BETHESDA, Md. — Two Md. EMTs, struck on the interstate last Sunday, were discharged from the hospital on Friday.
EMT Sydney Marshall and EMT Tom Schryver are recovering from their serious injuries. Marshall moved to a rehabilitation facility. Schryver is recuperating at his parent’s home, the Glen Echo Fire Department shared on its Facebook page.
EMT Meghan Quinn and EMT Wyatt Smith, who were also present and not physically injured, are working through the emotional trauma of having seen their colleagues get hit by the pickup truck and seriously injured. Wyatt has begun responding to EMS calls.
“All are in the early stages of grasping that they have been through a truly life-altering event and not a mere traffic accident,” wrote John Witherspoon, Jr., President, Glen Echo Fire Department.
On Monday evening, the day after the incident, the four EMTs gathered at Schryver’s bedside to share a few moments together. They reunited again on Tues. night to celebrate Marshall’s birthday.
The initial mayday broadcast of the incident was over the dispatch channel instead of operations channel which resulted in the message being heard by many emergency responders, many of whom responded immediately from long distances.
“The EMTs are extraordinarily grateful to their colleagues and partners in the fire, rescue, and police communities for their overwhelming support not only at the time of the incident, but also in the days since,” said Witherspoon.
“Accident investigation and reconstruction are ongoing and are expected to take approximately one month to complete,” said Witherspoon.