Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/675319
I t was a typical mid-January morning for the Magic Valley region of southern Idaho. Sub-freezing temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit and icy spots were prominent along the Interstate 84 corridor through the area. Gary Hurd was eastbound, hauling for Paul Transportation out of Tulsa, OK, and approaching Milepost 208 near the small Idaho town of Burley. e area wasn't unfamiliar to Hurd, who grew up and graduated high school just 229 miles away in the tiny southwestern Idaho town of Weiser, population just over 5,000. But it wasn't the days of his youth that Hurd was concentrating on as he navigated his way across the icy interstate. Rather, Hurd was set on getting safely through the area en route to his home in Oklahoma. Suddenly, Hurd spied a van come across the top of an overpass and spin out of control. Hurd, 46, drove truck for 23 years, the last six of which were for Paul Transportation. His driving career shied gears in March, however, as Hurd took a promotion to teach orientation for Paul Transportation. During his driving career, he amassed somewhere between 2.8 million and 2.99 million miles on the road without an accident. His small-town values run deep as he still addresses people as mister or misses. Aer high school, Hurd served in the U.S. Navy, then became a certified EMT in the early 2000s. It's important to note that Hurd isn't one to seek out the limelight. Now a former truck driver, Hurd, 46, loved to drive. More importantly, he loved to get home and spend time with his family. While on the job, he always inquired about others and their families and looked for ways to help. at's why it was really no surprise to co- workers to find out about a couple of remarkable incidents in which Hurd was involved, but never whispered a word to anyone. On that cold morning on Jan. 17, 2015, Hurd was driving defensively, making sure he would get home to see his family. Witnessing an ensuing accident, though, was enough to take anyone's breath away. "e next thing I knew, (the van) went off the north side of the interstate and I saw it go end over end into a corn field," Hurd said. "I got on my brakes and got to the shoulder." Hurd ran across both lanes of the interstate to reach the van. When he got there, he saw a woman sitting in the driver's seat and called out to see if she was all right. "I could hear kids crying in the back (of the van), so I knew they were conscious," Hurd said. "She looked at me and said, 'Yeah, we're fine. But my daughter ….'" Hurd looked inside the vehicle and noticed that 9-year-old Carlena Best was laid back in the front seat of the van. She was unconscious and not breathing. "I tried to get the door open, but I couldn't get it open," Hurd said of the passenger side of the van. "e passenger window was broken, so I went in through the window." Hurd said the girl's head was positioned in such a way that it was cutting off her airway and wasn't allowing her to breath. He said he had to make a decision to move her head and allow her to get air, or the young lady would die. "I made that choice to move her head," he said. "Once I moved her head, within 15 or 20 seconds, she gasped for air." Hurd's EMT training kicked in. He knew the girl's injuries were serious and he knew he was risking paralysis for the girl by moving her head. But risk paralysis, or face certain death made it a relatively easy decision. Aer she started breathing, Hurd knew he had to sit with her and keep her as immobile as possible. "ey (EMTs and law enforcement) told me I spent 45 minutes holding Carlena," Hurd said. "I really wasn't aware of the time. I lost all track of time. It was about 20 degrees outside and I didn't have my coat. I didn't even feel it. My adrenaline was pumping pretty good." At the same time, Hurd had to try to keep Carlena's mother from moving because he knew she was suffering from shock and possible other unknown injuries. "e others just had scrapes and bruises," Hurd said. "e mother was in shock and had whiplash. I was trying to get her to stay still, but I couldn't let go of Carlena. I just kept telling her to stay still." e only other problem were the children in the rear of the vehicle. While scared, none were seriously injured. Hurd was trying to get other bystanders to get in with the younger children, while trying to tend to Carlena and her mother, but none would oblige. Finally, rescuers arrived at the scene. Carlena Best suffered from a broken neck in the accident. According to Hurd, the fracture is one known as a hangman's fracture. "From what Mr. and Mrs. Best told me, the doctors and nurses at the hospital were shocked Vo l . 1 0 , N o . 3 TRUCKSTOP.COM 21