Military couple aids in vehicle accident, assist in saving lives

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - --  Tech. Sgts. Ryan Boyd, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy fire chief, and Tesha Boyd, 97th Force Support Squadron NCO in charge of force management, were driving on U.S. Highway 87 South heading to San Antonio, TX when they saw a major vehicle accident April 2, 2014.

A male driving a silver pickup truck had T-boned a family in a white minivan that had pulled over at rest stop. The Boyds immediately pulled over to investigate the scene.

"I stopped because it was a natural reaction to me. Being a fireman for the past 15 years I've trained to react to emergencies," said Ryan.

"It was the right thing to do, the accident just happened, nobody was there yet," said Tesha. "My husband is a firefighter so our first reaction was to help."

As the Boyds were approaching the scene Tesha called 911 as Ryan began to aid the accident victims. Two additional drivers pulled over to assist with the injured.

"I thought, please let everyone be okay," said Tesha. "I wasn't sure what to expect, by the severity of the accident I was thinking the worst."

"As I approached the vehicles, the back window [of the minivan] was shattered, two of the kids were in the back seat complaining of head and neck pain, the mom was in the middle row trying to calm down the baby that was in the car seat," said Ryan. "The driver of the truck that hit the van wanted to help out but I had him sit down out of the way and asked another bystander to stay with him."

The mother had a 1-by-3 inch wound on her leg and the children were in need of medical assistance, so the Boyds immediately began stabilizing procedures such as holding the children's cervical spines while waiting for emergency responders.

"I focused on the little boy, he was in the back seat," said Tesha. "I pulled him out through the back window, held c-spine, tried to keep him calm and talking to me until the ambulance arrived."

"I took the female child out from the side van door and directed the other bystander to hold c-spine on her," said Ryan. "I then took a shirt and tied it around the mother's leg to stop the bleeding. I left the baby in the car seat because the car seat was already stabilizing him. The mother was getting woozy, so I had her sit next to the baby in the car seat on the floor board to keep him calm."

Once all the victims were being attended to, Ryan inspected the vehicles for hazards such as leaks or sparks that could lead to a fire. Shortly after, emergency responders arrived on scene.

"When the ambulances arrived on scene I assisted the medics with packaging the girl, put on the C-collar, and strapped her to the back board," said Ryan. "Then, I helped them load her in the ambulance," said Ryan. "My wife helped the medics package the boy and kept him calm. The other firemen that arrived packaged the mother and baby."

After the victims were taken to a hospital the Boyds cleaned themselves up and continued their drive down to San Antonio.

"I'm so proud of my husband. He is a firefighter and this is his job," said Tesha. "He was very calm with everyone and took control of the situation without hesitation."

"My job and life is devoted to helping others," said Ryan. "I didn't think twice, I just reacted. It feels good when I can help people in need I do encourage all Airmen to help people, although I caution people to know their limitations and what kind of care they can give. But, every little bit counts."

"My wife isn't used to doing this kind of thing, but she stayed calm and performed like it was second nature I'm proud of her," said Ryan.