Shaw Airman's quick actions save man's life

Published Sept. 29, 2010
By Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- People never know when the things they learn in life may have a drastic effect on someone else's life. For one Shaw airman, those lessons helped save a man.

On Sept. 17, Airman 1st Class Brandon Horne, 20th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels truck operator, was on his way to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. to visit his wife.

It was 2 a.m., and he was driving through Newton Grove, N.C. on U.S. Highway 13, when he saw an all-terrain vehicle driving in reverse at approximately 20 miles per hour.

"Off to my right hand side, I saw four-wheeler lights and dirt flying," said Airman Horne. "The next thing I know, it turned really fast and rolled a couple times. At that, I stopped my car and pulled into his driveway."

He ran out of his car and went to check on the victim. The man was unconscious and intoxicated. He was also not wearing a shirt, shoes or a helmet.

"It was the first time I'd ever seen a person unconscious," he said. "I ran over and checked his airway to make sure he was breathing, and that's when the SABC (self-aid buddy care) training started kicking in."

Once he established the man was alive and breathing, Airman Horne called 911.

"The way he was laying there, he was breathing, but he was breathing kind of shallow," described the Airman. "I held his head with my hands and was just telling him he's going to be ok."

The dispatcher asked for his location. Fortunately, since the Airman had traveled this road several times, he was able to give an exact location.

He continued performing SABC as he spoke with the dispatcher, he said. He elevated his feet because he was unconscious, but did not roll him on his side because of possible neck injuries.

Then the dispatcher asked for the man's name, so Airman Horne began patting the man down to find his wallet for identification. As he was searching the victim, he noticed blood in the areas he checked.

Airman Horne began asking, "Where are you bleeding from?"

He then looked down at the man's head and realized that's where the blood was coming from.

The Airman further stabilized the injured man's head. At this point, the man began to slowly regain consciousness. So, Airman Horne began pinching the man's leg and asking him if he could feel it to ensure he was not paralyzed.

Finally, the police and the ambulance showed up.

"A few minutes after I arrived, the injured man regained consciousness and refused to listen to me or Mr. Horne to lie still or stay on the ground," according to the police report written by Officer William Lewis, Newton Grove Police Department

Once emergency medical services took control of the scene, Airman Horne began looking for a way to clean his hands.

"I was a little weirded out because I had never had human blood on me before," he said. "I ended up washing my hands with Diet Coke and hand sanitizer."

The EMS confirmed that man was severely hurt, but did not have any broken bones. The injured was then taken to the nearby hospital.

The training that Airman Horne received through the Air Force enabled him to react quickly and stay calm, he said.
"I felt like I had to do something," he said. "As Airmen, we're not trained to just stand there."

When his shop heard about his trip, they were not at all shocked.

"Airman Horne has a big heart," said Tech. Sgt. Luke Salkeld, 20th LRS fuels distribution supervisor. "It did not surprise me at all to hear what he did for someone else."

There were two major things that Airman Horne said he took away from this event.

The first was to always know where you are when you are traveling. Because of his situational awareness, he was able to give the exact location of where he was at at the scene of the accident.

The second was to never operate any kind of vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, like the victim in the incident.

Airman Horne said the lessons he learned from this incident and the training he received through the AF will stay with him for the rest of his life.

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