accidents
Rescue alley closed – emergency doctor cycles to the seriously injured
The ambulance does not always get through to the accident quickly when drivers block an emergency lane. (icon image) photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
What to do if the rescue lane on the motorway is blocked and the rescuers cannot get to the accident victim? In any case, the emergency doctor Frederick Voß knew how to help himself in this situation…
His use causes a stir: Because the rescue lane was blocked, emergency doctor Frederick Voß (35) near Wuppertal quickly grabbed a traveler’s bicycle to cycle via Autobahn 1 to a seriously injured accident victim.
On Thursday he reported to the German Press Agency about his first use of pedals on the autobahn: “The emergency lane was so blocked that we couldn’t get any further. The paramedic pointed out the wheel that was hanging on the back of a car. The owner gave it to us willingly.”
The drivers initially formed a rescue lane in the construction site area, but closed it again after the first rescuers had gone through. “The rescue lane should be maintained until traffic is flowing again,” appealed to drivers, who works at the Agaplesion Bethesda Hospital in Wuppertal apart from his emergency doctor assignments.
So he swung onto his bike with his 15-kilogram emergency backpack on Monday to get to the scene of the accident.
In doing so, he triggered something unexpectedly: When the motorists saw the emergency doctor cycling past them, they quickly formed the emergency lane again so that the rescue vehicle caught up with him after a few hundred meters and was able to pick him up again.
The bike stayed behind on the freeway. “The police wanted to bring it back to the owner, but it was gone. I assume he saw it himself and put it back on when he drove by the spot.”
In the meantime, Voss was able to take care of the seriously injured who was trapped, and he was then taken away by ambulance before the requested rescue helicopter arrived at the scene of the accident. Several media had previously reported on the curious mission.