out there are leaders, and the action that our defenders took was exactly what we would expect,” Hughes said. “It doesn’t matter their rank or position, they are first responders before anything else.”