A paramedic puts his vehicle between a rolling truck and a wreck victim.
By THOMAS LAKE
Published June 15, 2006
[Photo from video by Bryan Farrow]
Randy Rogers was thrown from his truck after a collision around 11 p.m. Tuesday near U.S. 19 and Cross Bayou Boulevard. The truck continued to roll forward and might have run over him
NEW PORT RICHEY - Rescue 19 is a red-and-white ambulance that usually serves as a mobile sanctuary for the sick and injured. But as an unmanned truck rolled toward a patient Tuesday night, Rescue 19 became a shield.
In one extraordinary maneuver, the ambulance helped save a life by causing a crash.
Authorities said this is how it happened:
Just before 11 p.m., 44-year-old Randy Rogers made a U-turn on U.S. 19 near Cross Bayou Boulevard and entered the path of a northbound van.
The vehicles collided. Rogers was thrown from his '91 Ford Ranger. He flew through the air and landed in the center northbound lane.
Pasco County Fire Rescue 19 headed south. It had been a slow night. Paramedic William Bomboy and EMT Christopher Linchy were returning to the station after a refueling trip when Bomboy saw the crash site.
Linchy, 32, was driving. He says he barely stopped to think. As he prepared to make a U-turn into the northbound lanes, he saw the battered Ranger in his mirror.
It was driverless but still idling. And it was headed for Rogers.
Linchy pushed the accelerator and guided Rescue 19 into the truck's path. He felt a small jolt as the truck ran into the driver's side door, perhaps 20 feet from Rogers.
Then Linchy parked the ambulance broadside to traffic, forming a wall across two northbound lanes to keep Rogers safe.
Bomboy, 25, jumped out and ran to Rogers. Linchy's door was pinned shut, so he climbed over the center console and out the passenger door. The truck was still running, still grinding against the makeshift barrier. It stayed that way until police and other firefighters arrived to secure the scene.
Linchy would not describe Rogers' injuries, citing medical privacy laws. But they were serious enough to summon a helicopter, which flew him to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He was listed in good condition on Wednesday.
The van's driver was not seriously hurt. New Port Richey police were still investigating the crash and looking for witnesses.
Linchy was at home in Clearwater on Wednesday. He did not want his picture taken. He chalked up the rescue to good training and good luck.
"It all happened so fast," he said. "This was just a split-second decision."
He is not certain the truck would have hit Rogers if he had not intervened.
But it could have hit oncoming cars and caused another serious crash.
Rescue 19 suffered minor scratches. It did not miss a call.
Thomas Lake can be reached at tlake@sptimes.com or 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245.
