Citizen-Soldier Save Lives in Smoky Crash

^{By Spc. Christina Chang, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment}

Army Sgt. Bradley Boucher, a healthcare specialist with the 224th Medical Company, 1297th Support Battalion, took the opportunity to spend time with his family in the outdoors, one of the activities also conducive to maintaining social distancing.

He and his girlfriend Erica Henry visited her aunt and uncle in Tennessee in the early autumn of 2020. While Henry’s uncle drove them in a truck over the Gatlinburg Bypass through the thick woods of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Boucher took notice as the cars ahead slowed down.

“I thought they were looking at a bear or something,” said Boucher. “Then I saw a bunch of leaves and dirt flying through the air, and the leaves were falling off a small group of trees. I guess I just noticed that a little bit more.”

Leaving the truck, Boucher followed the signs of freshly disturbed dirt down a steep muddy hill until he saw it – a bright red Chrysler Cruiser at the bottom of the slope, smoking and crushed on one side.

While he usually carries an emergency kit with his personal car, there was no such gear available in the truck. Instead, Boucher used his training as an Army healthcare specialist and firefighter to make do with what he had. After calling 911, he enlisted the aid of the crowd of onlookers who had gathered at the top of the hill to help him perform triage for the five people injured in the crash.

“The bystanders didn’t know what to do, and they were kind of watching [at first],” Boucher said. “But if I pointed out to somebody that I needed some help, they were willing to help immediately. I think that’s part of the good nature of most people.”

Three of the injured, although dazed, were able to get out of the vehicle and walk. Henry used her training as a magnetic resonance imaging technologist to help assess their condition, while Boucher went back to the wrecked car to pull out the two people unable to exit on their own. Boucher carried them to the top of the nearly 60-foot-tall embankment and tore strips from the injured people’s clothing to create bandages and while directing the bystanders to bodily support the two critically injured people to prevent further injury.

Around 15 to 20 minutes later, emergency response services arrived. After giving a detailed report on the crash to the arriving authorities, Boucher relinquished responsibility to the medical personnel.

“I asked them for a copy of the report, trying not to violate HIPAA and patient-provider confidentiality by not asking for specifics [personal identification details], but they were unable to do so,” Boucher said. “That’s the nature of our job [as medics]. Usually, the first responders don’t get to really know the outcome of the injured.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a hero at all, I was just doing what I would normally do. I just didn’t have a uniform on this time,” Boucher said of his actions. “I made sure I was the only one cleaning [and] touching the blood so if anything [bad] were to happen, it would just be me and not my girlfriend.”

“We’re usually pretty good at making the best of our situation,” Boucher said. “We just helped out the best we could and kind of went on about our day.” After thoroughly disinfecting himself, he and his girlfriend continued their vacation in Tennessee.

A certified Emergency Medical Technician, Boucher’s also works at Marine Operations in the Annapolis Fire Department, a tactical team specialized for combating maritime fires. He plans to continue serving in both the Maryland Army National Guard and the Annapolis Fire Department for the foreseeable future.