By EMS1 Staff
CONCORDIA, Kan. — A plow truck came to the rescue to help an ambulance transporting a critically ill patient through a blizzard get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
KSN reported that Concordia Fire Department responder Brandon Bennett was transporting the patient to a hospital 50 miles away when he realized he needed help getting there.
“It was definitely hair-raising,” Bennett said. “The ambulance was not made for those types of conditions. But, when a patient has to go, they have to go.”
The Kansas Department of Transportation was contacted by the hospital, and Clyde Thrush II showed up to help with a snow plow.
“I asked him if he could take his truck on up to Concordia and that way he could get in front of the ambulance and take it on down to Salina,” KDOT Field Maintenance Manager Jim Frye said.
Thrush said the storm was “by far one of the worst storms” of his career, but he was determined to get the ambulance through it.
“I knew it must have been pretty important,” he said. “So I wanted to get them there as quickly as I could.”
Bennett, who said they went no faster than 35 mph throughout the journey, said the challenges were worth it once they transported the patient safely, and called Thrush’s efforts a lifesaver.
“My nerves were shot,” he said. “But, I still felt fulfilled that I did something that somebody needed done.”