Etheridge community comes together to assist the injured
Forsayth and Georgetown police were reminded of the difficulties responding to vehicle crashes in remote locations on Saturday when they received an emergency call indicating that a car had collided with a heavy vehicle and that a driver was trapped.
The caller a passing tourist was not exactly certain of their location leaving police with a possibility of having over 200km of dirt and bitumen roads from Forsayth to Mount Surprise as the crash location.
Fortunately, the Etheridge Shire has a dedicated volunteer base with SES, First Responder trained residents and Rural Fire Service volunteers who are happy to jump into help at a moments notice.
So Police activated these volunteers, who are able to cover possible locations quickly and with the assistance of the Shire’s volunteer driven ambulance and on-call nurse the crash site was located quickly.
An SES volunteer warning motorists on a sharp bend.
On arrival responders located a semi-trailer which had left the Forsayth-Einasleigh Road with the driver suffering severe spinal and abdominal pain amongst other minor injuries.
The co-ordinated and professional response resulted in road closures, medical care and a driver extraction being quickly and professionally provided before the driver was air lifted to Townsville Hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Precariously placed on a steep embankment.
The Etheridge Shire should be proud of its community members who willingly volunteer to undertake training and respond to emergencies of all natures in the absence of full time QAS, Fire and other services.
A coordinated effort to remove the injured driver
Given the remote location, reliance on volunteer based emergency services and vast distances from primary health care hospitals, the carriage of satellite phones, regular contact with and notifying relatives of planned journey’s and carrying personal first aid kits is encouraged by police when travelling throughout the Etheridge Shire.
Source: Cairns Crime Alert
