Three Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 348th Regiment, were among the first to respond to an overturned 18-wheeled tractor-trailer carrying flammable material on Interstate-59 in Hattiesburg, Miss., March 11.
The truck, carrying liquid acrylonitrile, an explosive compound, skidded off the road and crashed into the embankment.
"I was just doing my job as a Soldier," said Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Christy, a combat medic and the first Soldier to arrive at the scene.
Christy explained he parked his vehicle in the distance and ran up to the truck within a minute of the crash. When he arrived, a civilian was trying to kick in the windshield to free the driver. Christy said he immediately took control of the situation and directed the driver to free himself and climb out from the door.
As the driver was climbing out of the vehicle Army Reserve Capt. Amanda McDonald, a chemical officer and a nurse by trade, arrived to provide assistance.
The truck was leaking diesel and hazardous fumes from its cargo. McDonald and Christy escorted the driver away from the fumes before McDonald further evaluated the driver.
"Because of the contents of the vehicle, we were anticipating a fire or explosion," said McDonald. "The fumes were moving down the hill."
Army Reserve Master Sgt. Bobby Dean, an engineer, also arrived at the scene to divert vehicles away from the potential hazard. The three Soldiers stayed until the local police, fire department, and ambulance arrived. Christy gave the police a brief of the situation while McDonald directed the ambulance toward the driver.
Christy said the driver of the vehicle was fortunate to have walked away with only a laceration on the leg and scrapes to his arm.
http://www.army.mil/article/122641/Reserve_Soldiers_respond_to_dangerous_truck_accident/
Capt. Jimmy Kow, 3rd Battalion, 348th Regiment, 158th Infantry Brigade
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