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Washington County Health System
  
  Local Hero

 

Dr. Falcone, director of the emergency
room physicians

Click here to listen to Dr. Falcone talking
about his experience at the accident.

Angelo Falcone, MD, was on his way to work with daughter Katelyn Tharp when their day went from the usual routine to disaster.

Driving on I-70 January 19th, Dr. Falcone was on the way down South Mountain when he spotted some cars braking and sliding ahead of him. When he tried to brake, his car immediately began sliding and was struck by another car. He steered it into an embankment.

Cars behind him began plowing into his sedan as they skidded out of control. The sides of his car crumpled from the impact, and his windows shattered.

Although the car was damaged, he and his daughter were not seriously injured. "We thought we were fine until I looked up in the rear-view mirror and saw a tractor trailer coming off the road at us", he said. They quickly exited the vehicle and headed for safety, and the truck slid past them into the woods.

Once Dr. Falcone was sure all the vehicle collisions had stopped, he began checking on the people nearby to see if they were okay. He then checked on the other side of the tractor trailer, and lying on the ground was a man whose leg had been severed. Conscious and talking, the man didn't appear to have other serious injuries, but he was losing blood quickly.

Another person at the scene brought Dr. Falcone a bungee cord, and he used that as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Other people brought coats and blankets to keep the man warm. After doing what he could to stabilize the man's condition, Dr. Falcone continued working his way through the other vehicles, helping anyone who was seriously hurt.

All in all, about fifty vehicles were involved in the crash. Because of the location of the collisions, he knew it would take the EMS teams a few minutes to arrive. Fortunately, many of the people who were not seriously injured quickly began helping others. “It was really amazing to see so many people just checking other people to make sure everyone was okay,” he said.

A paramedic worker was also involved in the accident, so they worked together to check on as many people as possible. When the EMS units first arrived, Dr. Falcone spoke to the captain of the rig who got there first, directing him to the individuals who needed help.

As more and more units arrived, the paramedics began caring for victims, and Dr. Falcone and Katelyn stayed on the scene helping for about an hour before catching a ride to Washington County Hospital on one of the ambulances.

Back at work, it was almost surreal for him to treat several patients in the hospital whom he had already seen at the accident scene. Hopefully it was comforting for them to see a familiar face in the emergency department, he said.

 

© 2008
Washington County Health System
251 East Antietam Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-790-8000

TDD: 1-800-735-2258