Making A Difference First Act
There are times in life when you know you must act. For Columbia Gas of Ohio Field Technician Curtis Van Vlerah, that moment was on April 12 when he spotted a semi-truck flipped on its side, wheels still spinning, on a loop connecting I-475 to I-75 in Toledo.
A Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army of 18 years with three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and a Columbia Gas of Ohio employee of six years, Van Vlerah didn’t hesitate. “Once I got out, I saw two gentlemen [in the truck cab],” he said. “The passenger’s eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. My first thought was the worst-case scenario. I grabbed my first aid kit, and I said, ‘Let’s go.’”
Another person had also stopped, a woman who happened to be a nurse, and she and Van Vlerah assessed the situation to figure out how they could best help the accident victims while waiting for emergency services to arrive. The semi-truck driver was alert with no injuries, but his passenger had broken teeth, a dislocated shoulder and a severe laceration across his head.
A third truck then pulled over, driven by an off-duty firefighter passing by. He and Van Vlerah managed to help the two men out of the truck through the busted windshield. Van Vlerah’s training and experiences in the Army gave him the skills to assess someone’s condition following a traumatic event—while making sure not to do any more harm. “The biggest thing was making sure that they were alert, breathing and making sure that they didn’t have major bones sticking out or things like that,” Van Vlerah said.
Then the nurse took over. “The nurse just started checking everything. She used my first aid kit,” Van Vlerah said. “Luckily I had gloves and gauze in there.”
Then, while an ambulance took the passenger away, Van Vlerah tried to help the truck driver find his phone. When they failed, Van Vlerah offered up his own.
Once phone calls to families had been made and both men were on their way to the hospital, Van Vlerah’s job was done. While his Army training shaped his quick thinking and mindfulness, his experiences at Columbia Gas further strengthened those skills.
“The Columbia Gas mentality is we’re here for the public and safety,” Van Vlerah said. “No matter what, your gut will tell you that it’s not a good situation, to stop and help and do everything you can to help the community and each other. “My morals told me I had to stop,” he added. “I’m just doing what’s right and what I know I can do.”