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Indiana Guardsmen Honored for Aiding in Fatal Crash
(April 13, 2011) | 
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN (4/9/2011) – Two Indiana Army National Guard soldiers
were honored at Camp Atterbury, Ind., April 9, for coming to the aid of
dozens of victims of a deadly auto collision involving a bus and SUV on
Interstate 69 near Angola in northern Indiana, June 21, 2009. |
Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Indiana National Guard adjutant general, awards 2nd Lt. Tracy Fields of Mishawaka, Ind., and Spc. Dustin Winebrenner of Auburn, Ind., with the National Guard Association of the United States Valley Forge Cross for Heroism at Camp Atterbury, Ind., April 9,
2011. |
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The soldiers recognized, 2nd Lt. Tracy Fields of Mishawaka, Ind.,
and Spc. Dustin Winebrenner of Auburn, Ind., were awarded the
National Guard Association of the United States Valley Forge Cross
for Heroism for their actions that day. The Valley Forge Cross is
presented to members of the National Guard who have distinguished
themselves by performing acts of courage beyond the reasonable call
of duty.
The two were returning from National Guard training
at Fort Custer, Mich., heading south on I-69 when they approached
the wreck. “The bus was in the median and its front half had been
crushed in,” said Winebrenner. “An SUV was in the southbound lane,
and by the time Fields and I exited his vehicle, the SUV was almost
completely engulfed in flames. It was obvious that the two vehicles
had hit each other head on.” |
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Traveling in the SUV were PGA Golf Pro Chris Smith's wife, daughter and
son. Smith's wife lost her life in the crash. The children were ejected
from the vehicle and were injured, but survived. The bus was carrying
Canadian semi-pro football team the London Silverbacks, returning to
London, Ontario, Canada.
“I thought to myself that if anyone was
still in the SUV, they were already dead, so we both ran towards the
bus,” said Winebrenner. “The windshield was broken out of the bus and
the driver was hanging out of it. Some rear passengers were climbing out
of the emergency exits located on the sides.”
However, the bus
snapped in the center, lodging the engine and transmission into the cab,
blocking the front passengers from exiting. The soldiers climbed through
the bus windshield and went to work evacuating the passengers trapped in
the front, starting with the football team's coach and his pregnant
wife. A Coast guardsman had arrived at the scene and the soldiers handed
the rest of the passengers down to him through a window.
Winebrenner made attempts to wake the unconscious driver lodged in
windshield as Fields checked the bus to make sure they didn't miss
anyone. A series of small explosions in the burning SUV near the bus
threatened to ignite the bus' fuel.
“The driver regained
consciousness, but he still couldn't see right and was reacting very
slowly,” said Winebrenner. “Fields yelled, ‘We gotta get out of here
before this thing explodes!' I told the driver, ‘Sir, we're leaving,
now!' Fields and I each grabbed the driver from underneath his arms. He
was pinned, but we yanked on him a couple times hard enough to get him
loose with minor injuries. We handed him down, and Field and I exited
the bus through the windshield and ordered people away from the
wreckage.”
Winebrenner and Fields setup a triage point and
applied first aid to the injured passengers. They worked to calm the
pregnant woman, checked her for injuries and treated her for shock. Fire
fighters and medical responders arrived on the scene, aided by a
National Guard supply convoy that was passing by.
The children
needed to be medically evacuated by helicopter, and soldiers on the
scene were asked to setup a landing zone for the inbound flight. Fields
helped move the injured children to the transport.
“They had been
ejected into a ditch that was very steep and wet,” said Fields. “Along
with several other soldiers, we carried the children out of the ditch
and onto the waiting helicopter.”
The award was presented by the
Indiana Guard's highest ranking general, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger,
member and formerly the president of NGAUS.
“As sad as it is, a
tragedy like this is the reason we train to be prepared to aid our
neighbors in time of need,” said Umbarger. “These soldiers' training
kicked in and they reacted selflessly, a true hallmark of a citizen
soldier.”
Winebrenner said he felt there was no other option but
to stop and help that day on the highway.
“My training took over
and I reacted,” said Winebrenner. “I was there, and I was capable. I
just feel bad for the Smiths. It's just a horrible thing that happened
and can't be changed. I'm sorry that the two Smith children have to deal
with that kind of tragedy at such a young age.”
Fields said he
feels that he was there for a reason that day.
“The events of
that day can only be explained as divine intervention,” said Field. “It
was fate that Spc. Winebrenner and I were there at the right time. It
was fate that a just a few miles behind us was a supply convoy carrying
medical supplies. It was fate that we had a qualified [soldier] on
ground to aid in setting up a landing zone for the helicopter. I feel as
if that mission came down from a much higher headquarters. I continue to
pray for the Smith family and the loss they incurred and my heart goes
out to them.” | |
Article and photo by Army Sgt. John Crosby
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
Copyright 2011
Provided
through DVIDS
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