{"id":5514,"date":"2021-03-11T13:36:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T13:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=5514"},"modified":"2021-06-08T12:47:40","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T12:47:40","slug":"citizen-soldier-save-lives-in-smoky-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2021\/03\/11\/citizen-soldier-save-lives-in-smoky-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizen-Soldier Save Lives in Smoky Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em><sup>By Spc. Christina Chang, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6735.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6735.jpg 720w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6735-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption><em>Sgt. Bradley Boucher (center, dressed in a gray hoodie sweater) carries one of the two people severely injured in the car crash on Sept. 19, 2020. Boucher was vacationing with his family in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, when he responded to the accident. Courtesy of Erica Henry.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He and his girlfriend Erica Henry visited her aunt and uncle in Tennessee in the early autumn of 2020. While Henry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought they were looking at a bear or something,\u201d said Boucher. \u201cThen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaving the truck, Boucher followed the signs of freshly disturbed dirt down a steep muddy hill until he saw it &#8211; a bright red Chrysler Cruiser at the bottom of the slope, smoking and crushed on one side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6737.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6737.jpg 720w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/IMG_6737-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption><em>Boucher was vacationing with his family in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, when he responded to the car crash on Sept. 19, 2021. Courtesy of Erica Henry.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe bystanders didn\u2019t know what to do, and they were kind of watching [at first],\u201d Boucher said. \u201cBut if I pointed out to somebody that I needed some help, they were willing to help immediately. I think that\u2019s part of the good nature of most people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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\u2019s clothing to create bandages and while directing the bystanders to bodily support the two critically injured people to prevent further injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI 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,\u201d Boucher said. \u201cThat\u2019s the nature of our job [as medics]. Usually, the first responders don\u2019t get to really know the outcome of the injured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t call myself a hero at all, I was just doing what I would normally do. I just didn\u2019t have a uniform on this time,\u201d Boucher said of his actions. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Citizen-Soldier Receives MSM for Saving Lives in Smoky Crash\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2en2SvpU6YE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption><em><sup>On April 16, Boucher was awarded for a Meritorious Service Medal for his initiative in providing time-crucial assistance in the accident.&nbsp;<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re usually pretty good at making the best of our situation,\u201d Boucher said. \u201cWe just helped out the best we could and kind of went on about our day.\u201d After thoroughly disinfecting himself, he and his girlfriend continued their vacation in Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A certified Emergency Medical Technician, Boucher\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"802\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Boucher_Fire_Dept.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Boucher_Fire_Dept.jpg 960w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Boucher_Fire_Dept-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Boucher_Fire_Dept-768x642.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption><em>U.S. Army Sgt. and Firefighter Bradley Boucher (right) poses with Firefighter Lt. Christopher Pentz (middle) and Firefighter first class Ken Bloodsworth (left) after the Annapolis Fire Department responded to a townhouse fire in Annapolis, Maryland, on January 6, 2021. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"702\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Afghanistan_training.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Afghanistan_training.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Afghanistan_training-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/03\/Afghanistan_training-768x539.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption><em>U.S. Army Spc. Bradley Boucher, 224th Area Support Medical Company, Maryland National Guard, evaluates a nine-line report from a Portuguese Force Protection soldier during a Tactical Combat Casualty Care field exercise in Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 22, 2018. The emergency medical response training he received in the U.S. Army helped prepare him to swiftly respond to the accident on Sept. 19, 2020. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":5516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5514"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6430,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5514\/revisions\/6430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}