Safety managers assist victim of car accident Published April 5, 2017 By Airman Chad Gorecki 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Four occupational safety managers from Scott Air Force Base are being credited with life-saving actions on March 15 after witnessing a car accident on Hwy. 157 near Collinsville. Anthony Mckee and Jim Binford, 375th AMW Safety Office, Master Sgt. Michael Burgess, 932nd Airlift Wing, and T.J. Miles, 375th Medical Group, were on their way back from St. Louis when they witnessed a truck heading in the opposite direction cross a lane into a field and roll several times, ejecting the driver and his dog. Mckee and Miles ran out to the car and noticed the man was pinned underneath the bed of the truck. After attempting to just pull the man out from under the vehicle, they finally flipped the truck back on its wheels. “He was underneath the truck, and the first thing we tried to do was to lift it up just enough to pull him out,” said Miles. “We lifted the truck enough to pull him out, but the victim couldn’t mentally hold on ... he would pull his arms away repeatedly.” While Mckee and Miles were working on flipping the truck, Binford and Burgess contacted 911. Burgess got on the phone and gave the address of a residence near the accident site, and also pulled the insurance and registration information from the truck. While waiting for the first responders, the men tried to keep the driver conscious, uncertain of how much time he had due to his current state. “We were trying to keep him still and get him talking to make sure he was alert,” said Mckee. A crowd had grown around the accident, with a lot of people watching what the men were doing. No one stepped forward to assist the Scott members. “I was kind of surprised how many people were around the accident, but didn’t help,” Binford said. “They were just taking pictures.” The first responders then showed up and took over the scene. Emergency Medical Services wrote down the information from the Scott members, and the man was taken to the hospital by EMS and the accident site was cleared. Mckee said he felt their assistance helped speed the process for the first responders. “The first responders seemed very pleased with our efforts,” said Mckee. “They said we possibly saved his life.” Since the accident, Miles received a message on Facebook from the man in the accident, who told him he was going to be OK and thanked him and the other Scott members for helping. This was not the first time these members were involved in an emergency situation, said Mckee. While at lunch one time, Burgess and Mckee had to contact emergency services because an older gentleman started fading out. They also drove the man to the hospital to make sure he got assistance. “It has become kind of a running joke now that once a month we need to contact 911 when we go to lunch.”