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2 women electrocuted trying to help at crash scene

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Two women fatally electrocuted trying to help at crash scene - latimes.com

By Sam Quinones and Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times

August 24, 2012

Irma Zamora's husband urged her not to get out of the car as they approached the scene of a spectacular traffic crash in Los Angeles' Valley Village neighborhood. But as he pulled over to call 911, she rushed out anyway, eager to help. A sport utility vehicle had just careened through the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Ben Avenue, shearing off a concrete light standard and knocking over a fire hydrant before coming to rest on a front lawn. Water spewed skyward from the broken hydrant and quickly pooled in the intersection.

Zamora ran toward the wrecked SUV and stepped into an electrified pool of water. She was immediately –- and fatally — electrocuted, struck by what firefighters estimate was 48,000 volts of electricity. Zamora, 40, of Burbank, was one of two women who died Wednesday night in what police and witnesses described as a bizarre and tragic series of events. The name of the second woman, who touched Zamora after she had been stricken and was also electrocuted, has not been released.
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Their hearts were in the right place, but their heads were not. This should be a lesson for EVERYONE, let the professionals handle this. If you are untrained, do not rush into dangerous situations, because the pros sure don't. If you are the victim of such an accident and the electric cable is laying across your car, STAY INSIDE your vehicle. Do NOT try to get out. Do not assume the cable is not energized. This is very very tragic.
 
This saddens me.

It reminds me of a story my boss told me about a place he used to work (could have been true, could have been hype, decide for yourself). He worked at a plant where carbon monoxide leaks were rare a possibility. A leak happened, and 5 people died: one who walked into the CO cloud, and four who thought they could save him by rushing in and carrying him out. All employees had been trained to call trained personnel and evacuate the plant if they see someone passed out on the ground, and knew the dangers of carbon monoxide.

Same lesson I suppose. Leave the heroics for people who know what they're doing.
 
I was an EMT with a volunteer squad for four years, and it was part of our training. When arriving at the scene of an accident (auto or whatever), evaluate the scene for safety hazards. Your own safety comes first, and secondly you will be useless to a victim if you are injured. This particular situation we would have called it in and a rescue truck would have been dispatched with specially trained firefighters who are properly equipped. When they cleared the scene of hazards, then we went in to help the injured. Same if we showed up and there was trouble, we called it in and a police officer was dispatched. There was no caring for the injured until all hazards were mitigated.
 
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